Hyundai continues to upgrade its large sedan with this nice looking refresh. Wayne Gerdes – CleanMPG – March 26, 2023 2024 Hyundai Sonata The 2022/2023 Hyundai Sonata front and drivers side rear profiles are shown below for comparison. Last night, Hyundai revealed its newly refreshed 8th gen Sonata with new badging, new front end, and new interior appointments as the 8th gen sedan carries on. The 2024 Hyundai Sonata Duo The Sonata's N Line exterior highlights its sports coupe style with a long hood, low front-end and fastback roof line. Sonata’s low-slung exterior includes a new horizontal front-end layout that integrates Hyundai’s signature “Seamless Horizon Lamp”, hidden lamps, wide grille and air intake for a more modern appearance. The Seamless Horizon Lamp and wide-set, hidden headlamps create a unique lighting effect, emphasizing the vehicle’s wide stance. At the rear, the new H-lights further emphasize Sonata’s high-tech image and wide stance. The spoiler-shaped trunk lid and muffler-shaped rear garnish on the standard model reinforce the impression of a high-performance sports sedan while the addition of a rear spoiler and dual twin-tip mufflers along with exclusive 19” wheels on the N Line further amplify that image. 2024 Hyundai Sonata’s Driver Interior Layout The new Sonata implements a curved display combining driver information and the infotainment system. The 2022/2023 Hyundai Sonata Drivers Interior is shown below for comparison. The new Sonatas interior with its ever-present driver-centric layout matches its modern exterior styling. For the first time in a Hyundai model, Sonata has a panoramic curved display that combines the 12.3” driver display and 12.3” central display in a modern layout. The touch-type climate control unit applied to the instrument panel boosts the high-tech vibe albeit at the cost of tactile feel and actual knobs and switches to control various functions. The Sonata’s column-type shift-by-wire controller behind the steering wheel creates more space in the center console area. The center console palm rest provides more comfort for the driver by extending the armrest to lean up to the palm of the hand. The large size cup holder and tray provide additional convenience. Although we are not expecting anything new regarding the drivetrain, the actual refreshed 2024 Hyundai Sonata will be unveiled at the Seoul Auto Show in 3-days. Along with the updated interior and exterior, the current, heavily atkinsonized 2.0L rated at 45/51/47 mpgUS city/highway/combined rating for the std. trims – non-blue (50/54/50 mpgUS city/highway/combined, is already damn good!
My sister has the 2022 Sonata hybrid. She learned to drive by watching Thelma & Louise, Dirty Mary & Crazy Larry, and selected scenes from Bullitt and The French Connection - and she's still getting around 50mpg in suburban commuting. The EPA on these cars would seem to be underrated by a healthy margin. Anyone who gets one of these needs ROBOCOP for a license plate since it has the Robocop face on the front.
My sister has a 2017 Sonata hybrid. I've driven it over some distance and I don't tell people what gas mileage I got because I don't like to be called a liar. This new one is nice looking--a big improvement over the previous generation where they lost the plot entirely. Does this car get the 1.6 turbo? The non-hybrid 1.6 turbo with CVVD was introduced on the 2020 Sonata, I think. It won Ward's auto 10 best engines award for that year. I've got it in my hybrid Tucson.
The current Sonata hybrid has the same powertrain as the Tucson and Santa Fe hybrids. I had to chuckle when you said you don't tell people the gas mileage numbers because you don't like to be called a liar. I actually take pictures of the FCD with a phone, and people will accuse me of taking the photo after resetting the counter and then driving down hill. Yeah, for the 19 miles it shows in the trip display? Over 45 to 50 minutes of travel time like it shows in the trip display? When would I have time to do this? And why would I do it? I guess blowing the minds of the malignantly ignorant - or malignorant, of you will - is one of the perks of driving the way we do. Fuel economy numbers that are comfortably above EPA are so far outside of their limited comprehension that they consider it to be a fake.
When correcting for odometer error, The FCD seems to be around 3%-4% optimistic. But it's not linear. If the car is driven for mostly short trips - under a mile - all the extra gas burned while it's running fast-idle to burn off crankcase condensation doesn't seem to be fully counted. The FCD is therefore more optimistic than usual. That warmup process if much shorter in warm weather so the FCD is more accurate warmer weather, where FE will be higher anyway. I just filled it last night (3/28), with previous fillup on 2/18. Drove 550 actual miles on 8.968 gallons, or 61.3mpg. Tank mpg displayed 63.5. I think that's around 3.5% or so.
New info after the reveal in Seoul: Powertrains that deliver improved performance and fuel efficiency The new SONATA delivers improved powertrain performance and fuel efficiency compared to previous models with quietness and driving stability to provide a more refined, satisfying driving experience. The lineup includes a gasoline-powered 2.5L engine, 2.5L turbo engine and 2.0L hybrid electric (HEV). The 2.5L turbo was developed especially for the N Line. The HEV model is equipped with e-Motion Drive, which enables a smooth and comfortable driving experience in various driving conditions, and for the first time, it has a paddle shifter and regenerative braking mode to further increase fuel efficiency. The new SONATA’s aero-friendly design improves fuel efficiency and stability during high-speed driving. It provides excellent aerodynamic performance with an air resistance. So the hybrid lives on, with a new "e-Motion Drive" name applied to the latest hybrid powertrain components and related programming. What caught my eye is the new paddle shifter and regen brake mode(s). That sounds like a very interesting tool for those of us who know how to use these capabilities to hit even wilder mpg numbers. Unlike it's tiger-nosed cousin, who lost his hybrid driveline with the last platform update, the Sonata hybrid looks like it will be with us for a while longer. And we can never have too many electrified super-efficient vehicles on the market.
I wonder what the hybrid Sonata gets for a transmission. My HEV Tucson gets a conventional 6-speed auto with very tall gearing. It may have come directly out of earlier model Sonata hybrids but I'm only guessing. I think Hyundai plays it very safe and conservative with their transmission choices for their bread-and-butter models since they've had some problems with some transmissions.
It's the old (from 2009) 6 speed automatic with a slightly wider gear spread (1 thru 4 are numerically a bit higher) and the traction motor in place of a torque converter, along with a wet clutch to lock the motor to the driveline. The gearing - including the final drive - is tall by today's standards. The high torque of the electric motor makes the gearing a sensible choice. Since the current 8 speed FWD evolved from the 6 speed FWD, it is certainly possible to build an 8 speed version of the Sonata/Tucson/SantaFe hybrid transmission. The fact that it isn't on the market yet tells me that it's very likely that the fuel economy improvements - at least on the EPA drive cycle - wouldn't justify the additional costs involved in engineering and producing the 8 speed version.
With the 2023 model, the hybrid's gearing widens out at the higher speeds. Its 5th and 6th are essentially the same as the ICE model's 6th and 7th. The ICE could operate with the hybrid transmission ratios, but the 'in-between' gears are to keep the engine in the efficient band. Depending on the trip and load, a car could end up just skipping some of those extra gears. As you say, the hybrid could benefit from extra gears, but not enough for the extra cost.
