STUD or DUD? 2011 Sonata Spy Shots Reveal Radical Departure, But From Where?

Great scoop 009!

The ALL-NEW Hyundai CC Coupe ;)

001

You're right, 001. The first thing I thought of when I saw the photo was the VW CC.

Can we please stop featuring copycats?

I hate to admit it but I actually like this. The interior looks like a cross of a CTS(the air vents and center console) and VOLVO (the A/C controls). The rear is great looking, the front is very lexus-ish. It looks more expensive than Sonata should be.

Wow, this car is really a mish-mash of lots of designs, but done well.

Early to say dud or stud as the pictures are not very clear but a step forward in design from Hyundai. The grille is too big for my taste and the headlights are too curvy. Rear and interior is looking very nice though.

JUGNU

Funny. With other cars where the pictures weren't very clear either you immediately claimed dud or stud...

Looks like a Toy/Lex mixed up with CC.

camryish! yuck

What a stud! It might not be very original, but they're not at that stage yet. Now, they just need good looking cars, and that's it!

This is a Hyundai??? I think it's a stud! No matter that it possesses some design cues from other cars, this is definitely a step up. Hyundai is on a roll and very rapidly shedding their 'Bargain Basement' roots. They deserve a lot of credit for stepping to the plate.

i think they're doing too much with that front, it's definately not of the norm, but also it's different from the other cars in it's class

This new Sonata looks great! Hyundai is on a roll and this will certainly steal sales from Toyota, Honda, and all the other midsize cars out there. It may be a mash of many other designs, but it looks good. I see a bit of Audi A4/A5 in the rear with some Infiniti G sedan. Overall, very impressed!

lol nowadays people are impressed with stealing designs...

Honestly...looks very nice to me...is like mix of BMW with Volvo and Caddy with some Lexus touch.

Not too shabby!

Looks much better than the Lex,but i can see where they stole some ideas from. Theres not much to say bad about the looks. Front end is very luxary like.Rear is nice and clean,nothing crazy going on. The interior has a little bit of Infinity going on there with the navi controls. The navi also looks like it can be hidden with a cover that slides over it which is a nice touch. Not so thrilled about the AC vents and center console all one piece,but the car is a great overall design. Only flaw i see is the wheels look too small and the design is fugly. Hopefully they are just on it for testing.Nothing worse than seeing a nice,big luxary car sitting on 16's or disgusting looking wheels.

We really need a edit button. Why everytime we ask for one,the agents just ignore us. Every other forum and website has one. WTF?

Willis

Not only the pictures aren't clear, there is also no information about engine(s). Therefore very less info and photos(in good light) to say whether stud or not. But no doubt looking very promising especially interior.
Maybe with this much info you can say stud or dud(in case of Asian cars, you always say dud, so easy for you).

JUGNU

I think it looks very good. Trunk lid is very audi

ewwwwwwwwww

I really don't like that styling.

Says EL34, the most trusted and respected member here on Autospies.

The interior appear to be a cross between an Infinity and Cadillac. The front end reminds me of the soon to be released Suzuki Kizashi and the rear is a blend of Infinity and BMW.
Got to hand it to them, they are on a roll with fresh product at a relentless pace.

It's not a dud, but it is nowhere near being a stud. It is just blah, I can't respect a car company that just rips off elements of other car brands. It will do ok and Hyundai seekers will like it.

Obvious design derivations aside... There's much more to this effort that truly works (well) than there are things to criticize. The hood sculpting that flows so seamlessly into the grill is strikingly well done; The rear end styling is elegant, taunt, muscular and brings to mind an Asian-interpretation of the Mercedes CLS (love that boldly sharp boot lip), and the interior (from what we can see) is far beyond anything in its class as far as design execution goes. If Hyundai nails the drivetrain/vehicle dynamics on this one, they'll finally make that crucial move from providing a car that people buy because they simply need transportation, to one that is actually desired... We'll See Soon Enough.

This is a better execution of some Lexus-esque design cues than any recent effort from Lexus. The cabin design is more aesthetically pleasing than either the ES or the Camry, too. Imagine if it were appointed with high quality leather surfaces, brushed aluminum and burled wood accents. This should be Toyota's wake-up call.

Does it come with a karaoke machine?

I know I would feel like a disco duck driving the thing.

Well, we all know how much like Donald Duck you are...

Definitely stud! As for readers complaining about derivative designs, keep in mind that Hyundai is in business to make money. Why not take proven design cues and incorporate them into your own car. Since this is their bread and butter model, it only makes sense to maximize their profit potential and market a car that will be marketable right at its launch.

it is very influenced by other vehicles but, that doesn't the fact that it is attractive, and i dont even like hyundais!

From the center of dashboard (just a little below the navigation screen and where it curves in) the car's dashboard looks almost identical to the Infiniti G series! Not that thats a bad thing but take a look at an Infiniti G37 and the dashboard and air vents are identical!

"Do you know what sort of incentives they already have planned...." huu76. Have you looked at the financials of Toyota for 2009? Their business is off over 30% plus percent. Honda is also having its worse year here in the U.S. reporting double digit declines in the same percentage but not Hyundia/Kia. And before you think its based on price alone, look at the current gains from both Hyundai and Kia.

Unless you have been pulling weeds and you don't know how to count, Hyundia/Kia group are on track for 7% market share growth in a depressed auto market that has seen established brands struggling for slivers of profits.

Putting aside critiques of what this remotely reminds one of, the consensus is that this is a bold design and move upmarket for the Hyundai Sonata. It looks good and could be a big hit for the company here in the U.S. rivaling the dominant Asian imports.

That car, from what I've seen and from the initial quality tests of their more recent products, will be a huge success especially if they stay at or near the same price point.

Hyundai is on the right track, kudos.

For those who call them copy-cats, yeah...., like the Lexus LS was such a huge revolution when it first came out.

Come on, give Hyundai a chance! They are building upon a model that works, granted pioneered by other makers, but that will enable them to create a niche and mark of their own in the future, no different than Lexus, Infiniti etc.

huu76 you're missing the whole point. I don't begrudge Toyota or Honda for having the market positions that they do here in the U.S. or elsewhere but you can't ignore the fact that they are growing market share.

Unlike Honda and Toyota, whose sales have tanked into the high 30% percentage points, Hyundai's sales have grown. It's ok for you to have a bias for or against a particular brand as long as you balance it with reality. In the car biz that balance is represented by the actual "number" of cars being sold.

Both Toyota and Honda have a larger footprint than Hyundai, so in reality Hyundai should be doing much worse than both of them, instead its just the opposite.

Meant to say you can't ignore the "fact that they aren't growing market share".

Huu,
You can't say that the 2006 Hyundai Sonata (NF) copied the current Honda Accord. Why? Because the NF Sonata came out earlier than the current Accord.
I remember people call the current Accord the "Honda Sonata" when its photos were first released, because it resembled to Sonata, especially the front lights.

NF Sonata: http://www.carbroker.com.au/images/cars/Hyundai+SONATA-review-l.jpg

Honda Accord: http://www.automedia.com/NewCarBuyersGuide2008/photos/2008/Honda/Accord/Sedan/2008_Honda_Accord_ext_1.jpg

parts is parts. i think the young folks are calling it a mash-up or something. when hyundai offers an optional sport model 3.8l 7spd sequential auto with awd it will get interesting.
maybe a police interceptor model is in order too.