Looking Better Every Day? More 2011 Hyundai Sonata Specs And Shots Leak Out

Hate it or love it this car is a great improvement on the outgoing model. It looks stylish, modern and luxurious. While it's not my favorite design from Hyundai it's still a good direction the company is heading. It grabs more attention for the brand and also attracts a lot of haters.

Certainly lot better looking than class leaders Camry, Accord...etc. But the dash is complete copy of G37 with Volvo AC controls. Overall very nice and almost too good for it's class.

JUGNU

Copycat or not, the Hyundai Sonata & Kia Forte will be volume leaders. They look great for a little money, which is what the economy needs right now, IMHO.

It's just so darn close looking to a Lexus ES, actually, it's what the ES would look like if it was for a slightly younger audience. If they have this up against an Accord and Camry, it's a winner so far.

Do you get the feeling that every new Hyundai is now lining up with a Lexus model and each new Kia is aligning with a similar Toyota model?

It sure feels like they are up-scaling Hyundai and Kia at the same time.

I second that Invisible....WTH I mean, nice car, possibly, but there are reasons the class leaders dominate and apparently Hyundai doesn't have it yet...

Accord and Camry may appear to be plain to people who are in love with Boxter's, GT-R's, S5's, etc, but to the average consumer (majority of buyers) they are perfect, practical, plain, simple; all the things they look for when dropping the kids off to school or getting groceries.

A better move for Hyundai would have been to allow the Genesis to soak up whatever else it has left to claim and wait for Toyota to release their next Camry because whether you like it or not EVERYONE know that Toyota is "coming" for the competition with the next Camry.

Reasons: The Fusion Hybrid is great substitute for the Camry; too close for comfort for Toyota I imagine. Toyota has to take care of that. The recent Accord change is also very close in comparison to the Camry. I believe they are going to "Ahhh" most people this go around not to mention they are on the new design focus...beware!

Exactly Mason,

Yes this is a fantastic-looking car, and what is good about that and competition in general, is that it makes all other manufacturers work twice as hard on their own products. Good products inspire great companies to make even better products. The Camry and Lexus are the reason we have cars like this Hyundai in the first place.

Hard to doubt that Hyundai's on a roll.

LEXUS!!! Look at how fast Hyundai is improving!

i want to like it, but the front end just looks too droopy

It does look good, a little bit polarizing probably but I think it is a step in the right direction. It makes a Camry look even more boring than it already is. Also overtakes the Mazda 6 for most sporty looking mid-sizer IMO.

Hyundai and Kia are pretty much one in the same so I could potentially see them creeping into an entry level lux market down the road. With designs like this it sure seems to be there aiming point. Cases:

1) The Veracruz was compared with the Land Rover and Lexus RX. Granted in commercials but it was out to prove a point.

2) The Genesis is sold with no front badge and has aimed itself in comparisons against higher end models.

3) The Genesis Coupe has done the same as above.

4) The new Sonata is more and more being recognized as looking like a higher end brand instead of say Accord, Altima, etc.

Am I saying that Hyundai as of right now is hoping people cross-shop the lux with them. Maybe not, but maybe some do. They are more or less trying to get people to notice that they have on par quality and designs that people looking for Honda's Toyota's, Ford's, etc. will look to and test out. Dealership traffic helps sell cars. And Hyundai has been coming out with more alluring cars and better updates than most the others.

While I agree they should look out from the technical and design end, the reason people buy Lexus or Merc. is that they have a dealer network that supports customers. Hyundai dealers are not worthy of this nice a car. They are hurting the Genesis as it is. Most of their ads were for under $10K buyer under the CARS program. Not exactly the same demographic as Lexus. Honestly, the local dealer in my area seems a bit dodgy. The company really needs to revamp the dealer network or go to a direct sale model.

Alright Hyundai is putting out some great stuff recently that is miles ahead of their past products, but I think they should try to design their own center stack..

-New Caddy CTS Vents
-Infiniti Nav
-Volvo Climate Control
-Toyota Start button
-Acura Gauges

Looks like a competent car, should do well against lower level Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, etc.

Now only if they become original, they seems like have good engineers. I think a new badge might not be required and Koreans would be taken seriously if they start making original designs or at least semi-original. There new models look good but are 90% copies both inside and out and from where they lifted the ideas are very clear.

JUGNU

WOW!I am so surprised at how fast Hyundai is moving. This car looks great. Yes I will agree there is a bit of Lexus ES in there,but its done much better than the ES.Plus, now people who want a Lexus ES for its looks can have one for cheaper that looks even better. That interior is beautiful. Please note my opinion is based on where Hyundai was and what they have become. I, like most people, doubted Hyundai would ever be taken serious,but I take back everything I said. I absolutely believe that if Hyundai keeps moving foward as they are doing,they will undoubtedly become the next Lexus.

hyundai has some nice cars, this aint one of em. look at the grill on the front. the whole front end looks like that mazda furai concept car. the back is the best feature then again you can't even see the tailpipe. The wheels are WAY to small, with the car being the size it is you can't throw 16 inch wheels on there and expect it to look good. It needs at least 18 inch wheels with how big the rear quarter panel is. I don't know what you guys are smoking here but i don't think it's that great. That crease down the side that gradually goes up? How much will that cost to get repaired in an accident? All the sculpting and lines and shapes looks like it brings this car way out of the norm compared to others in its class. I don't think to customers that will be a good thing.

I think US version will equip 17' for 4, 18' wheels for V6. there's rumor that I4 will produce 200 hp and 3.5 V6 will produce around 280 - 285 hp. and 1 year later, hyundai will produce 2.0 turbo GDI I4 that will produce at least 260 hp with good fuel consumption.

rear looks nice. don't like the front though. the side profile is 100% merc cls-class

Well damn Gina! This is a pretty nice car. But I cant...I just cant see myself buying a Hyundai.

I don't think people really understand. As someone has already alluded to, people don't usually buy a Lexus for just one aspect. Buick and Hyundai may be stepping up their design by mocking Lexus, but just because they look like a particular Lexus doesn't mean that typical Lexus customers are going to buy it. Lexus customers are after an innate sense of tranquility and reliability that nearly no other manufacturer can seem to copy. It's Lexus's equivalent of the German's "magic feel," just face it.

Car looks overstyled. I guess it is welcome with open arms in a class where everything else lacks style at all.

While Hyundai is not Lexus and they may be using ideas of other makers, let us remember that when Lexus introduced the LS400 in the late 80's, it wasn't a model of creativity either.

Give them some credit haters, they are advancing by leaps and bounds.

I'd wait to read the features list before I go spouting that same old rhetoric on this new Sonata, Huu. From what I understand, they outdid themselves on this model, including innovations with iPod control and Bluetooth usage.

Looks pretty good. This is exactly what they need. Better design philosophy. The quality and value is there in their products, now they just have to make them more exciting and beautiful.

From the "leaked" photos that I have seen of this car, so far it looks like a very good design. When the upcoming official hi res photos are released, we should get an even better look at the car overall.

I understand that the grill maybe different for the U.S. market than what will be released in South Korea. So, some of the chrome maybe trimmed back a bit. I think this car will do very well for Hyundai here in the U.S. but some maybe right about the love or hate it design.

It may become a big seller here in the U.S. if consumers are warm to the design. So far the Toyota Camry is far and away the leader in sales volume for cars in this category, followed closely by the Accord. It will take a lot of Sonata sales (15k to 20k units per month) to even begin to challenge the Camry or Accord sales volume.

If it does succeed look for the top Asian Imports to up the ante in either design or features/options offered to balance against this.

Hyundai, the one to watch.