Love It Or Hate It, The 2011 Hyundai Sonata Is An IIHS Top Safety Pick For 2010

As we questioned yesterday, if the all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata has changed the mid-size sedan landscape, it seemed that the crowd was pretty polarized. And, there is something really positive about a car that manages to stir up such intense emotion.

Example being the BMW X6. It is another one of those "love it or hate it," type of vehicles.

Regardless of one's hate there are just certain things one cannot deny. Like when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ranks a car as a Top Safety Pick.

And, the 2011 Sonata has been awarded so.

Is this an omen?








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rxh8me9000 - 2/19/2010 4:22:33 AM

0 Boost

I agree. Although I love the direction Hyundai is taking,this is just a simple car.It is ground breaking for THEM,but still gets lost in the middle of the other cars in its class. I really hope it drives better than the competition.This is my opinion based on looks as I have not researched the specs to compare it to the other cars in its class.I am not saying it is ugly at all.I actually find it to be a decent looking car.Outdated,yet decent.

Agent00R - 2/19/2010 12:31:59 AM

+2 Boost

@Vlad & @huu

While the Sonata is not groundbreaking by introducing a new niche -- like the BMW X6 -- it is polarizing in terms of design. That is what I was referencing.

Some people find the Hyundai nice and appreciate it while others find the all-new Sonata absolutely heinous.

pennfootball - 2/19/2010 10:15:57 AM

+3 Boost

What gets me is how light they kept it at 3,100 pounds for it's size while still getting a top safety pic. Hyundai has invested a lot of money in their steel plants and it's starting to show some of the high strength stuff can really lighten the cars. Problem is you can't recycle this stuff like the mild steal's of the 1950's without all the alloy's added.

XYZZ - 2/21/2010 5:08:00 AM

+1 Boost

seems to me the safety nazis have far too much influence EVERYWHERE.

even CR rates hyundais highly, ONLY BECAUSE they include more 'safety eqpt' as standard. on their own reliability and road test results, CR rates hondas and toyotas above hyundai.

but the free safety stuff apparently TRUMPS all that.

mggray - 2/23/2010 7:15:23 PM

+1 Boost

By your reasoning, then, the X6 is not original either. The same concept was done nearly ten years ago by GM with the Pontiak Aztek . . . and people hated it. BMW stuck Bimmer design cues on the mini-van/SUV Aztek, scraped more clay off the back end of its roof-line, and brought it back to life in the guise of the X6 (unfortunately, they were successful at it too. I think I lose braincells every time I see one on the street.)

mggray - 2/23/2010 7:16:13 PM

+1 Boost

that was in response to the first comment by Vladyxa