Improved looks go far to make the Sonata Hybrid an easy consideration
2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
Words and pictures by Mitchell Weitzman
Now that's how you do a facelift. The Sonata, relaunched in 2020, was far from a bad car, but it had a face resembling an unfortunate fish and an altogether non-cohesive design that made it a tougher sell that it ought to. Hyundai followed up that experiment with the also-divisive Elantra, but Hyundai has now two fresh revamps ready that take each model from weird and ugly to, "well shit, that looks pretty dang good." With a competitive price and great fuel economy from this Hybrid model, the 2024 Sonata has arrived to steal sales from popular rivals.
Starting with where the Sonata does little to warrant a look, it's just that this is far from an exciting car to drive, displaying no aptitude for enthusiastic driving the way a Mazda 6 or even a Honda Accord can. Instead, Hyundai, who is no stranger to making brilliant driver's cars like the Elantra N and Veloster N when they want to, has gone for a staid and neutral approach to how the Sonata steers and goes. And especially when buying the luxurious Limited and hybrid models, that's perfectly okay for the market its seeking to capture. All the important points are there, though, with accurate steering, comfortable ride quality, road and wind noise is graciously low, and the hybrid powertrain is mostly smooth like little to no hiccups. The Sonata drives fine; this is not a car to set your world on fire, but rather to comfortably get you from point A to B in comfort and unprecedented luxury and style at a fairly affordable price, and when it comes to accomplishing those goals, this example succeeds as well as anything in class. Yes, it's boring to drive, but it's an upgrade from the also-refreshed Toyota Camry.
Where the Sonata separates itself is by design, where it's gone from zero to hero with just a few necessary changes to its front end. No longer a gulping guppy chasing Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan (fine, and Jar Jar, too) through Naboo, this is an understated, yet striking and elegant (striking and elegant can in fact go together) design that does well to visually lengthen the car and impart some drama up front. The bow and stern work much more harmoniously this time around, and I love the full-width LED daytime running lights above the nose, replacing the items that ran along and up the hood. Even my friends commented on how nice they thought it looked, and more importantly, it renders the newly-redesigned Camry vulgar by comparison.
My friends (and myself) were even more impressed when it came to the interior. With subtle changes to button layouts and the removals of the space-gouging PRND buttons in favor of a simple stalk, this is a really delightful environment. Being the Limited trim, there is proper luxury here as far as materials are concerned, with lots of soft touch-points and leather seats, but it also visually stimulates, appearing spacious and inviting. The use of physical buttons for climate controls are a welcome addition compared to other Hyundais that have frustrating touch items without any tactility. Without any other creative way to really describe it, this is just a nice car, and it made driving it on the daily a pleasurably pleasant experience.
Does performance matter in a car like this? Not really, but at least it can easily get out of its own way. The four-cylinder hybrid powertrain serves up 192 horsepower, which does put it behind the 232 that the new Camry Hybrid can afford. But, in the real world, power was rarely a hindrance nor concern, and I did appreciate Hyundai's four-cylinder as being a smoother and less grainy racket compared to the harsh fours that Toyota makes. Where Toyota and Honda both still win with their hybrids is in their seamless operation, where the Hyundai hybrid unit doesn't quite have as transparent transitions at slow speeds or from a stop.
For the all-important gas mileage, I averaged a commendable 42 MPG, which is short of its EPA estimate (all hybrids and electric cars fail to meet window sticker estimates), yet is still fabulously thrifty in its own right. I tested a new 2025 Camry Hybrid a couple months later, and it returned identical mileage, so that speaks volumes in that the Sonata Hybrid can match the longtime benchmark.
Considering the under-$40,000 asking price for this loaded Sonata Hybrid Limited and how well it acquits itself in normal daily life, it's an absolute knockout. If you've avoided Hyundais in the past for whatever particular reason, this a mass-appealing car that deserves a look in the same way that the Kia Telluride and Hyundai Palisade twins changed the $50k SUV market. An inspired exterior and interior, if not some uninspiring driving dynamics, do go a long way to make this the Sonata we should have gotten four years ago.
2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited
As-tested price: $39,000
Pros: Sharpened exterior; Classy interior; Economical
Cons: Not the quickest hybrid
2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid review by The Road Beat.
Photos: mitchellweitzmanphoto.com