2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited – Review by David Colman +VIDEO

If you like irksome & annoying do-dads, this is for you!

David Colman

Photos and Story by David Colman
Special Correspondent to THE AUTO CHANNEL

Hyundai just completed a mild mid-cycle revision of the Sonata model line. What you'll notice most are updates to the exterior sheet metal: new hood, new grill, new front and rear bumpers, headlights, and tail lights. Inside the cabin, you are struck by a virtual wall of adjacent 12.3-inch digital information screens. The screen is situated directly in front of the driver functions as an instrument cluster. Situated next to it is an identically sized screen, this one touch sensitive, and configured for navigation use and control of the AM/FM/HD radio. If you upgrade your Hybrid model from SEL (base price $31,950) to the Limited model we tested (base price $37,200) Hyundai will elevate your cabin furnishings with a Bose Premium 12 speaker stereo system, heated and ventilated, leather-trimmed front seats (with memory for driver's side), color head-up display, and proximity key entry with push-button start. In other words, the updated Sonata Hybrid is decidedly better looking and more luxurious than its predecessor.

But if it's sheer horsepower you're after, the hybrid Sonata will disappoint you with its meager output: 192hp and 210 foot-pounds of torque yield a power-to-weight ratio of 18.2 pounds per horsepower in a sedan that weighs more than 3,500 pounds. Even the base model (non-hybrid) Sonata SEL, which carries a retail price of $28,650, puts out 180hp and 195 foot-pounds of torque. Personally, I would opt for the N Line sport model which bumps engine output all the way to 290hp and 311 foot-pounds of torque. The N Line Sonata plays a distinctly different tune than the sluggish hybrid, with a scorching quarter mile time of 13.6 seconds at 106mph, and a top speed of 155mph. The Hybrid Limited takes a decidedly more leisurely approach to acceleration, posting a 0-60mph time of 8 seconds, a quarter mile time of 16.0 seconds, and a top speed of 120mph. The trade-off you derive from the hybrid comes at the gas station, where the EPA estimates you will save $4,000 in fuel costs over 5 years compared to the average new vehicle. The hybrid posts 47 MPG in overall operation compared to 30MPG for the Sonata SEL and just 23MPG for the N Line Sonata. When it arrived fully fueled for its week with us, the range-to-empty notation read 540 miles!

In order to reassure hybrid owners of their selfless dedication to fuel efficiency, Hyundai plants a leafy bough logo on the right-hand edge of the 12.3-inch touchscreen. Anointing this logo with the tip of your finger - a gesture close to the heavenly touch Michelangelo depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel - causes the Hyundai screen to explode in a multi-color display of your hybrid's churning drivetrain. Spinning gears and flashing energy paths will have you convinced in short order that this Hyundai will, at the very least, earn you a planet-saving merit badge.

In fact, while the Sonata hybrid is most assuredly not a full EV, Hyundai has lavished enough EV-type annoyances in its operation to make you wonder why they felt compelled to do so. For example, to "launch" this Sonata from rest requires you to select Drive from the little shift paddle affixed to the steering column, release the parking brake via a tiny switch on the center console, and then depress the throttle. In most everything I enjoy driving, this transition from rest to movement is gradually controlled by the driver's right toe. Not so here. The throttle is strictly an ON/OFF light switch which leaves you lurching from rest to launch with a discomfiting jerk. Other EV-like annoyances surfaced in the instrument cluster, where the so-called tachometer continued to read out binary numbers like "1" instead of "1000" and "3" instead of "3000." Consulting the Owner's Manual suggested this numerology could be switched to a more plausible RPM readout by jiggling a few buttons on the steering wheel. None of the manual's suggestions panned out, however, so we spent our week gazing at PRIMARY SINGLE DIGITS on the Tachometer like a child assessing building blocks in kindergarten.

Also troubling was the occluded EV-like view from the driver's seat, which made parking difficult. The sloping front fender caps and large flat hood were the culprits in this regard. Two or three times, I found I had parked the Sonata feet short of where it needed to be. Yes, it's equipped with annoying parking buzzers and confusing video diagrams, but I cherish the antiquated notion that you should be able to park by looking rather than listening.

There will be legions of supporters for the hybrid, because of its stupendous mileage, incredible (un EV-like) range, affordable base price, luxurious interior, and craftily revised exterior. But if I'm in the market for a hybrid sedan, I wouldn't put my money on one that needlessly emulates the most annoying traits of a full EV.

2024 HYUNDA SONATA HYBRID LIMITED

ENGINE: 2.0 Liter inline-4, DOHC, 16-valve + AC Motor
HORSEPOWER: 192hp (Combined)
TORQUE: 210lb.-ft.
FUEL CONSUMPTION: 44MPG City/51 MPG Highway
PRICE AS TESTED: $38,350

HYPES: Swell Exterior Redo

GRIPES: Irksome EV Style Controls

STAR RATING: 7.5 Stars out of 10

©2024 David E Colman