The Hyundai Sonata entered its eighth generation for the 2020 model year, finally completing the transformation from econobox family sedan to something that looks luxurious and sporty. In fact, at a glance, it even looks a lot like the new Audi A7 or RS7 with a slightly tweaked front end. So, do the aggressive exterior design cues, sporty proportions, and upscale appearance actually push it into a position to leave the Honda Accord and Kia Optima behind as it starts to compete with brands like Audi, BMW, and Porsche? Well, after spending a week with eh all-new Sonata, we can comfortably say it isn’t quite there yet, but it’s not far off. This is what it was like to live with the 2020 Hyundai Sonata.

2020 Hyundai Sonata Driving Impressions

In all honesty, my initial driving impression of the Hyundai Sonata was one of disappointment. Not that the Sonata is a slug on the road, but keeping up with faster traffic and merging onto the highway can take some extra encouragement via the throttle in some cases. Steering and braking aren’t bad but aren’t noteworthy, either. I felt as if there was a real lack of tactile feedback that you come to expect from cars these days, regardless of their performance credentials. Again, it wasn’t bad but wasn’t great either.

The seats are comfortable to an extent but are rather firm. The tester I was driving was relatively new, though, with less than 6,000 miles on the clock, so it really hasn’t had the chance to be broken in properly. I’m under the suspicion that the seats will get more comfortable with time. Pair those firm seats, with the firm suspension, and less than stellar roads can get annoying quickly. It’s far from uncomfortable, but you will feel bumps and impacts that cars like the Accord, for example, mask out quite a bit better. The cabin is also a bit noisy, especially at higher speeds, but it’s not loud enough to ruin your day.

Overall, the Sonata isn’t a bad car to drive, and it did grow on me over the week I spent with it, but it took some time to get past the difference between its appearance and its performance. It provides decent enough power for a family sedan, but it certainly looks like it offers more. You might like the attention that you’ll get from its looks, though, and with decent fuel economy, you won’t break the bank driving it either. In the end, the overall impression is far from disappointing, but if Hyundai managed to come up with a little more performance, we’d be much, much happier.

Powertrain and Performance

Int, the one thing that really holds the new Hyundai Sonata back, it’s a weak heart. The 2.5-liter is good for 191 horsepower and 181 pound-feet of torque, while the 1.6-liter is good for 180 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. Either engine will get you an eight-speed automatic transmission, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s also not the best in the business either.

And, that’s what brings me back to my previous point. With four-wheel independent suspension, 18-inch wheels, and a sporty appearance, the Sonata could have what it takes to compete outside its current class. But the two lackluster engine’s keep it too humble for its own good. You will get anywhere between 27 and 38 mpg depending on the engine, your driving routine, and how heavy your foot is, but you won’t get anywhere impressively fast.

2020 Hyundai Sonata vs competition specifications

How Fast is the 2020 Hyundai Sonata?

Hyundai has yet to publish any real performance times for the Sonata – with the 1.6-liter, turbocharged engine – managed to get to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds. It’s not bad for a car with 180 horsepower, but it’s much slower than it looks, and that could be a deal-breaker for some. We couldn’t test top speed during our time with the Sonata, but don’t expect to see it inch too far about the 130 mph range. It’s a family sedan, not a race car, silly.

Hyundai Sonata Fuel Economy

The Hyundai Sonata with the 1.6-liter engine is rated at 27 mpg in the city, 36 mpg on the highway, and 31 mpg combined. If you op for the 2.5-liter engine, you’ll manage 27 in the city, 37 on the highway, and 31 combined, so there’s not a major difference in fuel economy between the two engines. Compared to the Honda Accord or Kia Optima, the Sonata is either on par or a little worse off as you can see from the chart below:

Hyundai Sonata Interior Design

At a glance, the Hyundai Sonata’s interior falls in line with what you’d expect from upscale manufacturers, but that assumption doesn’t hold for too long. However, once you get past the initial impression, there are little things that you start to notice. The large infotainment display and digital instrument cluster are a huge plus here, and far beyond what you usually find at this price point, but the pleasantries start to fade off from here.

The push-button shifter, for example, is a pain and even requires extra attention to make sure that you’re in the right gear. The seats are also fairly firm and, while they weren’t exactly uncomfortable, you realize that the sporty look of the exterior doesn’t translate to sporty, comfortable seating inside. The rear seating area is rather bland with nothing to write home about outside of a fold-down center armrest. The interior, in general, gets the job done, but outside of the awesome tech, you won’t mistake the Sonata for something that sits in a more luxurious class.

Is the Hyundai Sonata Spacious?

The Hyundai Sonata is rather spacious, even beating out the Honda Accord and Kia Optima in terms of front headroom and legroom. Otherwise, it’s about on par with its main rivals. That said, the cabin is spacious enough and has enough room for occupants of all sizes, but even those of average height (in my case, 5’9), you do have to duck slighting during ingress and egress, or you will knock your melon on the roof. This could easily be solved for front passengers with better seat adjustability. Here’s how the Sonata compares to the Honda Accord and Kia Optima:

2020 Hyundai Sonata vs competition interior dimensions

Hyundai Sonata Cargo Room

The Hyundai Sonata offers decent trunk space for a model its size, with a rating of 16.3 cubic-feet. That’s just 0.4 cubic-feet shy of the Honda Accord and an impressive 2.9 cubic-feet more than the Kia Optima at 13.4 cubic-feet. Overall, you should be able to carry two larger suitcases or groceries for a week with ease.

With that said, the rear seatbacks do fold down, but the pass-through area is quite small. You could load some longer items here in a jam, but the Sonata is clearly not designed with carrying larger amounts of cargo in mind.

2020 Hyundai Sonata vs competition cargo room

Hyundai Sonata Technology

If there’s one place outside of looks that the Sonata really excels, it is in the technology department. The infotainment system is an absolute pleasure to use. It’s fast, responsive, has a decent resolution, and decent graphics, and it’s the largest screen available in this segment. Voice controls work admirably well too, with naturally spoken language being acceptable most of the time for stereo, phone, and navigation functions. Smartphone pairing worked flawlessly in our tester, but we were only able to test Apple CarPlay as we’re a bunch of Apple fanboys here. We did get to experience the widescreen CarPlay format, though, and it worked very well. Overall, the technology is very impressive and one of the more noteworthy things available in the new Sonata.

Hyundai Sonata Safety

The Hyundai Sonata comes with a decent list of semi-autonomous and autonomous safety features, but what comes standard depends primarily on your trim level, and opting for something outside of what’s offered is practically impossible. Every model includes Forward Collision-Avoidance, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Following Assist, and Driver Attention Warning, among other things. If you want more high-end features, you’ll have to move up the trim range. The full offering of safety features can be seen in the table below.

Hyundai Sonata Safety Features

2020 Hyundai Sonata – It Looks Sportier Than It Is

The short front nose and wide grille screams Audi, the corner vents scream BMW, and the hood is more muscular than we expected. The side profile is even dominated by bold body lines that are slightly curved to put an emphasis on the coupe-like roof structure. Thin concave side skirts help the sporty aura while the rear end doubles up on this feeling. The prominent taillights, built-in spoiler, and even the rear diffuser all peg this Sonata as a sports sedan.

During our time with the Sonata, we experienced a lot of confusion. Most people thought it was a luxury vehicle at first until they see the Hyundai emblem. Some even suggested that they had no idea that Hyundai built a luxury or sports sedan. As you know by now, that sporty, luxurious aura only runs skin deep, but the Sonata is a head turner – especially for a family sedan – if you don’t mind the all-show-no-go mentality.

How Big is the 2020 Hyundai Sonata

The Sonata is 192.9 inches long, 73.2 inches wide, and 56.9 inches tall. It also rides on a 111.8-inch wheelbase. To put this into perspective, it’s longer than both the Honda Accord and Kia Optima and only loses out in width by one-tenth of an inch to the Accord. It also features the longest wheelbase of the bunch, which is another slap in the face when you consider the lack of power available under the hood. In terms of garaging, the Sonata is better fitted for at least a 1.5-car garage. You can probably fit it in a larger one-car garage, but it would be a tight fit, and some might not be deep or wide enough to keep things comfortable. To see how it compares to the Accord and Optima in detail, check out the tables and charts below.

2020 Hyundai Sonata vs competition exterior dimensions

Is the Hyundai Sonata Better Than the Honda Accord?

The Honda Accord has been a continuous model in Honda’s lineup since it was introduced back in 1976, and it just entered its tenth generation for the 2018 model year. So, it’s spent two years on the market compared to the new Sonata, but that’s not enough to rule it out quite yet. In terms of turbocharged offerings, you can have a 1.5-liter four-cylinder that delivers a decent 192 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque. The standard transmission, however, is a CVT, so you’ll have to deal with that. The nice thing about the Accord, however, is that it doesn’t pretend to be a luxurious sedan or a sports sedan – it proudly proclaims that it’s a reliable family sedan that you can depend on without drawing too much attention to itself.

The interior comes off as more upscale than you’d expect. It doesn’t have the largest infotainment display now is the instrument cluster digital outside of the small TFT display between the two gauges, but the quality of materials and fit and finish comes off as a little better than what you’d expect in a $25,000 vehicle. Fuel economy beats out all the models we’ve discussed here at 30 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway, and 33 mpg combined. It’s not the funniest or most comfortable car to drive, but it does come off as more family-friendly than a lot of offerings in this segment. The entry-level Accord starts out at $24,020, and prices increase by trim level up to a maximum of $36,250 before options, taxes, and registration, among other things.

Hyundai Sonata vs Honda Accord

Read our full review on the 2020 Honda Accord.

Is the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Better Than the Kia Optima?

If you’re not aware, Hyundai and Kia are sister companies, and they quite often share powertrains, platforms, and many parts. The Optima and Sonata are practically the same vehicle with different designs (and a few other things to set them apart), but right now, the Sonata is ahead of the optima, which won’t arrive with a new design until 2021. Like the Sonata, the fifth-gen Optima will take on an overly sporty design with a real lack of performance credentials, but a performance model could be available sometime after launch.

That said, you can expect the same general interior feeling with awesome technology but other drawbacks like seat comfort and simple functions like gear selection. Pricing for the 2021 model isn’t available yet, but with the current model priced between $23,390 and $32,190, you shouldn’t expect prices to climb to aggressively for the fifth-generation model. (Note that the table below includes specs for the current Kia Optima, no the 2021 model)

Hyundai Sonata vs Kia Optima

Read our full review on the 2020 Kia Optima.