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FIRST DRIVE  I  2020 Hyundai Sonata



        DON’T CALLIT


















          HYUNDAI BETS ON EMOTIONAL

          CONNECTION TO KEEP YOU IN

              A MIDSIZE SEDAN















































            WORDS SCOTT EVANS

                 emember sedans? They’re not dead
                 yet, though you’d be forgiven for
                 thinking so by looking at what’s
                 parked on your street. With more         an emotional one than a coldly logical one.   attributes by making the car look low and
           Rpeople making the switch to SUVs              It plays to your heart. Ideally, a car will   sleek. Thankfully, careful packaging and
            every year, Detroit’s automakers have         hook your right brain with sleek, standout    seat design have mitigated the impact on
            given up on the family sedan. But Hyundai  design and a comfortable, easy driving           rear headroom, clipping it by just 0.2 inch.
            is betting that making the 2020 Sonata        experience, then reel in your left brain      As such, Hyundai can’t claim best-in-class
            sexy, comfortable, and effortless will        with a laundry list of standard and optional  space anymore, but the Sonata’s back seat
            convince you not to defect.                   features at an aggressive price point.        is still comfortable for a 5-foot-9 adult.
              The way Hyundai tells it, the last Sonata     Solid strategy by the sound of it, but does   The design-forward strategy plays out
            was fine but kinda dull. This is, they say,    the Sonata deliver? You bet it does.          a little differently inside, emphasizing
            because they were chasing best-in-class         Design is purely subjective, but love it
            interior space at the expense of design.      or not, it’s hard to deny the Sonata looks
              Believe that if you want, but now           more conventionally attractive than the
            Hyundai product planners say leading          Accord, Camry, or Altima. Even if it’s
            the specifications charts is not enough.       not your flavor, you have to respect it for
            SUVs of equal footprint have more space       pulling no punches. This car stands out,
            by nature, so sedans need something else      and that alone is attractive.
            to pull you in. The new strategy embraces       A key piece of design is the sloping
            the idea that a car purchase is more often    roofline, which emphasizes a sedan’s best

            52  MOTORTREND.COM MARCH 2020
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