Hyundai teases refreshed Sonata in sporty sketches
And the sketches debuted on Facebook, of all places.
Leave it to automakers to know how to appeal to 21st-century buyers. The first teasers for a refreshed Sonata sedan have appeared -- on Facebook.
Hyundai Motor Group's Facebook page posted two sketches of the upcoming Sonata sedan, which will undergo a mild refresh some time later this year. The sketches trace the evolution of the Korean family sedan over the past two generations, and the new one picks up some familiar design touches.
With an angrier Camry on the way, Hyundai will need to amp up its design, and I think it's succeeded here.
The grille has expanded, its hexagonal maw stretching down to the bottom of the front bumper. The headlights are a bit sleeker, and underneath them are some very sharp air intakes -- on the 2.0T model sketch, they get even more aggressive.
Out back, the changes are even more apparent. The headlights pick up more of a triangular shape, and the trunk lid's spoiler lip seems to swell a bit. The Sonata 2.0T sketch gets properly angry with a rear diffuser and quad tailpipes, along with darker taillights.
The evolution brings the Sonata in line with Hyundai's most recent offerings, specifically the Elantra. Of course, it's likely that the production version will tone some of these angles down, but on the whole, the new Sonata should be sleeker than before.
Nobody's quite sure when the new Sonata will debut, or what sort of powertrain upgrades will come along for the ride. Our friends at Motor1 point to rumors of a beefier, 260-horsepower engine on the Sonata 2.0T. The new Sonata could arrive as early as the New York Auto Show in April, but odds are Hyundai will throw out a few more teasers with more info before any proper debut.
I don't think the "Sonata" badge on the trunk is nearly large enough. (Just kidding. I hate large badges.)