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2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid (photos)

Hyundai's new Sonata has been very successful, a good combination of design and cabin electronics for the midsize market. But now the sedan gets a hybrid power train, boosting fuel economy into the mid-30s.

Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham
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Hyundai has grand designs for the Sonata. In the high-volume midsize sedan market, Hyundai is offering the Sonata with a 2.4-liter engine, with a 2-liter turbocharged engine, and in this hybrid version, featuring a 2.4-liter engine complemented by an electric drive motor and lithium ion battery pack.

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Beyond some labeling, the Sonata Hybrid does not look much different from the base Sonata. The attractive design uses many swooping lines, giving the car a modern, space-age look.

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The 2.4-liter engine and electric motor combine to give the Sonata Hybrid 206 horsepower, ample for most people.

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The cabin compartment is roomy, with plenty of room for front passengers and decent leg space in back.

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A standard glass roof makes for two sunroof openings in the cabin: one over the front seats and one over the rear.

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The suspension is tuned soft, which doesn't give the Sonata Hybrid much in the way of cornering capability, but adds to ride comfort.

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The trunk is slightly compromised by the 100-pound lithium ion battery pack. But Hyundai still manages to fit a pass-through.

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The cabin tech suite comes in a single, $5,000 package, bringing in a very good navigation system, an excellent-sounding Infinity audio, many audio sources, and a Bluetooth phone system.

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An electric-power-steering system is well-tuned in this car, keeping boost balanced for road feel.

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A button at the bottom right of the steering wheel activates Blue Drive, the car's economy mode.

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The instrument cluster display uses full color, but only shows trip information, lacking displays for audio, phone, or route guidance.

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The Sonata Hybrid has a six-speed automatic transmission, which includes a manual mode.

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The infotainment system uses a set of buttons and a volume knob just below the responsive touch-screen LCD.

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The car generates an Eco score depending on how efficiently you drive. The better the score, the greener the earth graphic becomes.

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The navigation system only shows 2D maps, but it does include a traffic overlay.

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Weather forecast information comes in through a satellite feed.

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The Bluetooth audio-streaming interface is very basic, although that is more a limitation of the Bluetooth specification.

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The stereo plays MP3 tracks off a USB drive or connected iPod.

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The premium Infinity audio system that comes with the car's tech package delivers very detailed, well-balanced music reproduction.

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The phone interface looks a little busy, but the keypad is nice. It also has an interface for the phone's contact list.

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A backup camera includes trajectory lines and distance indicators.

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