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Hyundai Sonata Gets Facelift for Korean Market

2012 Hyundai Sonata facelift2012 Hyundai Sonata facelift2012 Hyundai Sonata facelift2012 Hyundai Sonata facelift2012 Hyundai Sonata facelift
Hyundai’s design teams are some of the busiest in the word, in our opinion, as they are usually among the quickest to launch facelift models and usually take a year less than the competition to bring a new generation to market. The South Korean carmaker has just revealed the facelifted version of the Sonata mid-size sedan. The only catch is that it’s only for the local market.

The changes aren’t that significant to say the least. The outside sees some light cosmetic touches here and there, but the overall lines remain the same. Frankly, it will be a little bit of challenge to spot the differences if you are not big fans of Hyundai cars. The front end brings a new front grille with a bit less attitude and reduced dosages of chrome. The changes also cover LED taillights at the back, reshaped mirror casings (we really like those) and a new choice of alloy wheel designs including a set of bigger 18-inch multispoke rims.

Based on the new Korean catalogue, it looks like there will be new trim options, rear view mirror with camera, Eco button, LED spotlights on the door handle, and upgraded standard equipment throughout the range.

On the technical side of things, the Sonata bring to the Korean market a second generation version of the 2.0-liter engine that delivers 165 horsepower and is matched to a manual gearbox or an automatic transmission. For the facelifted version, the 2.4-liter naturally aspirated petrol has been replaced with a more efficient 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot rated at 271-horses.

No info is available on when or if the model would be available in the rest of the world.
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About the author: Mihnea Radu
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Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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