2016 HYUNDAI SONATA HYBRID Review

From the bargain-priced Accent all the way up to the luxury-minded Equus, any company underestimating the Korean automaker these days has much bigger problems on its hands. One area Hyundai has ceded to the competition in recent years is in the arena of hybrid vehicles, but that might all change with the introduction of the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.

Perhaps Hyundai has been too busy establishing itself as a leader in hydrogen fuel cell technology or maybe the automaker looked at hybrid vehicles as a niche, but even with oil and gasoline prices down to today’s low numbers, the fuel-efficient technology is still extremely important in the automotive industry.

Automakers from entry-level to high-performance are getting in on the hybrid market, and the new Sonata Hybrid shows that Hyundai is ready to get serious as well. Although the Sonata was all-new for the 2015 model year, the previous-gen Sonata Hybrid was carried over untouched, and just like the seventh-generation Sonata itself, which launched earlier this year, the new 2016 Sonata Hybrid is a vast improvement over its predecessor.

Current hybrid competitors include the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and the Sonata’s sister car, the Kia Optima. There’s also the new and more advanced Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid coming soon not to mention whatever the revised Honda Accord Hybrid brings to the table.

Equally entrenched in the efficient family sedan market is the diesel-powered Volkswagen Passat TDI. To see how serious Hyundai is about the future of hybrid technology, I recently spent a week with the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid in the top Limited trim level and topped off with the fully loaded Ultimate Package.

When the previous Sonata was launched in 2009, it had a bold and distinctive look that helped spark a design renaissance in a segment once filled with boring, inoffensive designs – it is the highest-volume car segment, after all. Thanks to a generous dose of Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture 2.0 design language, the current Sonata (both in Hybrid and non-Hybrid form) has an upscale look that ditches the quirkier lines of the previous model in favor of a more elegant body.

This bold design starts with a front end that is more expressive than the previous Sonata with squared-off edges and a more upright version of Hyundai’s signature six-sided grille. The headlights are less angular and the LED graphics look better than some expensive luxury sedans.

The roofline hasn’t changed that much (if at all), but the toned-down body creases and reshaped rear quarter windows give the new Sonata a more mature profile. Even the rear of the new Sonata has been given a more distinguished look with LED-trimmed taillights and nice exhaust finishers (including quad outlets on the turbocharged Sonata 2.0T) on the gas models.

Stepping up to the Sonata Hybrid brings numerous styling changes including new front and rear fascias, a bigger grille with active aero shutters, lower rocker panels, aero-specific wheels, rear diffuser and rear spoiler. There are also smooth underbody panels and functional lower fascia air vents that provide an “air curtain” to reduce drag.

The changes pay off when it comes to the wind tunnel with Hyundai getting the coefficient of drag down to just 0.24, which makes this design slipperier than aero-tuned hatchbacks like the original Honda Insight and the current, third-gen Toyota Prius, and it is only matched by the all-electric Tesla Model S. Just judging the 2016 Sonata Hybrid by its sheet metal alone, it is easily one of the best-looking hybrids in its class, and the same can be said for its interior, too.

I haven’t had the chance to drive any of the new 2015 Sonata models, but this decked-out Sonata Limited Hybrid with Ultimate Package is about as nice as you can find a family sedan priced under $40,000. This tester came with light-colored, perforated leather seating and it even came with heated and cooled front seats and a heated steering wheel.

Opting for the $4,500 (€4,000) Ultimate Package leaves this Hyundai feeling like a Lexus with the latest in luxury features like the panoramic roof, standard navigation system, Infinity-branded audio system and safety features like full-speed adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, forward collision warning, automatic high beam headlights and more.

On paper, the seventh-generation is a mid-size car, but get five adults in this car (or four adults and a child seat, in my case) proves to be no problem for the Sonata. The ride quality is silky smooth even while the car is being driven over pocked roads and expansion joints, and the cabin is ultra-quiet, too.

Cargo space has also been optimized on this hybrid – an area that is usually sacrificed in the name of battery placement – with 13.3 cubic feet (377 liters) of trunk space. This is three cubic feet less than the non-hybrid Sonata, but it is one of the biggest trunks among its rivals.

Not only that, the improved packaging doesn’t affect rear-passenger comfort and the placement of the battery under the cargo floor also allows for a 60/40 split rear seat. Top that off with a wider trunk opening (compared to the previous-gen Sonata), and this car is willing and able to pack up the whole family for a long-distance road trip.

Tech geeks might knock the seventh-gen Sonata for its abundance of buttons on the center stack, but I actually prefer the lack of capacitive touch controls.

On top of that, the only real changes made from Sonata to Sonata Hybrid are the gauge cluster and a hybrid display in the infotainment system. For the most part, I was a big fan of the interior, but my one gripe (and it’s a big one) is the use of the bright, glossy wood trim found throughout the cabin. Not only does it look fake (which it is) but it also reminds me of the cheap accent trim automakers used in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Aside from the vast improvements made elsewhere on the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, perhaps the most attention was paid to its drivetrain. The old 2.4-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder has been replaced by a smaller 2.0-liter direct-injected four-cylinder, and the electric motor and lithium-polymer battery have also been upgraded.

Total system output is rated at 193 horsepower (144 kW), which is a drop of 6 hp compared to the 2015 setup, but the rest of the advancements make the new Sonata Hybrid easier to drive efficiently.

Official EPA ratings for the Sonata Limited Hybrid stand at 39 mpg (6.0 l/100km) in the city and 43 mpg (5.5 l/100km) on the highway, but the less fancy, Sonata SE Hybrid weighs less and gets slightly better fuel economy to the tune of a 1-mpg improvement across the board.

If that’s not good enough, there’s also the 2016 Sonata Plug-In model, and while it will only available in select markets when it goes on sale later this year, the 58 MPGe rating and all-electric driving range of 24 miles should make it more than worth the way for environmentally minded drivers.

The most important thing to note here is that these ratings are easily attainable in real-world driving. Unlike most hybrids, the Sonata Hybrid actually gets better fuel economy on the highway helping to debunk common misconceptions that this technology is only practical in city and urban driving.

After spending a week with this car, the digital display showed that I had averaged 41.8 mpg (5.6 l/100km) in mixed driving – further proving that a non-hypermiler like myself can still get great real-world fuel economy.

My favorite part about driving the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is the lack of a rubber-banded CVT. CVTs are a necessary evil on most hybrids (and other modern cars, for that matter) in the name of maximizing fuel economy, but the Sonata Hybrid continues to utilize Hyundai’s Transmission-Mounted Electrical Device (TMED), which is a fancy way of saying a six-speed automatic that has a 51 hp (38 kW) electric motor instead of a torque converter. This gives the Sonata more direct acceleration then you’ll get from other hybrids.

Hyundai still uses brake regeneration to recapture kinetic braking energy, but it somehow managed to design the system to be more responsive.

The steering, on the other hand, is the same vague electric power steering that you’ll find in just about any modern family sedan especially a hybrid.

One solid plus for the Sonata Hybrid’s steering abilities is that the Limited trim comes with all-season, albeit narrow, Kumho Solus tires instead of agility-robbing, low-rolling tires helping the 3,560-pound (1,614 kg) hybrid feel a little livelier while cornering. Don’t get me wrong, the Sonata Hybrid isn’t exactly fun to drive (what entry-level mid-size sedan is?), but it does make it fun – and easy – to drive green.

As far as going green is concerned, Hyundai tries to help drivers do their best. As with most hybrids, the Sonata Hybrid also has a Driving Style display, but it also has a Coasting Guide Control that helps drivers squeeze out a few extra mpgs.

When decelerating at certain speeds, the Sonata Hybrid’s gauge cluster shows a little foot icon letting drivers know to take their foot off the gas to coast to a stop. Yes, this is the same annoying habit that many hypermiling Prius drivers resort to, but it does get the job done… just don’t expect to make any friends on the roadway.

Beyond its styling, fuel efficiency and comfort, the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid also packs plenty of safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) gave the new Sonata a top rating with five stars overall, and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) followed suit by naming this sedan a 2015 Top Safety Pick+. And on top of all this, Hyundai still provides one of the best vehicle warranties in the industry with a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain/hybrid warranty and a lifetime warranty on the battery pack.

Starting at $26,000 (€23,335) for the SE trim level, the 2016 model year carries over at the same price as the 2015, and it continues to be one of the lowest-priced hybrid sedans on the market.

Even the well-equipped Sonata Limited Hybrid, which starts $30,100 (€27,015), costs about $3,300 (€2,961) less than the price of a base 2015 Honda Accord Hybrid (Honda has yet to reveal pricing or details for the 2016 Accord Hybrid). All in, this 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited Hybrid with the Ultimate Package had an as-tested price of $35,765 (€32,100), which is still almost $3,000 less than a fully loaded 2016 Ford Fusion Titanium Hybrid.

As far as Hyundai has come in the last decade, it has lagged behind mainstream brands in terms of advanced, fuel-efficient vehicles like hybrids or EVs, but if the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is any indication of the future of Hyundai’s Blue Drive initiative (Hyundai’s blanket term for creating “low-carbon, fuel-efficient vehicles that minimize fuel consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions” and will apply to hybrids, plug-in hybrids, full battery electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles), then the big automakers – especially Toyota and Ford – better look out.

Not only is this Sonata Hybrid extremely efficient in just about any driving scenario, it’s also a comfortable, spacious and stylish. Even though gas prices are low and SUV sales are back on the rise, the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid helps prove that hybrid cars are no longer a novelty.