2015 HYUNDAI SONATA SPORT
Model Tested:
- 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0 Turbo (Sedan)
- 2.0 Turbo GDI Engine
- 6-Speed Automatic Transmission
- Seating Capacity: 5
- Road Test Terrain: 80% city 20% highway
During our road test of the all-new Sonata, we received the press release that the Hyundai Genesis and Sonata won the GOOD DESIGN™ Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies. And we were not surprised! Hyundai in general, but specifically the Sonata has come a long way from 10 years, and even 5 years ago. The look has changed from just another sedan to a sporty, sleek design. We were excited to get this on the road, especially with that extra turbo boost. How do we say no to Turbo, right?
Exterior Design
The Sonata was an all around great vehicle – we loved the sporty look and couldn’t get enough of it. We found ourselves giving the Sonata a second and third look. This model came equipped with sleek chrome moulding and quad exhaust outlets that finished the exterior design.
Interior Design
At first glance, the interior seemed a bit overwhelming – lots of buttons, gadgets and options! But after a settling in and taking a good look around, the entire dash was clearly laid out and felt spacious instead of crowded.
The interior continued to keep up with the sporty exterior look with alloy pedals. There was plenty of storage space, and outlets for every plug you could ever need! I am personally a fan of having a mix of touch screen and old-school knobs for volume and temperature control – it is much more intuitive while driving!
Rear passenger heated seats are becoming more common, but worth mentioning since it’s nice for backseat passengers when driving in these cold Canadian winter seasons!
Child Car Seat
The rear seats in the Sonata have pockets for the seatbelt buckles to be tucked into when not in use, which helps to keep it from interfering from child seats. On top of the LATCH anchors were plastic covers that you push down in order to access the anchor. This was a feature I hadn’t seen before, but quickly realized would make the anchor much more easily accessible. This would also prevent having to spread apart the cushions in order to reach anchor and still keeps the clean, out of sight look to the vehicle seats when not in use.
Trunk Space
The trunk was much deeper than I had expected given the exterior design. It proved spacious enough to hold all of my (last minute) Christmas shopping with ease!
There was also a convenient release in the trunk for dropping the rear seats down for a 60/40 split fold. While I didn’t have a reason to use it on my road test, it’s a convenient feature to have.
Worthy Mentionable Features
The Sonata had some features that were either new, or just so handy it deserved to be mentioned!
While I haven’t figured out the full purpose of this feature for an automatic transmission, the auto hold feature is meant to be a comfort feature for drivers. This might be useful during a long wait at a red light, for example. When engaged and at a full stop, the feature works as an extension of the parking brake to prevent the vehicle from rolling even when you’ve removed your foot from the brake pedal. To disengage, the driver presses the accelerator to move the vehicle forward.
Every once in while we have clients come in with an engine light on and are concerned about the severity of it, only to find out the gas cap wasn’t tightened properly. Many people don’t realize that this simple error will flag the engine light so I thought this visual caution on the fuel cap was helpful for drivers to know.
Another favourite feature and worth mentioning: panoramic sunroofs! They really just brighten up the sedan, and make this already spacious vehicle feel even bigger. Even on the gloomiest days!
This is definitely a vehicle that I would be interested in purchasing. Hyundai has done a good job to make sure you get the value for your money with the features, driveability and, sporty design.