After its world debut in Korea earlier this year, the all-new seventh generation Hyundai Sonata finally made its official presence in Kuala Lumpur at a launch event held at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur. Aiming in inspiring driver confidence as an important goal for the new Sonata, key improvements can be categorized into four areas – Strength, Stability, Simplicity and Detail.
“A lot of thought by Hyundai Motors’ engineers and designers have gone into producing the all-new Sonata – from tuning every sound generated by the car to match the most pleasant frequency for human ears and reconfiguring the steering wheel by 1cm to maximize the driving experience,” said Mr. Lau Yit Mun, Managing Director of Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn. Bhd.
Compared to the outgoing model, the new Sonata’s newly designed underpinnings offer 41-percent greater torsional strength and 35-percent greater bending strength. 51-percent of the Sonata’s body is made of an Advanced high strength steel (AHSS), which is twice as strong as an ordinary steel plate.
Being 35 millimetres longer and 30 millimetres wider than the previous version, rear passengers now enjoy more leg room space as well as substantial gains in internal volume. The trunk space offers 462L of room that could fit up to four golf bags and four Boston bags. The new Hyundai Sonata was also recently named as the best-in-class winner of the Midsize Sedan Challenge, conducted by experts from Cars.com, USA Today and MotorWeek.
Aside from offering luxury and comfort to the occupants, safety is also an area they have not overlooked, offering up to six airbags for the safety of the passengers. Anti-lock Brake System, Electronic Stability Control and Hillstart Assist Control are equipped as standard in all variants. An Audio Visual Navigator entertainment hub, available in the Elegance and Executive variants are powered by an Android 4.4.2 operating system that can be accessed via the touchscreen display panel fitted.
Powering this new Sonata is a 2.0-liter MPi engine that is rated at 154PS and 195Nm of torque and all the power is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. Offered in three different variants, the new Sonata is priced at RM 138,888 (Elegance B), RM 145,388 (Elegance), and RM 153,388 (Executive). All prices stated are OTR excluding insurance and road tax.
