2015 Hyundai Sonata Review and Road Test

by Christian Wardlaw

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October 21, 2014

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7 min. Reading Time

2015 Hyundai Sonata Limited Symphony Silver Front Quarter Right ・ Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Don’t judge the 2015 Hyundai Sonata by its rather drab looks. If you’re buying a new midsize sedan, you need to seriously consider this car, easily one of the best in a segment crowded with excellent alternatives.

Here’s the thing, though. A typical 15-minute test drive is not going to convince you of the Sonata’s greatness. In fact, after that limited amount of exposure to the new Sonata, on a limited selection of roads, and with unlimited yakking from a salesperson during the entire drive, you might think to yourself: “Nice car, but what’s Wardlaw all worked up about?”

I piled a whole bunch of miles onto the 2015 Sonata Limited shown in the photos, far more than usual due to professional and personal trips that had me crisscrossing Southern California from the ocean to the desert. Over the course of nearly 1,000 miles of travel, what made me a believer had more to do with Hyundai’s apparently relentless effort to hone every single detail in order to make the Sonata as simple, as comfortable, and as enjoyable to live with as possible than it did anything else.

There’s plenty to be said for a family car that does everything you need and want it to, and then some. I just wish this new 2015 Sonata retained the design flair that made the previous version a standout among midsize sedans.

Models and Prices

Hyundai offers the redesigned 2015 Sonata in SE, Sport, Limited, and Sport 2.0T trim, with a new Sonata Eco model expected to arrive in showrooms soon. A Sonata Hybrid is also available, but continues as a carryover from last year.

The Sonata SE’s base price is $21,960, including a very reasonable destination charge of $810. The Sonata Sport 2.0T sits at the other end of the spectrum, and tops out at $34,910 when equipped with every option. My test vehicle is the Sonata Limited equipped with a Tech Package ($3,500 – navigation system with 8-inch screen, Infinity premium sound system with HD Radio, panoramic sunroof, Xenon HID headlights, multi-information display within gauge cluster, ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, memory for driver’s settings) and an Ultimate Package ($1,550 – adaptive cruise control with stop/start capability, rear parking sensors, automatic high-beam headlights, lane departure warning, forward collision warning).

Add a set of floor mats ($125), and the total for my Symphony Silver test car reached $32,510.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Styling and Design

From a styling standpoint, this new 2015 Sonata is not as appealing as the previous model. The outlandish styling cues that gave the old Sonata lots of personality are missing from this new one, and in Limited trim, coated in silver paint, and equipped with rather dull 17-inch aluminum wheel designs, the car is basically invisible.

No, that chrome strip along the bottom of the doors does not help. In fact, it shows every droplet of water, and if you dress the tires with Armor All, the greasy spray collects on the chrome and then easily smudges. It always looks dirty, even when the rest of the car is clean. Hyundai needs to immediately ditch that unnecessary styling cue.

I’m also not a fan of the Sonata’s new roofline, which makes the car look like a 5-door hatchback. It’s not, though if the car is going to look like one I think that it really ought to offer that extra measure of utility. Models with the Ultimate Package also have a plastic panel on the grille that houses the radar sensor for the adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning systems, and it definitely looks like an afterthought.

This new Sonata is not ugly. It’s just boring, designed to slip through the wind with as little resistance as is possible. To some degree, you can solve the snooze-inducing styling problem by choosing the performance-oriented Sport 2.0T model, but even then the changes only go so far toward making this Hyundai visually enticing.

Once you climb inside, though, you’ll find a design displaying remarkable attention to detail. From how the various components seamlessly fit together to how Hyundai renders the cabin in complimentary tones and textures, this car exudes quality and, perhaps most impressively, a level of detailed thoughtfulness that is usually reserved for 5-star hotels.

I’m not kidding. During my week with the car, I never stopped discovering new examples of how Hyundai examined every nook and cranny of the redesigned Sonata, seeking ways to make the car the best it could possibly be. As a result, nothing looks or feels like the automaker took a shortcut in order to save time or money in creating this family sedan.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Comfort and Cargo

Get into a Sonata with leather seats, and you’re likely to find both the cushioning and the upholstery of the front chairs to be firm, perhaps uncomfortably so. Spend some time in the car, though, and these seats clearly excel at delivering long-distance comfort, wrapped in cowhide designed to go the extra mile in terms of durability. Hyundai also fixed my wife’s biggest complaint about the previous version of the car by installing a height adjustable front passenger’s seat. Now, she no longer feels like she’s sitting on the floor.

Better yet, everywhere I wanted to rest an elbow was padded for extra comfort. Again, the padding was firm instead of soft, but the benefit is that your elbow doesn’t sink through it to the hard surface beneath, causing pain. That can’t be said for some of the Sonata’s competitors.

Furthermore, the leather-wrapped steering wheel is a genuine delight to hold. From the smooth leather to the shape and thickness of the wheel rim, Hyundai provides the most commonly touched thing inside of the Sonata with a decidedly upscale look and feel, and that genuinely improves driving satisfaction.

Here’s another appealing detail, especially for families with babies or small children. The Limited model’s rear side window shades keep the sun out of their little eyeballs, but inclusion of the shades only makes the lack of a rear window shade all the more obvious. Certainly, any parent with a child in a rear-facing safety seat would appreciate one of those.

In any case, the Sonata supplies lots of back seat space. The seating position is a little bit low and reclined, but thigh support is excellent, I can cross my legs without contacting the front seat backs, and the Limited model has both rear seat heaters and air vents to increase comfort levels.

The trunk is big, too, measuring 16.3 cubic-feet in size. Unfortunately, my compact folding stroller would not fit wheels first, unlike in some of the Sonata’s competitors. The rear seat backs fold down to expand cargo space, and when you’re done loading Hyundai supplies a grab handle on the inside of the lid so that you can close the trunk without touching the dirt on the outside surface.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Features and Controls

As far as interior design and layout are concerned, and as it did for the exterior design themes, Hyundai has taken a more conservative approach with the new Sonata. Here, however, the tactic improves the cabin, giving the Sonata an upscale look and feel while simultaneously improving ergonomics.

From the Blue Link connectivity and services systems to the programmable driver information display features, everything inside of the Sonata is logically located and intuitive to use, making this car a terrific daily driver. Better still, the USB charging port is now hidden behind a cover, making it less likely that a thief might break in to steal something. What I most appreciated, though, is the Sonata’s set of conventional knobs and buttons for the stereo and climate controls, reducing required interaction with the touchscreen infotainment display, thereby reducing distraction levels.

Beyond the Sonata’s simplicity, the automaker has really stepped up its game in terms of fit, finish, and quality. Nothing inside the new Sonata looks cheap or feels flimsy when used.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Safety and Ratings

Safety is another area where Hyundai has made significant improvements with the new 2015 Sonata. From the types of technology that are available to how well the car protects occupants in a collision, this revamped family sedan is firing on all cylinders.

What I appreciated most, though, is that the systems work exactly as the driver wants and expects. Blind-spot warnings are shown on the Sonata’s side mirrors where you ought to be looking while making lane changes, rather than on a dashboard screen and only for one side of the car as happens with a Honda Accord. The lane departure warning system is largely accurate and isn’t hyper sensitive, emitting warnings that get rather than grab the driver’s attention. And while the adaptive cruise control isn’t quite as smooth as the latest iteration of Subaru’s EyeSight system, it works as advertised to bring the car to a stop without the driver touching the brake pedal.

In some cars, these types of technology work overtime to identify every potential threat in as shrill a virtual voice as is possible, quickly becoming more of an irritant than a help. In the Sonata, that’s not the case.

In the event the technology fails to prevent a collision, know that the 2015 Sonata is a very safe car. Based on crash-test results from the NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), it earns a 5-star overall rating from the former, and a “Top Safety Pick” rating from the latter.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Engines and Fuel Economy

Hyundai offers three different engines for the new Sonata, and my test car had the most popular choice, a 185-horsepower, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder connected to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

If you get the Sport 2.0T, Hyundai supplies a turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder good for 60 extra horsepower and 82 more pound-feet of torque, as well as more thrilling performance. A Sonata Eco model is also coming soon, featuring a turbocharged 1.6-liter 4-cylinder engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch automated manual transmission that are designed to squeeze as many miles from each gallon of gas as is possible.

That version sounds appealing, though my test car’s average of 27.5 mpg was fairly impressive. Trouble is, most of those miles were covered on traffic-free expressways, and when cruising at speeds between 70 and 80 mph. I wasn’t anywhere close to hitting the EPA’s 37-mpg highway estimate, and missed the combined-driving estimate by 1.5 mpg.

As usual, it would appear that EPA numbers and reality are two completely different things.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Driving Impressions

With the new Sonata, Hyundai engineers sought to better balance the engines’ delivery of both horsepower and torque, and the result is what feels like improved response at all speeds even if horsepower ratings are lower than before. Beyond this greater responsiveness, though, is a remarkable degree of refinement in terms of noise, vibration, and harshness. It might be a small thing, but it helps to make the Sonata far more satisfying as a daily driver.

Not that it needs much help in that regard. In addition to making the steering wheel enjoyable to grip, Hyundai has done an admirable job of resolving my previous complaints about how sloppy and disconnected the old Sonata’s electric steering felt, and while it still isn’t quite perfect, the improvement is clearly evident.

The ride is on the firm side, but at the same time the suspension never feels woozy or weak-kneed. Instead, the car is well connected to the road, feeling solid and secure but not in a harsh way. Handling is also adept, even entertaining, though my Limited test vehicle’s 17-inch tires proved to be the limiting factor in this regard. The Sonata’s brakes also proved fade free and easy to modulate on a twisty mountain road, though testing day was cool with temperatures only reaching the high 60s.

Overall, the Sonata is quiet and refined, comfortable and secure, and if you decide to take a corner with extra speed, this car is a willing partner. Heck, a short drive in the Sport 2.0T had me thinking it might even qualify as a genuine sport sedan.

Photo by Christian Wardlaw

Final Thoughts

I am not a fan of how the new Sonata looks, especially in Limited trim. However, I am a fan of how this car drives, how comfortable and practical it is, and how easy it is to use in everyday life. Add outstanding crash-test ratings, decent fuel economy, unmatched warranty coverage, and appealing prices, and I definitely think the Sonata belongs on your family sedan shopping list.

Who knows? After awhile, you might find that the Sonata’s plentiful inner beauty is all you ever see.