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Korea's car makers have been unabashedly frank about their lack of sophistication in engine technology and metallurgy. They've acknowledged they have some distance to make up to compete in both regards with the best of Japan and, of late, the U.S. and Europe. The all-new 2006 Hyundai Sonata marks a major step forward in the engine department and more than a couple steps forward in weight reduction.
Both of the 2006 Sonata's engines incorporate some of the latest developments in variable timing of intake valves, which achieves the dual benefits of lower emissions and higher fuel efficiency. Both engines are rated ULEV (Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle) by the Environmental Protection Agency, a first for Hyundai. The new V6 uses a variable intake system that boosts torque and makes more power available over a broader range of engine speed. Fuel economy in the four-cylinder GL with manual transmission, as estimated by the EPA, is 24 miles per gallon in the city and 34 mpg on the highway (up from last year's 22/30); the V6-powered GLS and LX are rated 20/30 (up from the '05's 19/27). And this is in a heavier car, by almost 200 pounds, and with a larger engine compared with the 2005 model. Those added pounds may seem problematic vis-a-vis Hyundai's weight-reduction hopes, but remember, the '06 Sonata is both a larger car by physical size and it's fitted with a number of added features, including vital safety upgrades.
The weight is hardly noticed from behind the wheel. What is noticeable is the state-of-the-art engine technology. Acceleration is brisk in the four-cylinder and brings a grin to the face in the V6. Hyundai officials say the V6 will turn 0-60 miles per hour times of about 7.5 seconds, with a top speed of 130 mph. Shifts are executed easily with the five-speed manual, and chirping the front tires is even easier. The Shiftronic automatic transmission moves between gears smoothly, kicking down for passing with minimal hesitation. The automatic offered responsive performance while tackling the hills of San Francisco. In manual mode, the Shiftronic will upshift automatically when the engine bumps up against redline, and it declines to downshift at all, leaving that to the driver's preferences.
Steering is light and direct, with good on-center feel and directional stability. Brakes are mostly linear, displaying little of the interference of some of the more complex EBD-equipped systems and then only in the final stages of a stop. Nevertheless, the Sonata is equipped with Electronic Brake-force Distribution, which improves stability and reduces stopping distances by balancing brake force between the front and rear tires, and anti-lock brakes, which allow the driver to maintain steering control under hard braking. The 17-inch wheel/tire combination makes its presence known on rough pavement, where the shorter sidewalls transmit more of the road's imperfections into the cabin. Wind and road noise is decently muted.
The suspension suffers more from what's best described as teething than from lack of proper geometry and components. The latter are there: double wishbones in front, multi-links in back, twin-tube gas-pressure shocks and anti-roll bars all 'round, with a larger front bar in the V6 to handle the larger engine's extra weight. But how it all works together still needs, well, work. Against the competition, which has been refining its suspension technology for much longer than Hyundai, the Sonata feels less polished, less of a whole. Not that there's anything wrong or necessarily lacking in the ride and handling, just that some of the transitions, in direction and between types and qualities of pavements, aren't as smooth as the look and feel of the Sonata promises. The front end tucks in nicely as steering is cranked in, but the car doesn't track as surely as expected. There's also the impression of poorly managed unsprung mass when the rear suspension crosses rough or broken pavement, which suggests the hard parts are a generation or two behind in the alloys used and how they're formed. Still, interstate-intensive travel, even at socially irresponsible speeds, is smooth and unruffled, which is no small achievement.
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