The hybrid family sedan market is a challenging, low-volume segment that’s seen the demise of hybridized cars like the Honda Accord Hybrid and Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid after just a few model years. After 2011, the Nissan Altima Hybrid is joining the great big hybrid car highway in the sky, too.
Hybrid cars aren’t big sellers. And there isn’t room for everyone in this playing field. Hyundai knows it, but they’ve just launched a gas-electric version of their new Sonata anyways.
The brand’s first-ever hybrid competes with the very much alive-and-kicking Toyota Camry and Ford Fusion hybrids. Both of these come from companies with years of hybrid sales success. Hyundai has none.
Only the best will survive here—and for the Sonata to stick around with the established competition, Hyundai would have to nail it.
Mostly on-the-ball styling
Styling mostly hits the mark. The new Sonata is a real looker, and so is the gas-electric variant with its BlueDrive badges and numerous hybrid-specific cosmetics working towards an upscale, modern and futuristic look. It’s cohesive, daring and different, even if the wheels look like a food processor’s coleslaw attachment, and the fascia resembles a guppy fish that’s gone to a rave party.
Sonata’s nicely trimmed, modern and high-utility interior with plenty of storage hits the mark, too. Good visibility, easy-to-use controls and a generous list of standard features were noted, even on the base model which stickered at about 30 grand. Push-button start, heated seats, Bluetooth and automatic climate control were all included.
There’s surprisingly ample space for four adults too, though trunk space does suffer slightly to accommodate a cutting-edge lithium polymer hybrid drive battery.
Blue Driving
Said battery powers an electric motor, which teams up with a conventional 2.4-litre gasoline engine. The gas and electric systems take turns or work together to propel the vehicle, depending on the situation. Battery recharging power is created on-board, so there’s no plugging the car in.
Hyundai says their lithium polymer battery technology leapfrogs the competition in most every measurable dimension and allows the car to run in purely-electric mode in a wide variety of situations and speeds.
Power flow between the gas and electric systems can be monitored on an instrument cluster readout, and an ‘EV’ indicator light activates when the gas engine switches off to save fuel. This occurs at stoplights, while coasting downhill, and even at highway speeds up to and beyond 120 km/h if the conditions are right.
There’s something smugly satisfying about cruising the highway without burning a drop of fuel – even if only for a moment or two before the gas engine reengages. These fuel-free periods add up over the course of every tank of fuel to trim at consumption and emissions.
And there’s no involvement required. Other than a selectable high-efficiency ‘Blue’ mode that’s engaged with a button on the steering wheel, drivers are simply left with 206 combined horsepower and much the same ride and handling characteristics as the standard Sonata.
Engineers even opted for a six-speed automatic instead of the typical CVT transmission found in most hybrid cars, meaning the Sonata Hybrid even shifts gears the way drivers will expect. It all feels very normal, except for a loose and artificial steering feel as well as oddly-calibrated brakes that are difficult to modulate and apply smoothly.
Road trips
After some 2,000 kilometres, my overall self-calculated fuel consumption landed at 6.2 L/100km. I found the figure impressive, and notably thriftier than a standard Sonata driven similarly. But many hybrid driving enthusiasts told me I should be ashamed of myself.
But I’m a born gearhead. And it turns out I should have ditched my leadfoot for this test drive. I didn’t. The BlueDrive and I had spent over 1,000 kilometres on major highways, and we weren’t doing the speed limit. Shhhh.
So, if you’ve got a more modest right foot than me (and you probably do), your figures will be far better. Even still, I proudly proclaimed to friends and family that I’d achieved small-car mileage in a big family sedan without trying to drive like a hybrid car owner.
The gearhead’s opinion
But hybrid car owners will drive like hybrid car owners. And for them, the big bonus in the Sonata Hybrid should be the periods of electric-only cruising that can occur at virtually any speed they’d care to visit.
End of the day, the wide range of ‘electric-only’ driving possibilities, even at highway speeds, mean the BlueDrive technology is working overtime to maximize fuel savings in a way drivers can see on every trip. And that’s nice when you’ve invested the extra dollars in a hybrid.
Those interested in a fuel-saving family car should check this one out, alongside the Fusion Hybrid, Camry Hybrid and some of the TDI Clean Diesel stuff from Volkswagen.
Not in the new-car market? Remember that proper maintenance and a tune-up on your older ride can slash your fuel bill and emissions, considerably, too.
