2018 Hyundai Sonata
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The Sonata, Hyundai’s midsize sedan, slots in between the budget Elantra and the luxury-focused, although recently dropped in the US, Azera. It’s available in SE, SEL, Sport and Limited trim with a naturally aspirated 2.4-liter engine, but I spent my time in the more powerful 2.0-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine, which is only available in the Sport and Limited trims.
Every trim level of the new Sonata comes standard with Blind Spot Detection, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Lane Change Assistant. A new lane keep assist technology is standard on the Limited 2.0T trim, and available on the SEL and Limited trims. The system gently steers the car back into the lane if you drift outside the markers without signaling. It’s so gentle it’s tough to feel it working, yet it slides the car back into proper position on the road.
Hyundai’s adaptive cruise control functions well in stop-and-go traffic, bringing the Sonata to a full stop behind a lead car and taking off again after a brief pause. This feature, as well as emergency automatic braking, has the same availability as the lane keep assist technology. If you want driver’s aids standard you should look at sedans from Honda, which makes these features standard on all trims save for the base model. Toyota does one better, offering this technology standard across all trim lines of the new 2018 Camry.
Hyundai’s excellent Blue Link infotainment system is displayed on a 7-inch touchscreen standard, although an 8-inch screen is optional. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, but the former was somewhat glitchy for me. At first Apple CarPlay would only read incoming text messages through my phone, not the car’s speakers. However, after plugging and unplugging the phone, the problem fixed itself.
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