Numbers first. Zero to 60 kph in 3.9 seconds. 100 kph in 7.9 seconds. Top whack of 215 kph. Like what you just read? Now brace yourself so that you don't fall off your chair, because those numbers were returned by a Hyundai. And we are not talking about the new Tuscani coupe endowed with a V6 engine.
Actually, as part of an elaborate scheme to have fun, we drove the Hyundai coupe with an auto'box around a race track, and the poor thing was not as quick nor as fast as the four-door sedan you see on these pages. Sure, the coupe had more cornering grip thanks to a sporty, sorted-out chassis and better rubber, but that is another story for another day.
The point here is, the new Sonata is fun to drive! Now that you have fallen off that chair and broken an arm, read on. Well, it certainly is fun to drive compared to the last generation Sonata which came close to fishing boats in terms of ride quality and handling. Really, this new car could have been badged a Nissan, a Toyota or – this is almost treading into sacred territory – even a Honda. And we would have given it a distinction without even a proper test. Since it is a Hyundai and since I am still sceptical of LG washing machines, I decided to drive the wheels off a new car that rolled out of the Indian plant to find out.
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