Hyundai Motor already launched its new 8th generation Sonata on its local market and we were waiting for US-debut at New York Autoshow, but the guys at MotorTrend had the opportunity to test drive a pre-production model and also shared some photos of US-spec as well as the confirmation of the 2.5 GDi engine (as we have advanced) to be available in the US-market.
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Launched five years after the launch of the seventh-generation model in 2014, the new car enhanced Hyundai’s vehicle fleet with innovative design, the latest safety and convenience features, and new engines and platforms.
The new Sonata, which started its pre-contracts in South Korea on November 11, has received 12,223 units until recently. While for its local market its offers two 2.0-liter petrol models and two LPI models, and the 1.6 Turbo that will arrive later in the year, for the US-market Hyundai has bet for the new 2.5 Theta3 engine that delivers 190 hp (142 kw) and 180 lb-ft (245 Nm) of torque.
Hybrid/Plug-in Hybrid models will be added later this year. According to the latest reports, Hyundai plans to showcased both 1.6 Turbo (that will be closer in apparence to the US-spec on the gallery) & Hybrid models at Seoul Motor Show on the 29th of March.
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“This year, Sonata’s domestic sales target is over 70,000 units,” said Lee Kwang-guk, vice president of domestic sales at Hyundai Motor. “We will lead the revival of the shrunken domestic mid-sized sedan market.”
In 2018, Sonata sales reached 66,846 units a year. Hyundai Motor said, “The new car will start full-fledged production from April this year,” he said. “With the exception of taxi sales, the number of cars in the next nine months is not small,” he said.
The price of the new Sonata is set at 23.46 million ~ 32.89 million won for the 2.0 gasoline model and 21.4 ~ 31.7 million won for the 2.0 LPI model. Prices for the US-market are not yet confirmed.
Hyundai said, “The new Sonata is a futuristic sedan equipped with various advanced technology and innovative design to change the landscape on the road.” It will bring the hot wind of the mid-sized sedan market through the strengthened product competitiveness.
