While Hyundai isn’t ready to officially unveil their all-new Sonata, someone had a different opinion snagging a handful of images of the production model from what appears to be the factory floor.
Granted, these pictures from the Sonata XF forums in Korea (thanks to 강제헌 for sharing!) are not the best quality, but we’ll take them, as they give us a first undisguised look at the front and rear ends as well as a peek inside.
Korean officials have been promising us for some time now that the new Sonata “will make a big statement”. In fact, in an interview with Motortrend earlier this month, SangYup Lee, head of the Hyundai Global Design Center in Namyang, Korea, said that he thinks new 8th-gen model’s design will have the same impact as the coupe-style 2011 Sonata.
‘Le Fil Rouge’ influences
We’ll have to wait and see if Lee’s claims hold true, but the pictures do suggest that the 2020 Sonata will have a more distinct and aggressive styling than the soberly-styled 7th-gen car.
It’s also evident that the new mid-size sedan carries styling cues from Hyundai’s well-received ‘Le Fil Rouge’ concept from last year’s Geneva Motor Show, but as is usually the case when it comes to production cars, the execution leaves much to be desired.
Maybe it’s just us, but we also couldn’t help notice that the rear end has a Civic sedan vibe to it, at least as far as the lobster claw tail lamps are concerned.
Also Read: What’s With All The Lobster Claw Taillights These Days?
More premium inside
We only get a glimpse of the new Sonata’s interior with the center console that looks more upscale than the current model, but Hyundai has been steadily improving the quality, both perceived and measured, of its cabins with each new generation it launches, and we expect the trend to continue.
What about powertrains?
There’s a good chance that the 2020 model will soldier on in North America with either the same or improved versions of the current car’s 245hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four, alongside the 185hp 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four and the 193hp 2.0L hybrid and 202hp plug-in hybrid options, but we don’t have any concrete information about Hyundai’s plans yet.
We’ve heard rumors of Hyundai applying a performance N treatment to the new Sonata with their new 2.5-liter turbo, though we’re not so sure there’s a market for such a model. A specced out N Line model with visual and chassis upgrades sounds like a more reasonable option.
Debut in New York
In all likelihood, we will see the first official pictures of the Korean-market 2020 Sonata coming out in the next few weeks, with the North American model to be fully-revealed at the New York Auto Show in April.
One more thing is that it seems we were right to suspect that the European i40 successor we spied last summer (pictured above) will be the same car as the 8th gen Sonata. Given Hyundai’s absence in Geneva, the Euro model could debut in Frankfurt this fall.