First drive car review: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited, hypermiling for a point

We were honked at only once, but we were proving a hypermiling point. And anyway, by keeping our 2011 Hyundai Sonata in the far right lane of Interstate 5 south of LA and cruise control set at a still legal 52 miles per hour, and coasting in neutral on the downhills to the same speed as the other traffic, we were able to achieve a remarkable 46.1 mpg.

Perhaps it was no surprise that we won the challenge set up by Hyundai at a press event in southern California, besting our fellow journalists. We're hypercompetitive, even when hypermiling, a New Age automotive competition that doesn't feature quarter-mile elapsed times or lap times, but how many miles one can go on a gallon of gas, and usually in traffic.

Read our earlier hypermiling articles: 2010 Hyundai Prius and 2010 Lexus HS 250h.

The point that Hyundai was trying to make, of course, was that the new-from-the-ground-up 2011 Hyundai Sonata gets great gas mileage. There was no suggestion, of course, that anyone will get the kind of mileage in daily driving that we did while hypermiling. However, the 2011 Sonata earned a 23/35 mpg city/highway EPA fuel economy estimate, and the EPA test protocol doesn't permit hypermiling techniques that include overly-gentle acceleration and coasting downhill in neutral.

Several our more contrary colleagues tried to set the lowest mpg figure and recorded approximately 25 miles per gallon.

Admittedly we're remarkable drivers--everyone is at least better than average--but we wouldn't have been able to rack up our impressive numbers were it not for a number of features built into the 2011 Hyundai Sonata.

One is the new 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine with gasoline direct injection. The engine's output--at least 20 horsepower more than the four cylinder Camry, Accord, Altima, Mazda6 Fusion or Malibu-- is rated at 198 horsepower, impressive for this size of engine without turbocharging and running on regular fuel. The other cars come close to the Sonata's fuel economy but not with nearly so much power.
In addition to the direct injection, the 16-valve all-aluminum engine has dual overhead camshafts with continuously variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust, plus a variable induction system which improves engine breathing across the rev range. In short, it's as high tech--if not more so--as anything on the market today.

For the tech savvy out there, the Sonata has a "smart alternator." That simply means that the alternator--which generates electricity to keep the Sonata's battery charged, the spark plugs firing and stereo making music--charges only when the Sonata decelerates, which means less drag on the engine when the engine also pulling the car.

If that's not enough, the sportier SE trim level, which adds sport-tuned suspension, larger tires and such, also has dual exhaust that's more than just split outlets, actually adding two horsepower.

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata is available with a six-speed manual transmission in with base GLS trim level. A six-speed automatic is optional on the GLS and standard on the SE and Limited trim levels. The automatic is actually one developed and manufactured by Hyundai for Hyundai automobiles, unlike most manufacturers buy their transmissions from one of a few suppliers.

Hyundai's homegrown automatic has advances over the five-speed of the previous generation. Hyundai notes that thenewtransmission is lighter and smaller, and has fewer parts, which Hyundai claims improves its reliability--which all other things being equal, it should.

Additional improvements in the transmission are fodder for arcane tech articles for gearheads, but the six gear ratios in the new Hyundai automatic allow the engine to work in its most efficient rev range more of the time (which is why much more expensive automobile often have seven or eight speed transmissions). The transmission also has "shiftronic" manually-shiftable capability, with either the console-mounted gear selector or, in the Hyundai Sonata SE, column-mounted shift paddles.

Hyundai also justifiably brags about its Jenny Craig job on the 2011 Sonata's body, lighter than all the above competitors except the Altima. Admittedly the difference is less than an additional passenger, but an additional passenger in competitive models adds just as much weight to them. Staying svelte means an even better power-to-weight ratio which adds both acceleration and fuel economy.

The 2011 Hyundai Sonata has a low-drag body with a coefficient of drag of only 0.28. That's an enigmatic number, perhaps, but it's among the best aerodynamics among mid-size sedans--or even sports cars--and that makes another contribution particularly to highway fuel economy.

Part of the Hyundai Sonata's aero efficiency comes from a smooth underbody but of course part comes from the overall shape of the Sonata, and not only does the wind find the 2011 Sonata attractive, we like its looks as well. While most of its competitors have boring aesthetics--family cars needn't be sexy, one would think--the Sonata has an expressive design from Hyundai's Irvine, California, design center, the winner over Hyundai's Korean and European design staffs. Can I have a "USA, USA, USA"?

Pardon us if we find a bit of similarity to Mercedes' E-Class (which is not to say it was copied, as the Sonata's designed was fixed long before the E-Class went public) though with a unique Hyundai-only grille. Hyundai calls it "fluidic." We say it looks good. Actually, it's better than everything out there except maybe the Mazda6 (until it too gets that grinning Mazda grille). A novel styling feature is the chrome strip that runs from the headlights to the A-pillar along the crest of the front fender. After all, anyone can put chrome around the windows. Not everyone can put it down the front fenders.

The interior borrows spirit from Infiniti. Highly sculptured and expressive, it's not what one would expect in a family sedan. The center stack sweeps back between the seats which are well bolstered and comfortable. The Hyundai Sonata does not have the currently fashionable stitching on the dash and door panels, although to have any expectation of that particular luxury says a lot about the overall impression of the Sonata interior specifically.

Scroll down for detail photos of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited.

Which brings up the matter of price. It's an old saw that good design costs nothing. At least it doesn't cost more to assemble a good looking car than an ugly one, but the other stuff costs money, of course. So it's remarkable the Hyundai was able to bring the base Sonata GLS manual transmission in for $19,195. Our top-of-the-line 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited with Navigation Package listed for $27,395. As much as we've become accustomed to Hyundai models being a lot of icing but not much cake, it's not so with the 2011 Sonata. The icing is still there. The bakers just did a much better job with the cake.

The cake, to continue the metaphor, gets better in fall 2010 with the availability of a 2.0-liter 250-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder, followed later in the year by a hybrid model with a lithium battery. For the nonce, only 2.4-liter four is available on all trim levels, with the manual transmission available only on the base GLS model.

We didn't get cake for our hypermiling victory. We did, however, win a medal and flowers. Medals and flowers aren't standard on any 2011 Hyundai Sonata trim level, or even options--unless you can convince the local Hyundai emporium that flowers and a medal, perhaps even a podium, would close the deal. The hypermiling part, however, is up to you.

Illustration: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited. John Matras photo.

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