|
The Bottom Line: Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967. Along with its 33% owned subsidiary of Kia Motors, and its 100% owned luxury subsidiary Genesis Motors, they together comprise the Hyundai Motor Group. They have learned a thing or two in their 53 years of manufacturing, and today they are the third largest car company in the world.
Lately, the Hyundai Motor Group has been trying to reinvent the wheel. First, they earned the Motor Trend Car of the Year award with the luxury Genesis G70, next they took first place in the SUV of the Year award with the Kia Telluride. Now they are looking at winning the Best Hybrid Car of the year award with their newest entry, the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.
With hybrids it's all about the gas mileage. The benchmark in getting great gas mileage is to be over the magical mileage mark of 50 MPG miles per gallon. The new 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid has a solar roof charging panel that enables it to get up to 54 MPG in highway mileage.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid earned an EPA estimated 52 mpg in combined mileage in its Blue trim level. The new Sonata hybrid has a solar panel roof which adds extra driving range to keep the Sonata's 12 volt and hybrid batteries charged, so it can run on battery power longer, without being a plug in hybrid. How did they get more power to the batteries than all the other Hybrid's?
They developed a solar roof panel system that adds 2 miles of driving range from the Sun every 6 hours in daylight. Most hybrids get regenerative power added to the battery pack only while braking. The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid also adds electric power by regenerative braking, plus when your coasting, and then adds solar panels on the top of the car to catch the suns rays, and convert it into even more power for the batteries. More electric battery power allows using less gasoline, and then the car get's a higher MPG rating. Smart, very Smart.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata is available in SE, SEL, SEL Plus and Limited trim levels. The Hyundai Sonata prices start at $23,400 for the base SE. The SEL models are priced from $25,500 while the SEL Plus carries an MSRP of $27,450. The top of the line Limited costs just over $33,000.
Today we are going to look at the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited Edition sedan with a base price of $35,300. This price includes the solar roof panels, the hybrid battery pack, and every convenience and safety option available on a Sonata. The car has only one extra cost option on the window sticker: Carpeted Floor Mats for $155. The total MSRP manufactures suggested retail price, including the $975 destination charge, came to: $36,430.
Now on to value. Hyundai has a huge advantage over all the other car companies with its industry leading 10 year / 100,000 mile Powertrain Warranty. Then they add a 5 year / 60,000 mile New Vehicle Warranty covering the entire car, plus a class leading 10 year / 100,000 mile Hybrid System Component Warranty, and that includes the Roof Top Solar Panels. Nobody else puts roof solar panels on a car, and on top of that, they guarantee them for 10 years!
Hyundai does not stop there. Then they add a 3 year / 36,000 mile complementary maintenance program for all recommended services for free, plus a 7 year unlimited mileage anti-perforation warranty against rust damage, and follow up with a 5 year unlimited mileage roadside assistance package. That's six separate warranty packages that are included in the purchase price, all from Hyundai, at no additional charge. That's what's called value.
The car itself is all new for 2020. It is a very quite and smooth driving car. You never notice when the car goes from battery power to gas power all by itself. The transition is seamless. The drive train is a 2.0L liter Gasoline Direct Injection 4 Cylinder Hybrid engine coupled to a 39 kW kilowatt Permanent Magnet Synchronous Electric Motor.
The car has a 270V volt Lithium-Ion Polymer Battery and a Hybrid Starter Generator, with a combined Hybrid System Power rating of 192 HP horse power. It is then sent to the pavement thru a front wheel drive 6 speed automatic transmission, with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, and power select push buttons located on the center console.
The fuel economy numbers for this Hybrid are 45 MPG in city driving, 51 MPG in highway driving, and a combined average of 47 MPG overall. The Greenhouse Gas score is a remarkable 10 out of 10 best, with a 7 out of 10 best smog rating. These numbers are near perfect because the Hybrid electric motor drives the car on battery power at low speeds, without the gas engine running, and therefore has near zero gas emissions off idle.
Even when running, the gas engine scores a 7 out of 10, and that's a great smog rating. Plus it is Certified as a SULEV, a Super Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, by the EPA Environmental Protection Agency. Emissions wise, this car does very good in the neighborhood.
This is a super clean running hybrid vehicle that gets an average of 47 MPG in every day driving. The reasons to drive a hybrid used to be purely practical, then there is this 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. From the aggressive new face with its imaginative lighting, to the rear fastback styling with its exclusive spoiler, it dares to do what hybrids have never done before: STAND OUT. The car has function, style and a touch of luxury, wrapped in a fuel efficient, safe and technology loaded car, and then it earned a best of the best IIHS 5 Star Crash Rating too.
The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited Edition sedan will be a top contender in the Hybrid of the year Awards contest. To see what it means to be the best, you should take a test drive, and judge for yourself. Available for sale now, for under $36,500, and it checks all the boxes. Plus you get the worlds best and inclusive warranty, that covers the car for the next 10 years, for your total piece of mind, for free. A word to the wise is sufficient. And Stay Home, Stay Safe, and Just Breathe.
Remember “You Are What You Drive ©”
And maybe, just for those reasons alone, you should “Drive one, Buy one, Today ©”.
This Bottom Line Review is provided by: Tony Leopardo © AutoWire.Net.
"Tony the Car Guy” is an automotive writer, editor and publisher in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you have a question, or comment for Tony, send it to tonyleo@pacbell.net or visit AutoWire.Net at www.autowire.net
Column Name: You Are What You Drive - A Bottom Line Review
Topic: The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited Edition Sedan
Word Count: 1,207
Photo Caption: The 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited Edition Sedan
Photo Credits: Hyundai Internet Media
Series number: 2020 - 18
Download
the Microsoft Word version here:
2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited
Download the Original Image File here:
2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited
|
