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Since its introduction last year, the locally-assembled Hyundai Elantra has certainly made waves in the market with average monthly sales of 600 units. To broaden the range, Oriental-Hyundai (OH) has now added a second locally-assembled model, the Hyundai Sonata 2.0L.
A more aggressive stance
While Korean cars are much respected in the North American market, their status in the Malaysian market remains lower than that of Japanese cars. This isn’t so much to do with their engineering or quality (the latter having improved tremendously in Hyundais in the past few years) but more a case of consumer perception of a brand that has not been in the market in any significant numbers.
Thus it is the right time to launch an upmarket model like the Sonata here. To give the new model an edge, it not only carries a very attractive pricetag of between RM118,774 - RM119,653 (with insurance) but also a host of impressive technological features as standard.
High-tech package
Most of the high-tech stuff is in the powertrain with the highlight being the ‘Shiftronic 2-1 Sports Mode' transmission which offers automatic and manual shifting (sequential style).
A further advanced feature of the transmission is the HIVEC management system which optimises shifting for smoother motoring and peak performance at all times. While a number of other automatic transmissions have adaptive transmission which adjusts to the owner’s style of driving, HIVEC has a fuzzy-logic program which mimics the human brain in making decisions based on a very wide range of conditions.
With the larger number of electronic systems in the Sonata, conventional wiring would be a nightmare. To simplify things and also increase reliability, the engineers have used a Controller Area Network (CAN) connection which employs a communications bus with multiplexing that unifies signals from all the different electronic systems around the car. The concept was first used in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class about ten years ago and is now becoming popular in higher-end models of many companies.
With sales of the Elantra having turned out to be exceptionally good, OH is now optimistic that the new Sonata will also be well received and is expecting to sell almost as many each month as the smaller model. With its pricing, it is likely that not only will the obvious rivals in the same executive class face a strong challenge but also the Japanese ones in the 1.6 - 1.8 litre range. Don’t be surprised to see Hyundai becoming a major player in the non-national segment before long!
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Make & Model |
Make | | Hyundai |
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Model | | Sonata |
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Doors | | 4 |
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Passengers | | 5 |
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Price | |
Search from International price list |
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Cylinder |
Cylinder | | 2.0 DOHC |
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Bore x Stroke (mm) | | 85 x 88 |
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Displacement (cc) | | 1997 |
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Compression Ratio | | 10.0:1 |
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Torque (Nm@rpm) | | 18.1 kg.m @ 4000 |
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Power (PS@rpm) | | 133 @ 6000 |
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Dimension |
Wheelbase | | N/A |
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Length | | N/A |
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Width | | N/A |
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Height | | N/A |
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Track - Front | | N/A |
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- Rear | | N/A |
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Curb Weight (kg) | | N/A |
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Chasis & Body |
Body Material | | N/A |
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Brake | | N/A |
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Tyre - Front | | N/A |
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- Rear | | N/A |
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Wheel | | N/A |
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Suspension System | | F: Independent Double Wishbone with Coil Spring, Anti-Roll Stabilizer
R: Independent Multi-Link with Coil Spring, Anti-Roll Stabilizer
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Performance |
Top Speed (mph) | | N/A |
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0 - 60MPH | | N/A |
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0 - 100MPH | | N/A |
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Fuel Economy (litre) | | N/A |
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Transmision | | 4-Speed Automatic |
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Transmission Ratio - 1st/2nd/3rd/4th/5th/6th | | 2.842 / 1.529 / 1.000 / 0.712 / N/A / N/A |
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- final/Reverse | | 4.042 / 2.480 |
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