2006 Hyundai Sonata New Car Buyer's Guide

What's New for the 2006 Hyundai Sonata?
Hyundai has significantly reworked and improved its midsize Sonata family sedan this year. Designed specifically for the American market, the new Sonata features taut exterior styling, a roomier interior, powerful new engines, and additional luxury and safety feature content. The new car is larger than it was before, and much of the extra size has been used to provide more space for passengers and luggage. Interior dimensions, such as legroom and trunk space, are now equal to or better than some of the best family sedans available. Three trim levels are offered: GL, GLS and LX. The GL and GLS come with a 162-horsepower, 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine. Its power is applied to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission (available on the GL only) or a five-speed automatic. For more power, there's a 237-hp, 3.3-liter V6. It's optional for the GLS and standard on LX cars and can only be had with the five-speed auto. Standard features on all three trim levels are extensive. Base-level GL buyers won't be disappointed as it comes with items like heated outside mirrors, power windows, air conditioning, cruise control, keyless entry, and MP3-capable audio. The GLS is similar but allows access to some optional features like a sunroof and a power driver's seat. The luxury-oriented LX adds leather seating, heated front seats, automatic climate control and an optional premium audio system. All three trims come packed with safety equipment, which includes four-wheel-disc brakes with ABS, traction control, stability control, front side airbags and head-protecting side curtain airbags. As one might expect, pricing has risen slightly. The Sonata is still a couple thousand dollars less than most competing family sedans, though.

Advantages of the 2006 Hyundai Sonata:

• Roomy and quiet interior
• Many standard safety features
• Attractive price

Objections to the 2006 Hyundai Sonata:

• Interior materials are a bit dowdy

Editor's Advice:
In years past, the Hyundai Sonata has sat in the shadows of more well known – and better – family sedans. That changes for 2006. This new Sonata doesn't do anything dramatic, nor does it introduce any revolutionary features. But it's a big step forward and matches up very well with the two heavyweights, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. It's still a little shy on refinement but its lower price should compensate. We certainly recommend taking a look at the new Sonata. Our only pause for thought might be the chance for initial quality problems associated with the first year's production run; this is the first car to come out of Hyundai's new Montgomery, Alabama auto plant.