Sadly, to build many battery-enhanced hybrids, automakers have to strip out weight to fit in that necessary power pack. As a result, hybrids often feel tinny and flimsy — like overgrown golf carts. Sure, you’ll get that mileage you’re looking for — but often at the price of a lifeless, numb and spongy ride in a car that feels like it might crinkle up if too large a Blue Bottle smacks your fender.
Hyundai has gone away from that minimalist, stripped down feel with the latest Sonata Hybrid – a fuel-responsible vehicle that drives like a proper car with enough weight and precision to be both substantial and reassuring.
The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid on display along with its sisters at CIAS 2014 remains one of the most refined and substantial alternative vehicles I’ve tested, rivaled by various (and more expensive) Lexus hybrids and the Ford Fusion Energi (a plug-in). With a price point between $26,000 and $30,000 or so (depending on trim level), the Sonata delivers up to 40 mpg with all of the comfort and technological options of the standard Sonata.
The feel behind the wheel is meaty, yet exacting. The steering is responsive, and the acceleration on-call and more than adequate. No one will mistake this for a performance car by any means, but — when you get into a hybrid fearing a n airy ride wrapped in tin foil — this Sonata surprises you with its 200-ish horsepower oomph.
Hyundai continues to muscle its way into direct competition with some of Japan’s biggest automakers. With the Sonata Hybrid, the automaker is challenging those same rival companies to put a bit more muscle in their hybrid designs.
