Category: Large Family 
Price Range: No data available
Sharp-suited looks, generous equipment, voluminous space, praiseworthy build quality
Jangling ride, lack of initial diesel option, soggy cornering, traditionally high deprecation
Faced with the twin drawbacks of being a petrol saloon in a class that favours diesel hatchbacks, the latest Sonata fights back with a crisp design, generous equipment and a keen price. Well built and spacious, it still can't shake off its unsophisticated US driving style.
This is Hyundai's fifth Sonata and the UK's fourth - not that you would have noticed. The petrol-only, saloon-only exec has always been designed primarily for Korean and American buyers, who value petrol saloons far more than we do. Hyundai themselves publicly admit the new one isn't going to set the European and UK sales charts alight.
That said, this Sonata does have a better chance than any of its previous incarnations. The biggest fillip will come next February when the sole 2.4-litre petrol engine is joined for the first time by a new 2.0-litre diesel. With 60 percent of its upper medium rivals badged with a D in 2004, that's an important launch.
The new Sonata is also much more crisply designed, finally dropping its tasteless homage to a generic Mercedes. This time the designers have looked to a much hipper rival, and one within its sightline: the Honda Accord.
And of course it's good value. On sale from May 2005 for around £17,500 you get the largest car in its class and the traditional brochure-busting spec count - including free leather. The fat lady hasn't yet sung for this Sonata.
