2009 Hyundai Sonata GLS

The Hyundai Sonata is a great car for people who don’t care all that much about cars. That’s not a slam. I have a friend who considers his car a device for moving bicycles around. Another buddy would drive a large teapot if it promised a cheap commute. These are bright, successful guys for whom “driving dynamics” are as valuable as GPS on a squirrel (hunters excluded). These motorists deserve a decent ride. Once again, Hyundai’s stepped up to the pump with an automobile that’s so generic you expect to find it in the paper towel section of your local supermarket.

For ‘09, Hyundai squared off the Sonata’s headlights and fitted a deeper, “more aggressive” (irony alert) chrome grille. The result: a subtle shift from vaguely 80’s soap bar rental car invisibility to “what kind of car is that?” anonymity. Presuming, of course, someone actually cared enough to ask. Still, it’s a successful under-the-radar aesthetic transformation; you can no longer say the Sonata is so not a German or Japanese car. The SE sport package adds bigger five-spoke wheels and plastic effects to noticeable improvement. It pushes the car from its core competency, though.

Which is convincing occupants they own/are renting a nice car. Lexus is the name of that game and the Sonata plays it to perfection. In fact, the Hyundai’s interior design is so startlingly upmarket—and derivative—one wonders if there’s a sedan equivalent to buyers who put fake M badges on their Bimmer’s butt and steering wheel.

I repeat: the basic shapes ape the Lexian style with Frank Caliendo-ian aplomb. A chrome-like substance surrounding the center stack and gauges brightens-up the cabin to great effect, while most of the plastic surfaces are cushy and pleasant. All the buttons respond with firm precision. The Sonata offers more cubbies than a Montessori school.