The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Looks Better Than It Drives

First impressions aren’t everything. Take this 2024 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. It looks great, easily the best-looking mid-size sedan out there, and its interior is both gorgeous and functionally superb. Then you drive the Sonata Hybrid. While it’s not a bad car by any stretch, it underwhelms compared to its sharply honed—if not as visually blessed—rivals.

Hyundai facelifted the Sonata for the 2024 model year with the handsome lines seen here. A single curved panel housing both 12.3-inch gauge cluster and infotainment screens highlights the Sonata’s reworked interior, while the big mechanical update is the availability of all-wheel drive for gas-powered models, barring the sporty N-Line, and this hybrid. 

That means a 150-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder paired with a 51-hp electric motor carries over for 2024. Both of which pair with a six-speed automatic transmission, unlike the system in the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry, which eschew conventional transmissions. This might sound like a benefit, but compared with its Japanese rivals, the Sonata’s hybrid system feels unrefined. 

The transition between the Sonata’s electric and gas power feels clunky to the point you wish you were just driving a conventionally powered ICE car. In the Accord and Camry, it’s the opposite. Both are so smooth, you don’t notice they’re hybrids in the first place.

At least the Sonata offers similar fuel economy to its rivals, 47 miles per gallon combined. Its 51-mpg highway rating is excellent as well, likely aided by its conventional automatic transmission. Six-hundred twenty miles of range on a full tank is seriously impressive by any standard. And aside from the powertrain clunkiness, the Sonata Hybrid is a nice thing to drive. It rides smoothly, if a little floaty over bumps. Handling isn’t quite as sharp as the new Camry’s and especially the Accord’s, yet for normal people—not car enthusiasts—it should be more than fine. 

The interior of this top-of-the-line Limited trim really is excellent. It looks and feels high-quality, and in an era where so many cars rely too much on the infotainment system to control important vehicle functions, the Sonata is no-nonsense. 

Crucially, there are actual buttons, knobs, and switches for important vehicle functions. There’s not too much configurability with the digital gauge cluster, but the graphics are clear and sharply designed. Plus, how nice is it to be in a reasonably affordable car with an interior trimmed not in dismal black or gray! 

While the Limited’s $38,350 MSRP is pretty much on par with its rivals, it is still a substantial upcharge over the $31,950 of the SEL Convenience. The Limited adds niceties like a heated steering wheel, cooled seats, leather trim, and Hyundai’s excellent Highway Driving Assist system (one of the best on the market). Yet, the SEL Convenience seems to be more than generously equipped, uh, limiting the appeal of the Limited.

The Sonata Hybrid is a good car and should provide sensible motoring for many people. It’s just that it’s up against two incredibly long-running nameplates, the Accord and Camry, which in their latest iterations are as good as they’ve ever been. The Sonata must be more than good looking to reach the top of this class, though looks certainty don’t hurt.