2021 Hyundai Sonata pricing and specs detailed: Toyota Camry and Mazda 6 rival goes big on sporty styling

Hyundai’s new mid-size sedan will land in Australian showrooms in the middle of the year, offered in a single highly-specified grade that skews towards sportiness and styling.

Priced at $50,990 before on-road costs, the point of entry to the new Sonata range has jumped up $20,000 compared with 2019’s Active grade, though is only up $5500 when compared with the discontinued higher-specced Premium.

The new Sonata is available only in one grade – N-Line – which is powered by a 2.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, punching out 213kW/422Nm to the front wheels.

Paired with an eight-speed wet-dual-clutch automatic transmission, the Sonata N-Line could go toe-to-toe against the likes of the 180kW/370Nm Skoda Octavia RS and 170kW/420Nm Mazda6 with turbocharged engine.

In fact, in the sub-$60,000 mid-size sedan segment, the Sonata will be the powerful car in its class once the V6-powered Toyota Camry gets axed with the incoming facelift.

Hyundai has even added a launch control function “to achieve optimal acceleration from a standstill through modulating the control of the engine and transmission”, though is yet to reveal how quickly the Sonata N-Line can accelerate to the 100km/h.

As with most Hyundai models, the Sonata has undergone local suspension tuning to ensure optimal comfort on Australian roads.

The Sonata N-Line matches its beefy engine with a sports bodykit, 19-inch alloy wheels and LED lighting all round, as well as the coupe-like body work with steeply raked roofline and massive front grille.

Inside, buyers are treated to a Nappa leather and Suede-trimmed interior, while analogue instrumentation is replaced with a 12.3-inch high-definition screen.

Handling multimedia duties is a 10.25-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, with audio outputted to a 12-speaker Bose sound system.

Other notable features include heated and cooled front seats with power adjustment, heated outboard rear seats, dual-zone climate control, panoramic glass sunroof, head-up display, and wireless smartphone charger.

The Sonata also boasts Hyundai’s SmartSense safety suite, which includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, driver attention alert and blind-spot monitoring, as well rear cross-traffic alert, six airbags, automatic high beams, adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist.

As standard, the Sonata is finished in a ‘White Cream’ colour, but ‘Hampton Grey’, ‘Flame Red’ and ‘Midnight Black’ are available as a $595 option – the only option available to Hyundai’s new mid-size sedan.

Like all new Hyundai models, the Sonata N-Line comes with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty with 12 months roadside assist.