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"         Hyundai has been on a roll of late. Last year the sedan won the North American Car of the Year award, and at the same time the Korean automaker&amp;#039;s U.S. market share grew to an all-time high of 4.2 percent. Now Hyundai&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Fluidic Sculpture&amp;quot; design language, first seen on the SUV, has found its way to the all-new (and chrome-happy) Sonata, the visual and tactile elements of which help it easily stand out from the midsize crowd. Designer Andre Hudson, from the Hyundai Design Center in Irvine, California, talks of &amp;quot;a sculpting quality to every aspect of the car.&amp;quot; Hudson said he wants owners to feel the car&amp;#039;s numerous creases as they wash the sixth-generation Sonata by hand.   Motor America President and CEO, John Krafcik, is proud of the Sonata&amp;#039;s best-in-class fuel mileage (24/35 manual; 22/35 automatic), as well as its best-in-class standard horsepower and torque (more on those last two later). But the number Krafcik is most proud of is 3199. As in pounds. Due to extensive use of ultra-high-strength steel, the new Sonata is 130 lb. lighter than the out-going model, despite being 0.9 in. longer.   A big change for 2011 is the lack of a V-6 option. But as the Theta II 2.4-liter GDI (gasoline direct injection) 4-cylinder produces 198 bhp and 184 lb.-ft. of torque, maybe those two extra cylinders aren&amp;#039;t needed. Equipped with Dual Continuously Variable Valve Timing (DCVVT), the Theta II is smooth and quiet for a 4-cylinder, and in most settings provides ample power. It was only on a run up twisty Palomar mountain with three people on board that the engine felt overmatched. In this instance, a V-6 would&amp;#039;ve been appreciated, or better yet, a turbo-4 (good news\u2014Hyundai will unveil a 4-cylinder Sonata turbo with &amp;quot;over 250 bhp,&amp;quot; as well as a hybrid version, at the New York Auto Show in April).   Aiding the driveability and ability to achieve exemplary fuel mileage are its 6-speed transmissions\u2014either manual or automatic (of note, Hyundai expects only about 2 percent to be ordered with the manual). The automatic was designed in-house, and Hyundai says it is 26.5 lb. lighter than the 5-speed it replaces. Shifts are nice and smooth, and due to the lever&amp;#039;s close proximity to the driver, it&amp;#039;s easy to operate in the sequential manual-shift function (unfortunately, it doesn&amp;#039;t blip the throttle on downshifts).   During that same run up Palomar, the Sonata also showed that it&amp;#039;s definitely not a sports sedan. While it didn&amp;#039;t exhibit any truly bad traits, the soft suspension and low-rolling-resistance/low-grip Kumho all-season tires mean it&amp;#039;s not what you would call a precise machine\u2014but then, it&amp;#039;s not intended as such. The steering, incidentally, provides better than expected feel for an electric-assist system.   Had I been in the Sonata SE model on Palomar, things would&amp;#039;ve been different, as that version features a sport suspension with a 20-percent increase in roll stiffness, tighter steering calibration, 18-in. alloy wheels with stickier all-season Hankook Optimo tires, a whopping two extra bhp (thanks to a dual exhaust) and paddle shifters.   The Sonata&amp;#039;s comfortable interior almost matches the exterior in terms of stylish design. The instruments and &amp;quot;flow-through&amp;quot; center console could easily reside in a higher-segment car, and the quality of the materials doesn&amp;#039;t disappoint. Hyundai says it &amp;quot;nestled&amp;quot; the rear passengers down to gain back some of the head room lost to the sloping roofline, and we can report head clearance is adequate. As with the , the Sonata&amp;#039;s generous interior room means the EPA actually classifies it as Large, even though it competes in the midsize segment.   The Alabama-built Sonata starts at $19,195 (add $1000 for the automatic). In the past you might have considered a Sonata for its low price, good fuel mileage and top-notch warranty. All of those aspects still exist with this excellent redesign; only now, your main reason for purchasing a Sonata might be its newfound style. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/first-drives/reviews/a3527/2011-hyundai-sonata-3/>