Because of its radical styling, the Hyundai Sonata still looks as new as ever, but time flies and it’s already time for it to receive its mid-life facelift.
Top – facelifted grille, bottom – original grille
Hyundai has elected not to change much with the facelift, with minor updates to the front grille, wing mirrors and tail lamp design.
As even we had trouble looking for the differences at first, we’ve inserted comparison shots into this post to help you identify the old from the new. We’ve actually already seen a variation of this new tail lamp design as it was first used on the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid.
The Sonata has also received some equipment changes which include the 2.4 litre being replaced with a 2.0 litre inline-4 turbo GDI engine, but we are guessing these changes are market specific and we’re unlikely to see it implemented in Malaysia.
Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Sonata facelift.
[zenphotopress number=999 album=2425]
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oh man..less extreme..i prefer the pre-facelift sonata..more extreme loook
Another Upcoming Cat…..
They are going so fast now and dumping the Japanese behind and let them to play a catch-up… The new Camry is nowhere seen yet and the Sonata is facelifting in home country! Kudos to Hyundai!
paul, are we Malaysian’s will get all those facelifts…or just 1 or 2 parts lifted..?? especially that Homelink rearview mirror….?? how about more details/pics of any interior facelift ?
The new tail lamp looks even nicer :)
Nice tail lamp :)
2.0 GDI turbo engine, foooh….. Nice….
the front design still very overdone, not elegant at all. the Rear is nice tou…still prefer the german marques modern elegant yet sporty – well balanced design.
hyundai have done well,….you realised that you are now comparing the sonata with the germans already.
in fact to me the side profile of sonata reminds me alot of the merc CLS.
of course they still have a long way to go b4 catching up with the germans. but they have sure beaten the japs hands down.
Beaten the Japs? How could you possibly say that since ure comparing with a 2006 model Camry and 2008 model Accord? Compared to these older Jap models, yes the Koreans have beaten them in styling n specs. But buying a car is not merely the styling and specs. Its also about after sales service. Have the Koreans beaten the Japs here? Surely not. But wait for the 2012 Camry and then see if the Koreans have beaten the Japs hands down or otherwise.
” but we are guessing these changes are market specific and we’re unlikely to see it implemented in Malaysia.”
Golden golden words, it’s amazing you can sell a product and not even have to make it really good and still sell
malaysians……
any diff?????i see this this fl and fortuner fl….wow even fortuner has major fl but some guys still find this fl better and bash the other….=.=’
if toyota or proton do such minor fl i think the bashing will go long long long page…..lol…..
The strategy, i believe, is to introduce mild facelifts in periods between new model, facelift model, before ending the life cycle with a last facelift with huge discounts
despite all the great inroads, most malaysians still sticked to premium japanese in this sub 200k price range.yes of course there are koreans built on the road but who are we kidding? They are less combined altogether vs … lets say.. camry numbers alone!
Some wud say its the mentality and start blaming ‘immature’ malaysians. But actually its the koreans who leave us with these bad perceptions.
The dreadry spectra?the tank-weight carnival?ridiculous accents? Those should enough to remind all of us about the koreans. And that without looking deeper such as headlamps turn yellow,bad FC, or fantastically old fashions!
I’m not saying they are bad but what happen to our mindset is their mess to clean up.they fark things before and they shud do something to rectify these.
In the meantime, i wud be happy to stick with the accord, admire the m6,and eagerly waiting the camry
and oh, they say the forte is heavy n sip fuel like drunk drinks the JD.
If it looks like a junk, sounds like a junk and drives like a junk….Then it is a JUNK.
what’s wrong with someone trying to improve..look locally and you will find proton, just because their previous models are bad does that mean they need to give up? seriously, you are childish
I think its you who has misunderstood him. What he’s saying is absolutely right. It was the Koreans who screwed up their brand image by producing substandard cars all these years. Do they expect brand image to completely change overnight just cuz of the Kia Forte, Sonata, etc? Surely not.
The Japs created brand imaging through a long and tedious process spanning many years which is the same process the Koreans will have to undertake. So just cuz many ppl choose to remain with the Japs is the wrongdoing of previous Korean models/bad experiences.
But the Koreans are on the right track but it will take some time for ripples to become waves of change. They have done well with the Forte, Sonata, upcoming Avante and Optima. So its now all about building on these changes and improving their after sales service. Im sure in a few years, they would become a serious competitor for the Japs.
went to the korean website and checked, if i didnt read wrongly here are the engine specs
new 2.0T GDI 271ps and 37.2kg/m with 12.8km/l consumption
against
2.4 GDI 201ps and 25.5kg/m with the same 12.8km/l consumption.
lucky koreans….more power at no expensive of fuel consumption….
hhhmmmm ……
Still Ugly ….
Front is overdone, the rest is cool…
Will get one if same price as civic 1.8 !
So when proton gonna transform the perdana? …
Very cool..
They should launch the turbo version here in malaysia. I feel the current model is under-powered looks nice and sleek but no oomph