Hyundai Sonata Bob G Edition on display at ACE 2021 – black decals, 19-inch wheels, no change in price

We’re on to the second day of the paultan.org Auto Car Expo (ACE), and one of the cars being displayed at the Hyundai booth is the curious Sonata Bob G Edition. Like the Sonata SE revealed last month, you can actually buy this customised sedan, which retails at no extra cost over the standard model.

That price tag is RM189,888 on-the-road without insurance, inclusive of a 50% reduction in the sales and service tax (SST). Essentially, you’re getting all of these goodies (quoted at RM15,000) for free, although you can still opt for the regular version if you don’t like the look. Like all Hyundai models, it comes with a five-year/300,000 km warranty.

Now, we have no idea who Bob G is, but the car is supposedly named after a Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) employee who specced it. This particular Sonata has a different look compared to the SE, dressed in White Cream instead of Flame Red with offset bonnet and bootlid stripes. The trailing edge of the bootlid has also been blacked out, just like the SE.

The accoutrements are also slightly different – the front lip spoiler is a little more aggressive with corner fins, finished in gloss black to match the unchanged side skirts and rear bumper inserts. The 19-inch alloy wheels also feature a gloss black multi-spoke design. This time around, the chrome strips around the windows and along the bonnet have been blacked out, although the “hidden” LED daytime running lights – which blend into the bonnet trim – remain in chrome, leading to a slightly disjointed look.

Mechanically, the Sonata remains unchanged. There’s a 2.5 litre Smartstream G2.5 MPI naturally-aspirated four-cylinder engine, producing 180 PS at 6,000 rpm and 232 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. Drive is sent to the front wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters.

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