Hyundai Sonata SXi Concept could be in Oz in a year
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Presented to gauge interested in a possible sporty model, Hyundai unveiled its Sonata SXi concept in Sydney this week. Powered by the optional 3.3-liter V6 in stock form, the SXi features an upgraded suspension, a brake upgrade with red-painted calipers, new wheels and tires, and a very subtle body kit that add skirts to the car's flanks and rear bumper, as well as a new lip spoiler up front. A decklid spoiler rounds things out.
In front, the top part of the grille surround is now a red line (think VW GTI). The interior, which we unfortunately don't have photos of yet, features silver trim, black leather and red contrast stitching. According to Australia's drive.com.au, this car could hit the market in the next year or so.
(Additional photos after the jump)
[Source: Drive.com.au]
Hyundai Sonata SXi Concept (AU)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Hamud 3:38PM (10/26/2006)
It's just me or it looks almost the same as the Toyota Aurion, which, btw, looks exactly like the Holdens?
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menice 3:44PM (10/26/2006)
love it. go hyundai, look out copmetition.
but this is like 5-6 'Aussie' car news stories today.
what's with all the aussie info today?
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Alex Nunez 3:47PM (10/26/2006)
The Australian International Motor Show just kicked off, menice. Hence, there's plenty of news flowing from over yonder.
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judd 3:49PM (10/26/2006)
Aussie Auto show is on.
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menice 4:00PM (10/26/2006)
oh! there is the show going on, i'm a big bag of duh sometimes.
thanks guys.
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CBooker 9:22PM (10/26/2006)
Wow, that is one HOT!!! Hyundai. It's amazing how such subtle changes can take a care that looked ok. To a car that is HOT.
I hope we get this option in America.
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Jay 4:18PM (10/26/2006)
The hi-res pics don't seem to work...
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Alex Nunez 4:27PM (10/26/2006)
Fixed...
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Chris 4:37PM (10/26/2006)
That is a sharp lookin' car! It may be just another "foreign" car but who knew a Sonata could look that good.
We're not expecting German performance or American grunt but it would be nice to see these on our streets instead of the vanilla version.
When can we see a factory version in U.S. showrooms?
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CrackingtheCorn 4:43PM (10/26/2006)
#1,
It's you only.
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Lee 4:45PM (10/26/2006)
And on the latest last-gen Hyundai Accord, we're ripping- i mean, borrowing, the red grille accent from the GTI/GLI.
Proving once again that Hyundai is a world leader in automotive unoriginality.
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David F 4:45PM (10/26/2006)
#1, I think it's just you. But the current Sonata DOES look like the Camry and Accord got together for a little no-no action.
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James 9:48PM (10/26/2006)
I think this looks great - and with the value Hyundai always offers, this will be an easy decision to buy. I wouldn't mind seeing a bit more under the hood, who wouldn't pay a few grand more to pump up the horsepower to make it really sporty.
James
http://www.CarTV.com
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sb 5:30PM (10/26/2006)
so there is GTI's missing upper lip.
hmm i wonder who took whose.
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james f. 6:10PM (10/26/2006)
Alot of surprisingly tasteful mods (sans the red grille piece) especially for Hyundai. But if they want performace, and not just value, cred stateside or down under they need to bring that rwd tiburon thats been mentioned in the past.
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rdm 6:33PM (10/26/2006)
Put the 3.8 V6 in it, that would be sporty! Oh, but, that would mean treading on the Azera. Hmmm, can't do that, or can you???
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Stoneman 6:53PM (10/26/2006)
I love the design. The '06 Sonata is a really good car... compared to the previous models. It's like they (Hyundai) fired all the people who designed their old cars and brought people in from Japan who understand the nuances of style and design.
Stoneman
http://www.stonemanautoreview.com
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D Man 7:10PM (10/26/2006)
Better looking than Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. More Standard features and safety. A lot cheaper as well.
I’d buy this over the other two but I still like the Nissan Altima too much!!!
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$0.02 8:35PM (10/26/2006)
I drove behind a Sonata LX today for quite a while and was quite impressed. The car has that mid-size resemblance that many in this category possess, but an objective appraisal of this vehicle leads one to believe that Hyundai has created a very attractive design that aggressively competes in this segment. I am not sure its fair to say that Hyundai has borrowed styling cues from Honda and Toyota, rather they seem to have borrowed them from Audi. Anyone who does any reading knows that the Audi A6 was the design chosen by consumers polled. Hyundai built from there. The fact about this car is that it get top crash ratings across the board, is very affordable and impeccably reliable and performs on par with the best. Hyundai has a winner.
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Jason 8:38PM (10/26/2006)
Thats a Damn Fine Lookin' Passat!
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