There is nothing that I dislike more than an unplanned stop during a journey. Be it for getting a soft drink or a chocolate bar or for something that needs to be urgently attended to…you know what I mean. But then, I would keep my left leg on the accelerator and the right leg on the clutch and drive for another couple of hours until it becomes absolutely necessary. So the only thing that can disturb me on a drive then, is the fuel tank running dry which forces me to have a pit-stop. Last week, I was all singing praises for the Honda Civic when its low fuel warning lights came on at about 440kms, just 40kms short of my destination. At this point I dismissed the thought of trying my luck further and decided to have a fill-up at the nearest station. And I pulled up at a fuel station where a million mosquitoes surrounded me and filled up their tanks as well.
Just not something that would have happened with this Hyundai Sonata Embera CRDI. Despite the big proportions, the car manages around 14.5kmpl on an average and this coupled with the 70litre tank gives it a range of about 1000kms before you need to look for a fuel station again. So it is economical and has a very good range which is great for those interstate runs when you find that all the flight tickets have been sold out. And it is fast enough to be used at times when you have missed your flight. All you have to do is find a chauffeur and sink to the backseat which is the place meant for the owner. It is on the backseat that you notice the width of the car. The front seats are so apart that they are on two edges of the road, quite literally. It is the widest car in its segment. In fact, it is wider than the Mercedes E class and even the Ford Endeavour which is one of the reasons why I said that a chauffeur would not be a bad idea.
But it is not to say that the car is not great to drive. In fact it is, once you get to a fairly empty road and get an idea of where on the road do the corners of the car lie. Then you begin to enjoy the delightfully light steering, the neutral handling and the brilliant suspension setup which despite being soft, has great levels of grip. To give you an idea of how soft the Sonata’s suspension really is, I advise you to look around (to make sure no one is watching) and press down on the boot-lid of a Sonata parked somewhere and compare the effort to the car nearby. It is almost American level of softness in its suspension and this is best experienced on the highways where it feels like an ocean-liner in serene water. The ride quality is outstanding even on bad roads and soaks up potholes like a bloating paper on ink.
One thing I like about the Sonata is its looks. It looks typically European with its Audi inspired headlights and bold shoulder line. There are splashes of chrome which adds to the elegance and the way in which the taillights and headlights complement each other at their edges is superb. The wide tail-lamp cluster and the twin exhaust pipes give the rear an unmistakable look. The engine is the same 2.0L CRDI unit in the Elantra and Tucson but has a reworked ECU that enables it to produce more power at 142bhp to cope up with the additional weight. The result is a 0-100kmph time of 11.6 seconds and a top whack of 200kmph. There is a hint of turbo-lag but this has more to do with the gearing of the car.
Coming to the interiors again, the seats are brilliant. Like the cars in its segment, only the driver gets powered seats. Finding a good driving position is quite easy with the steering wheel adjustable for reach and rake. The rear seat is wide and has acres of shoulder room and legroom and even with the tall seating position; there is a lot of headroom to spare as well. The main features include two airbags, ABS, adjustable head restraints and a cassette and CD player with a built-in subwoofer. To sum it up, this is a car that is best suited to cruising all day at triple digit speeds while being comfortable even when the road gets rough. And it is surprisingly economical for a big car, making it a better and more practical choice than the hottest selling Skoda Laura which is a segment lower and a full size smaller. This car is an opulent yet economical chauffeur driven limo and if you have to drive yourself, get the automatic which is even better.
Just not something that would have happened with this Hyundai Sonata Embera CRDI. Despite the big proportions, the car manages around 14.5kmpl on an average and this coupled with the 70litre tank gives it a range of about 1000kms before you need to look for a fuel station again. So it is economical and has a very good range which is great for those interstate runs when you find that all the flight tickets have been sold out. And it is fast enough to be used at times when you have missed your flight. All you have to do is find a chauffeur and sink to the backseat which is the place meant for the owner. It is on the backseat that you notice the width of the car. The front seats are so apart that they are on two edges of the road, quite literally. It is the widest car in its segment. In fact, it is wider than the Mercedes E class and even the Ford Endeavour which is one of the reasons why I said that a chauffeur would not be a bad idea.
But it is not to say that the car is not great to drive. In fact it is, once you get to a fairly empty road and get an idea of where on the road do the corners of the car lie. Then you begin to enjoy the delightfully light steering, the neutral handling and the brilliant suspension setup which despite being soft, has great levels of grip. To give you an idea of how soft the Sonata’s suspension really is, I advise you to look around (to make sure no one is watching) and press down on the boot-lid of a Sonata parked somewhere and compare the effort to the car nearby. It is almost American level of softness in its suspension and this is best experienced on the highways where it feels like an ocean-liner in serene water. The ride quality is outstanding even on bad roads and soaks up potholes like a bloating paper on ink.
One thing I like about the Sonata is its looks. It looks typically European with its Audi inspired headlights and bold shoulder line. There are splashes of chrome which adds to the elegance and the way in which the taillights and headlights complement each other at their edges is superb. The wide tail-lamp cluster and the twin exhaust pipes give the rear an unmistakable look. The engine is the same 2.0L CRDI unit in the Elantra and Tucson but has a reworked ECU that enables it to produce more power at 142bhp to cope up with the additional weight. The result is a 0-100kmph time of 11.6 seconds and a top whack of 200kmph. There is a hint of turbo-lag but this has more to do with the gearing of the car.
Coming to the interiors again, the seats are brilliant. Like the cars in its segment, only the driver gets powered seats. Finding a good driving position is quite easy with the steering wheel adjustable for reach and rake. The rear seat is wide and has acres of shoulder room and legroom and even with the tall seating position; there is a lot of headroom to spare as well. The main features include two airbags, ABS, adjustable head restraints and a cassette and CD player with a built-in subwoofer. To sum it up, this is a car that is best suited to cruising all day at triple digit speeds while being comfortable even when the road gets rough. And it is surprisingly economical for a big car, making it a better and more practical choice than the hottest selling Skoda Laura which is a segment lower and a full size smaller. This car is an opulent yet economical chauffeur driven limo and if you have to drive yourself, get the automatic which is even better.
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