New Hyundai Sonata grows into a large contender

So it’s taken a while, but Hyundai is in the big leagues now. There is rife evidence of this in its sales numbers, reliability ratings and general awareness, but the most telling indicator to us, perhaps, is that Hyundai no longer feels the need to overdesign or mimic other automobile designs as if to say, “Look, we can build good cars, too!”

Hyundai can do its own thing now — and the new 2015 Sonata, making its U.S. debut at the New York auto show, is all the proof we need.

The 2015 Sonata is the second production Hyundai, following the slick new 2015 Genesis luxury sedan, to don the company’s “Fluidic Sculpture 2.0” design look. The follow-up act seems to contain a lot less fluid, and a lot more angles from nose to tail. It’s a handsomer car now, if a bit more mundane, with its hexagonal grille, front fascia garnishes, and predatory headlamps the LED DRLs lining the inner and upper edges. A panorama roof remains optional, while the new back end is taller, if rather featureless, save for its high-set LED taillamps, and on some models, sassy quad tailpipes. However less head-turning it may be, the Sonata looks more comfortable in its own skin.