 Hey guys, welcome back to another one. If you are new to the channel, I am Bill Pony as a new car truck SUV reviews on YouTube. And today we are in the new 2021 Hyundai Sonata courtesy of Jack G Mbalvo Hyundai in York PA for more information on their inventory. Please feel free to check out the link in the description box below. And so obviously I wanted to check this one out not only because I do own a 2020 Hyundai Sonata but there are a couple of new changes for the 2021 model year. Also of course you have America's best warranty with all Hyundai's being five years, 60,000 mile bumper to bumper, 10 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. And on top of that, Hyundai now starting this year gives you three years of complimentary maintenance as well. So therefore you don't have to pay for the oil changes or the tire rotations, things like that for the first three years, which is definitely a big perk as well to help you save a little bit of money there too. So having said all of that, what do you guys say? Let's just go ahead and jump right into it. And as always, let's start with pricing. And so as expected, there are several different trim levels for the 2021 Sonata, first one being the SE starting at $23,600, SEL for $25,700, SEL plus, which is the one I own for $28,200. And lastly, the limited, which is the one we have today starting at $33,850. And so then when it comes to the power plant of the Sonata, there's actually two different engine configurations for this one. The first one belonging to the SE trim and SEL trims, and that is going to be a 2.5 liter direct injected inline four cylinder. This one puts out 191 horsepower at 6,100 RPM, 181 pound feet of torque available at 4,000 RPM, power sent to the front wheels through an eight speed automatic producing a zero to 60 time coming in at approximately 7.9 seconds with MPG numbers coming in at 28 in the city, 38 highway taking regular on the defuel. But so then there is the other engine configuration belonging to the SEL plus and limited that we have today. This one is going to be a 1.6 liter turbocharged inline four cylinder putting out 180 horsepower at 5,500 RPM, 195 pound feet of torque available from the power band 1,500 to 4,500 RPM. Once again, power sent to the front wheels through an eight speed automatic with paddle shifters. And the paddle shifters do have a very smooth feel to them as well. Sometimes they're just simply black plastic and that's boring, but I do like the paddle shifters on the Sonata. I will say that zero to 60 time for this engine configuration coming in at 7.3 seconds with MPG numbers coming in at 27 in the city, 37 on the highway taking regular unleaded fuel. However, I will say on my drive here on my 15 to 20 mile drive here to Jack G and bubble Hyundai, I did average 41.1 miles per gallon. So if you're doing mainly highway driving like I was, you can certainly get a little bit higher than that projected number there. So I wanted to mention that as well. But before we do the paddle shifter test or acceleration test here in our Sonata, I did want to mention there are some driving modes that do come standard on this one as well. And that driving mode kind of toggle switch is located just behind the drive buttons there. And they will include eco, comfort, sport and custom adjusting things like the shift points, the throttle response, the steering sensitivity of my favorite, the gauge cluster. At least if you go with the digital gauge cluster and I'll get more into that later in the video, but I will say if you put it in that sport mode, the gauge cluster does kind of this explosion kind of look and then it goes to all red. It's super cool. One of the coolest gauge clusters out there, if you ask me. It's open having said all that, what do you guys say? Let's go ahead and put it in that sport driving mode and let's find it straight away. And let's see how quickly these paddle shifters we have here are going to react for us. Here we go. There is a slight, there's definitely a delay. I'm not going to say it's a slight delay. There's definitely a delay when it comes to the paddle shifter. However, I will say when I hit the acceleration there, I like how the gauges on the RPM side of things are going backwards. Then the typical tachometer would be going clockwise. This one actually goes counterclockwise. So I think that's pretty cool. But anyways, to take it out of that full manual shift mode, just hit the D button or the drive button once again and that gives control back to the Sonata. And having said that, let's find yet another straightaway and let's do a quick little acceleration test here and see how quickly the Sonata here can get us up to speed. All right, slight uphill acceleration, but here we go. There it is. All right, so once you gain traction and it is kind of a misty wet morning here, definitely plenty of an acceleration. I've experienced that in my own SEL plus term level as well. It's the same engine configuration. Definitely plenty of an acceleration for the Sonata without a doubt. You do get a little bit of torque steer if you are starting up from a dead stop. I will say that. I think it's a decent amount of power being sent to just the front wheel. So having said that, I wouldn't have minded it. All-wheel drive system, putting all that power to the ground, but still plenty of an acceleration for merging onto the highway or anything like that. But to go along with that acceleration, as always, braking is equally important. And so upfront, you will find 12-inch ventilated front discs. In the back, 11.8-inch solid rear disc. When it comes to that 60-zero stopping distance, that is going to come in at 121 feet, which is definitely respectable. A lot of stands come in in the mid 120s or even upper 120s. So 121 feet is perfectly fine for the Sonata when it comes to the braking feel. Brakes actually do bite quite well. So definitely no issues with any brake pedal delay or anything like that. I've been perfectly fine with the braking feel on this thing. Touching on suspension and handling. Up front, you're going to get a McPherson strut front suspension. In the back, independent multi-link rear suspension. As far as the steering feel goes, it is kind of a night and day difference dependent upon which driving mode that you put it in. I'll put it that way. For instance, if you put it in the sport driving mode, the steering feel is noticeably weightier. So it's a lot better feeling of being in control of the vehicle points you in the direction that you want to go a heck of a lot better than in a comfort driving mode, I will say that. But also, if you did it with the acceleration to go with that better steering feel, in my opinion, you can actually tailor the custom driving mode to just make the steering feel a little bit weightier and make the acceleration in comfort mode. So you can kind of mix and match there with that custom driving mode. And that's typically what I do in my own personal Hyundai Sonata because I don't necessarily need all that constant acceleration, but I do always want that heavier steering feel. We'll say that. So that's what I do. But anyways, as far as ride quality goes, it's not the very best that I've tested, but it's certainly not bad. It's pretty much as expected for the Hyundai Sonata. So no issues there for me either. When it comes to cabin noise, I will say once you hit about 50 miles per hour, you get a little bit of wind noise coming into the cabin. But again, it's nothing to really annoy you or anything like that. It's pretty much as expected. Not quite as quiet as some of its competitors, certainly not as quiet as Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis. But still I did want to mention it is there slightly at higher speeds, but other than that, you're perfectly fine. Then touching on visibility, you can definitely see perfectly fine out the back. Absolutely no issues whatsoever when it comes to visibility. You're usually not going to run into that incidence anyways, but I do want to mention in addition to that, along those lines, I am looking at a head up display right now, which is pretty freaking cool. That is going to come on the limited trim level only. And that is going to project your speed, speed limit and safety features up on your windshield, once again, assisting with visibility. So you're less likely to get into an accident. Better help keep your eyes on the road at all times. So that is pretty darn cold as well in my opinion. But that about rounds out the performance segment of this review, you guys. Let's now go ahead and take a look at the exterior of this beautiful 2021 Hyundai Sonata. All right, so here she is, you guys. The new 2021 Hyundai Sonata finished in Hampton Gray. The only color that may be better than this is glowing yellow, but Hampton Gray is definitely one of the best colors on the Hyundai Sonata. But anyways, let's go ahead and start up front on this one. First thing I wanted to mention is the front fascia is going to differ slightly amongst the trim levels. For example, you will find a body color front lip with a chrome horizontal bar. If you were to go with the SE trim level gloss black front lip with the gloss black front grill. If you were to go with the SEL trim level and up, LED headlights actually coming standard on every single trim level across the board. And of course they will come with the automatic feature as well, meaning when it starts to get dark out at night, they will turn on automatically for you there. Automatic high beams also coming standard across the board along with LED daytime running lights as well. And that's one of the coolest things about this Sonata. Let me show you guys the LED daytime running lights. You can see they're at the bottom portion of the headlight there, but then when they come around they actually go up onto the hood and then slowly fade out. It's a very unique, very original design that you don't see on any other car out there right now. So that's definitely one of the things I love about the Hyundai Sonata. It definitely differentiates itself from the competitors in the segment just because of that alone. Anyways, you guys can see down towards the bottom there you do have some front air curtains helping direct air around the wheel. The tire combination, little better aerodynamics there. And yet another cool feature that kind of gets overlooked with the Sonata is it does have a very low hood line. It will say that kind of makes for a more aggressive appearance up front. So love the front end. And when I say front fascia at the beginning it's gonna differentiate. You see that gloss black front lip there? That is going to be on the limited SEL and SEL plus trim levels. However, you're gonna get that body color front lip with a chrome horizontal bar going across the front. It doesn't look as aggressive as this particular setup but it is gonna differ slightly. So I wanted to mention that. But now let's go ahead and make our way to the side of the Sonata now. All right, so once again I've climbed in the woods for you guys to get a little better shot of the side profile of this one. Chrome windows surrounds do come standard on every single trim level across the board. However, actually let me climb out of the woods for a second here. I wanted to show you guys something. When it comes to these pillars in between the windows here this is actually a matte black finish that you're gonna find on every single trim level with the exception of the SEL plus which is going to make it a gloss black finish which I think I might like a little better. I feel like this matte black might fade over time. I don't know. So either way I really don't have any issues with either setup but I do want to bet you it is gonna differ slightly amongst the trim levels yet again. Then take a look down at the bottom portion of the Sonata there. You will find gloss black side skirts that will come standard on every single trim level across the board. When it comes to the door handles they are body colored door handles that will come with a satin chrome accenting on the kind of upper portion of those door handles and that's gonna be standard on all trims across the board as well. Another thing I like about the doors themselves is they are quite heavy. Kind of have a heavy feel to them and they feel solid. I will say that when you open and close them. So don't want to mention that too. And then take a look at the side mirrors. They are body colored power adjustable side mirrors for every single trim level across the board. They will competed with LED integrated turn signals if you were to go with the SEL plus trim level end up. So therefore that of course is what you guys are looking at right now. So don't want to mention that as well. Also I like that crease line. You guys can see it starts in the front fender. It goes across the doors all the way into the rear tail lights. So another cool little design feature of the Sonata that I'm definitely a fan of. Anyways, then take a look down at the wheel setup. 16 inch alloys coming with the SE. 17 inch alloys coming with the SEL. 18 inch alloys with the limited that of course is what you guys are looking at right now and then new for 2021. The SEL plus actually now gets 19 inch aluminum alloy wheels as opposed to the 18 inch alloys with this particular design that you're looking at right now. And that's how it came in 2020. But now for 2021 it's upsized in additional inch only if you go with that SEL plus trim level. So don't want to mention that as well. And also with that design it's wrapped in Pirelli P0 all season tires where previously it had been Michelin. So wouldn't have mentioned that once again as well. Let's go ahead and make our way now to the back of this one. You guys do see that gloss black shark fin antenna just below that LED tail lights actually do come standard on every single trim level across the board. Gotta love that little extra illumination at night as somebody is less likely to rear-end you at night. That's always a big plus there. And I love the design of the tail lights too. It goes all the way across from left to right. It's definitely a design like nothing else on the road. So definitely a big fan of that. So not a lettering spelled out horizontally. Of course you guys can see that as well. If you go with that 1.6 liter turbocharged engine you're gonna get that badging just above the LED light bar there as well. They're just like the front face should the rear bumpers also going to differ dependent upon the trim level that you go with. Same deal though SEL plus trim level is going to look like what you're looking at right now. SEL trim level is going to look slightly different. And then just below it all there is a single exhaust outlet that is hidden for the SEL trim level. However, if you were to go with that SEL trim level and up you will find a single exhaust outlet with dual satin chrome tips. So that is what you guys are looking at right now of course and I do believe you guys know what we have to do next. As always here is that exhaust clip. It's open now since we are around back when it comes to opening that rear trunk this is actually pretty darn cool you guys. There's actually a button on the key fob that's pretty much as expected these days. Also a button by the driver's side left knee but there are two super cool ways to go ahead and open that rear trunk. The first way is going to be hidden within the Hyundai logo the upper portion of that Hyundai logo. There's not a button or anything that is visible to anybody who can see it. But if you press in within the Hyundai logo that is one of the cool ways you can go about opening that rear trunk and nobody knows it's there. That is awesome. However, the coolest way about opening that rear trunk is to simply leave the key in your pocket and assuming the Sonata is locked up when you're walking up to the Sonata in the back there if you have your hands full for instance it's actually going to beep three times you'll see the taillights flash and then it is going to open up completely automatically for you. That is the best way to open the rear trunk and that is a feature I have used plenty of times on my own Sonata when I'm lugging around camera equipment or groceries or Christmas presents or really anything I absolutely love that. Anyways, once opened up cargo capacity comes in at an even 16 cubic feet. If that was not enough space there is a 60-40 split meaning the rear seats do fold down for a decent amount of extra space there than if you needed it. Then make our way to the rear legroom that comes in at 34.8 inches which honestly is a little below average for this segment I will say that but for reference I mean even six feet tall I was still able to fit back there so this is how much space I had in the rear seats at least. Rear center armrest with cup holders coming with the SEL trim level end up. You will find rear ventilation for the SEL plus trim level and up. Rear USB charging ports again for the SEL plus trim level and up and those rear seats are plenty comfortable as well I will say that too but now making our way to the front seats cloth seating coming with the SEL and SEL trims my favorite seating coming with the SEL plus that is going to be a leatherette dynamica suede combination with the suede being in the middle portion that is a super cool setup. Dynamica suede usually being found on higher end vehicles so I thought that was pretty cool and of course you have full leather seating if you were to go with this limited trim level that we have today and having said that I think the full leather seating might be a little more comfortable than the dynamica suede combination because the second I jumped in this one I was like, dang these seats are super comfortable compared to what I got but anyways, manually adjustable front seats coming with the SEL the SEL trim level is going to add an eight-way power driver seat with power lumbar those front seats will be heated as well with the SEL trim level and up limited trim then is going to add a six-way power adjustable passenger seat in addition to that ventilated front seats actually as well and overall like I said the seats are super comfy really no matter which trim level that you go with there's no issues with seat comfort whatsoever then take a look at the steering wheel there's tilt and telescoping of course it is leather-wrapped if you were to go with the SEL plus trim level and up then that leather-wrapped steering wheel is going to be optional on the SEL if you wanted it heated steering wheel coming with the limited I've had that on in my short drive today absolutely love that grips also are going to differ slightly amongst the trim levels believe it or not the SEL plus trim level and down is going to give you slightly thinner grips than the limited trim level that we have today maybe that's because it's heated I don't know but the grips are going to be the 10 and 2 grips I should say are going to be slightly thicker in the limited trim comparatively speaking to the other trim level so I wanted to mention that as well but then making our way to the startup let me first start by showing you guys the key here you do have your Hyundai logo forgive the stickers in front of that though but there is a Hyundai logo on the one side when you flip it over all of your buttons essentially lock unlock the button to pop the rear hatch there's also a circular button that says hold at the very bottom that is going to be your remote start which I have on my SEL plus also it's going to be on the limited there is a push button start for the SEL trim level and up there is also then a digital key as well as a key card so there's several different ways you can go ahead and start this one up the key card works just like the digital key that you use on your smartphone essentially you hold it up to the door handle it's going to unlock and lock by the way then you put it on this NFC slot right here in front of the drive buttons and that is how you're going to be able to start this one up and turn it off of course as well so it's kind of a cool option if you didn't want to carry your keys around maybe or perhaps you lose your keys in Ocean City, Maryland in the ocean or something you always have backups so that's pretty cool too and the last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on the key fob and perhaps the very coolest feature about this one I'm sure everybody's seen the commercials or smack packs essentially those car icons with the P buttons that is going to be your smart park option where you can pull the car forward or backwards is going to be useful if you're parking perhaps and somebody parks a little too close to you and you don't feel like falling in through the trunk in order to get to the driver's seat simply just use this the car is going to back out itself with nobody in the car so therefore you can actually get in a lot easier so that is a pretty darn cool feature if you ask me but anyways and also with that I wanted to mention to you guys there's an object or a person that gets in the way of that smart park feature it actually will turn away from that object or person and it is going to break as well so if you're worried about it actually hitting somebody or something and inadvertently it is not going to do that and that is a pretty cool feature there as well but anyways let's now go ahead and make our way to the gauges this is pretty freaking cool as well 12.3 inch digital gauge cluster coming with a limited trim level that is going to be optional on the SEL and SEL Plus I have it on my SEL Plus this is definitely a feature I would highly recommend because otherwise you get your standard analog gauges which are fine but they're not anywhere near as cool as this and the reason why I like these is because it is completely customizable not only with the driving modes completely changing the look from red to blue to whatever but there are also steering wheel mounted controls found on the right side of the steering wheel where you can adjust not only what is in the center of that digital display but also on the right side of that digital display as well so really it is completely customizable that's why I absolutely love this digital gauge cluster it's one of the best in my personal opinion but let's now go ahead and make our way to overall interior quality there is a panoramic sunroof coming with a limited that is going to be optional on the SEL Plus trim level and it's so much more light for this video so I'm appreciative LED interior lighting coming with a limited again optional on the SEL and SEL Plus auto dimming rear view mirror with homeland controls coming standard on the SEL Plus trim level and limited I love that feature wireless phone charger coming with the SEL Plus trim level and up again that's located just in front of the drive button so you don't have to plug your phone in it's going to automatically charge assuming that your phone is compatible of course ambient lighting with 64 different color choices coming with the limited trim level only I would have loved to have seen that on the SEL Plus but we do have it here today and that's pretty stinking cool too dual zoom climate control with the SEL trim level and up you'll find aluminum foot pedals on the SEL Plus trim level only I have that and I absolutely love it actually it's a pretty cool look down there anyways when it comes to overall interior quality whenever I look up or read certain reviews on the Sonata it's really a mixed bag but in my personal opinion I definitely tend to think it is among the best and there's several reasons for that one of them is the air vents the air vents are very sleek a very nice design to them and that's pretty cool and also there's going to be aluminum finishes to the exterior portion of those air vents where usually you find a continuation of the black plastics that's a little bit different than you see in other vehicles as well but typically where you find the most hard plastics in vehicles are going to be just around the shifter and the cup holders and with the Sonata though it's a nice smooth gloss black finish around the shifter or the shift buttons I should say and then there is a nice gray kind of diamond pattern design around the cup holders where typically other manufacturers will leave that just a flat gray and it's going to be boring so that's the reason why I believe the Sonata is a little bit above average when it comes to interior quality at least and you do have some nice leather finishes on the doors as well at least in our limited trim level you're not going to get that in the other trims but I do like that as well nice aluminum trim found on the doors that continues just above the passenger side glove box and below the infotainment screen as well also some nice gloss black finishes around the climate control settings there's a 12 volt power outlet in front of the shift buttons USB charging ports times two again that wireless phone charger there's an electromechanical parking brake found by the driver's side left knee dual cup holders a little slot to put yourself in when you're not charging it upfront within those cup holders and within the center armrest there's a decent amount of storage in there as well so overall I actually really like the interior quality of the Sonata so no issues for me whatsoever there but now let's make our way to the tech screen which is going to differ again amongst the trim levels eight inch color touchscreen display coming with the SESEL and SEL plus trim levels however, if you were to go with that limited trim you will get a 10 and a quarter inch color touchscreen display that's going to be optional by the way on the SEL plus but either way you still get Bluetooth and audio streaming you still get Android Auto Apple CarPlay there's going to be a factory navigation system for the 10 and a quarter inch screen only also an ambient sound feature which is stinking cool for the 10 and a quarter inch screen only once again I'll let you guys hear that in a second here but essentially there you get to choose from different sounds like lively forest as we are in right now calm sea waves rainy day open air cafe warm fireplace and snowy village so without further ado I'm actually going to let you guys listen to those sounds because I think it's stinking cool so go ahead and take a listen and I'll be back in a couple of seconds here and so I hope you guys enjoyed that it's just a feature that you don't usually see on other manufacturers so I wanted to really point that out to you but anyways also there is a voice memo feature that you can check out on that screen up there there is also your weather information as well that's pretty cool and of course your radio settings as expected and so by the way when it comes to the sound system of the Sonata it is going to differ once again six speakers are going to come with all trim levels but the limited that limited trim level that we have today that is going to give you a 12 speaker Bose sound system that is going to be optional on the SEL plus and SEL as well so having said that you guys I think you guys know what we have to do next let's go ahead and turn on the radio see what we've got playing today and let's test out the clarity of this Bose sound system we have in our limited trim level today I could stop listening to it it's absolutely amazing it really is honestly a night and day difference between the six speaker to the 12 speaker sound system because I have the six speaker in my SEL plus there's actually a decent amount of bass with that particular six speaker sound system on the Sonata but this 12 speaker it's just a completely different level it's definitely a sound system I would recommend if you can afford the limited trim level and you like music definitely go with that one but anyways last thing I wanted to mention to you guys on that tech screen at least is when you do put the Sonata in reverse you will find a rear view camera coming standard across the board every single trim level is going to get that but if you were to go with the limited that we have today you will also get a surround view monitor so a bird's eye view so you can see every single angle around you which is always is going to lead us into safety and so first thing I wanted to mention when it comes to the Sonata of course this is an IIHS top safety picks that's really a heck of a start to begin with front side side curtain airbags do come standard driver side knee airbag as well in the back you're gonna have latch AKA lower anchors and tethers for children for the rear car seats rear child door locks back there as well tire pressure monitoring system that's all pretty boring at this point but some of the more exciting advanced safety features that do indeed come standard across the board will include forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian detection lane keep assist lane following assist driver attention warning system adaptive cruise control with stop and go there's rear occupant alert and high beam assist as well and all of these features are super cool the adaptive cruise control system is amazing on this thing high beam assist is super convenient as well this is my first car that I've ever had that's pretty cool lane keep assist is one of the best systems when it comes to all Hyundai's really comparatively speaking to a lot of the other manufacturers out there so wanted to mention that too after driving 500 and some different cars I wanted to tell you guys that SEL trim level and up is going to in addition to that add a blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert as well as safe exit warning too and then the limited trim level and up is going to add parking collision avoidance assist blind spot view monitor which is where it actually shows you what is in your blind spot within that digital gauge cluster that's a pretty cool feature and highway drive assist as well which essentially is Hyundai's level 2 autonomous driving on the highway so that's pretty cool too but so overall when it comes to my final thoughts of the Sonata I will say the new 19 inch wheel design although we didn't have it today it's a pretty cool look to the SEL plus I would imagine that the trade off with that though with it being a larger wheel size is you're not going to have quite as good as ride quality as the 2020 model year this particular wheel setup I should say let me just cut right to it the reason I bought my 2020 Hyundai Sonata is because you get a lot a heck of a lot for your money when comparing it to the competitors in the class for example the digital gauges that's something you don't usually get on other manufacturers even to this day the Honda Accord doesn't have it it has a partial digital gauge setup Toyota Camry doesn't have it so I love the digital gauges on the Sonata wireless phone chargers a plus you get great styling you get a digital key which you don't get with the competition as well so and I've used that before it's definitely pretty darn cool if you don't want to lug around your keys all day so I like that feature of course you have America's best warranty so if you're questioning the reliability of the direct injected turbocharged engine we have here you get it warrantied for 10 years and by that time you're probably going to want a new car anyway so that's what I love about this thing even if you don't 100% trust the reliability quite yet you can trust the warranty at least so that's pretty cool too three years free maintenance five years free roadside assistance that is pretty cool if you were to I don't know get a flat tire or something you didn't know how to change it yourself I don't know also at the time of this video do you have 0% financing for 72 months as well so there's definitely a lot of perks got going on right now here for the Sonata as far as room for improvement goes there's only one room for improvement I can think of that I wish Hyundai would put on the Sonata and that is an available all-wheel drive system other manufacturers are doing it like the Camry like the Nissan Altima like the new Kia K5 which essentially is the brother or sister company to Hyundai I'm really surprised that Hyundai hasn't put an available all-wheel drive system on the Sonata quite yet just because the Kia K5 now has it available so maybe in the future it's coming I don't know but that is about it for this one you guys hope you got some valuable information out of this video feel free to follow me on the social media at the bottom of the screen there if you like be sure to hit the subscribe and the bell notification but if you're in the new car reviews that is what we do here on this channel after all do appreciate you guys watching more than you know and I will see you guys all in the next video stay gold