The all-new 2020 Hyundai Sonata and Sonata Hybrid have achieved an overall five-star safety rating – the highest possible score – after attaining high scores from each of the rating categories in the latest evaluations conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Transportation Administration.
Already a recipient of a TOP SAFETY PICK award by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), Sonata offers shoppers exceptional levels of standard safety technologies.
“As the most recent addition to Hyundai’s lineup, the 2020 Sonata incorporates Hyundai’s most advanced safety technologies with sophisticated looks and comfort to provide shoppers with high value and peace-of-mind,” said Brian Latouf, Chief Safety Officer, Hyundai Motor North America. “Sonata creates a new benchmark in the segment and underscores Hyundai’s commitment to offering the highest levels of quality and safety in all of our vehicles.”
About the 2020 Sonata
The eighth-generation Sonata is unlike any of its predecessors, showcasing Hyundai’s Sensuous Sportiness design philosophy, an all-new Smartstream 2.5 GDI engine and segment-first technology that can be personalized.
Safety
The new Sonata maximizes occupant safety through a range of active and passive safety technologies. Passengers benefit from a comprehensive nine-airbag set-up, while a sophisticated Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) works to alert drivers to things they might miss while driving.
Driver Assistance Technologies
Sonata features Hyundai’s latest SmartSense advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). A series of sensors and systems, often restricted to luxury cars, combines to potentially warn the driver and may take action in the event of a safety incident. Meanwhile, other ADAS systems can help the driver perform certain tasks using the car’s three radar sensors, 12 ultrasonic sensors and five cameras. These features include:
- Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (standard)
- Lane Keeping Assist (standard)
- Advanced Smart Cruise Control with Stop and Go (standard)
- Highway Driving Assist (optional)
Highway Driving Assist
Highway Driving Assist (HDA) is a driving convenience system that when using Smart Cruise Control (SCC) or Lane Following Assist (LFA) automatically helps drivers stay centered in their lane and traveling at a safe distance from the car ahead. It also helps the driver maintain the speed limit based on GPS and highway data.
Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist
The 2020 Sonata is fitted with standard Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) with pedestrian detection, an advanced active safety feature that helps alert drivers to emergency situations, and may brake autonomously, if required. Using front radar and front camera sensors, FCA operates in three stages. Initially warning the driver visually and acoustically, it assesses the nature of the collision danger and can apply increasing amounts of braking force to avoid a collision or minimize damage when a collision is unavoidable. The system is activated when a vehicle, pedestrian or cyclist is sensed in front of the car.
Lane Following Assist
Lane Following Assist (LFA) may automatically adjust steering to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane of travel. LFA can keep the vehicle centered on both highways and city streets.
Blind-Spot View Monitor and Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist (BCA)
The Blind-Spot View Monitor with the Sonata’s outside mirror-mounted cameras offers the driver an enhanced field of vision. The Blind-Spot View Monitor system scans for vehicles entering your blind spot. If the driver activates a turn signal, an image of the view from the corresponding wing mirror is displayed in the 12.3-inch cluster display. Furthermore, if a vehicle is detected in the blind spot, the Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist system provides audible and visual alerts and applies partial braking if necessary.
Surround-View Monitor
The new Sonata uses four cameras to provide the driver with an enhanced, bird’s-eye view of the car’s exterior, giving the driver confidence when maneuvering into or out of spaces.
Reverse Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist
Reverse Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist helps detect pedestrians and obstacles with a rearview camera and ultrasonic sensors. The system can provide warnings and apply emergency braking to assist in the avoidance of a collision.
Convenience Technologies
Touch Sensor Outside Door Handles
Touch Sensor Outside Door Handles have been added to the 2020 Sonata to increase ease of use and further refine the design. To lock the door, the driver need only touch the sensor on the outside of the door handle. Pulling on the handle activates a larger sensor on the inside of the handle to open the door.
Remote Start
Remote Start has been a part of the Hyundai Blue Link system for years. It works by using a cellular data connection to warm up or cool down a Sonata when it is out of sight of the owner. To make that system even better, Hyundai engineers added Remote Start to the 2020 Sonata’s key fob on models equipped with Proximity Key and Push Button Start. This allows a remote start to be performed when the car is within the owner’s line of sight.
Performance and Chassis
The all-new Sonata is the first model to utilize Hyundai Motor’s third-generation vehicle platform. Offering significant flexibility for vehicle development across multiple segments, the platform enables dramatic innovations in design, alongside improvements in safety, efficiency and driving performance.
