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| The 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t. |
Certain things in the car business are like clockwork.
It was a year ago this week that I wrote about the 2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0t, calling it "the car you'd have never bet they could build".
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| 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t. |
What was so remarkable? Well, for those old enough to remember the Hyundai of ten or more years ago, it's that Hyundai could build a family sedan this sleek, this desirable,
this feature-laden and with a 245-horsepower 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbo four under the hood.
The Sport we drove was loaded, to the point of including the Ultimate Package, a $4,950 upgrade with every luxury goodie imaginable.
Psychology is a funny thing. That package cost one-sixth the price of the car as a whole. Some Sport buyers would certainly be put off by that.
And so Hyundai did the smart thing this year.
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| 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t interior. |
The Sport with the Ultimate Package is now the 2016 Hyundai Sonata Limited 2.0t. Same standard features, same 245-horsepower turbo four, but now with the Ultimate Package as part of the deal, and no mental wrangling over a big number in the "Added Features" column of the window sticker. $34,075 gets it all. The only option on our tester was a set of carpeted floor mats for $125. With $835 inland freight and handling, the bottom line came to $35,035. Want the sport without the luxo stuff? It's still the Sport, at a shade over $28,000.
What's not to love about a fast family sedan that gets an EPA-estimated 21 city/31 highway, has a 10-year/100,000 mile warranty and comes loaded with stuff you had to spend 50 grand for five years ago for a shade over $35K?
A decade of quantum leaps in quality, styling and power have inevitably slowed down because Hyundai has caught up. Still, the brand has forward momentum and the Sonata Limited 2.0t is another step.
