Who would have imagined a few years back that there would be so much interest in a new generation of the Hyundai Sonata that it would be totally justified for us to stay up until the early morning hours to write a post on the car... But times change, GM went in and out of bankruptcy protection, the Fiat Group acquired Chrysler and surprise, surprise, Hyundai overtook the Ford Group in the first half of the year to become the world's fourth largest automaker. So there you have it. But let's wind back back to the Sonata. After more leaks than a New Orleans levy, the Korean maker formally introduced the four-door sedan in its home market today.

"The Sonata will set a new standard for world class mid-size sedans with state-of-the-art technology, superior build quality and emotional design," said Euisun Chung, Hyundai's Vice Chairman at the launching ceremony for the car in Seoul. "The new Sonata will raise Hyundai's brand values."


The interiors of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata looks too plush for a midsize sedan segment car.

Autocar quoted an Hyundai insider a saying, �We expect the car to be close to or class-leading in every department such as emissions, handling, ride and so on, but what really marks it out is that it will sell on its looks as well as all its other attributes.�

Reports say that the 2011 Hyundai Sonata will be called the i40 in Europe. The new 2011 Hyundai Sonata is expected to hit European and American showrooms by the first half of 2010.

The car in the picture is believed to be designed for Korean and American markets, though the European version is said to be similar.

Another report says that the Estate version of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata will be launched first in 2010, followed by the saloon and hatchback models that will be launched in 2011.

The 2011 Sonata is definitely a huge design departure from the last generation Sonata. That was one bland ugly duckling of a car which was super practical and effiicient, and did the job well � but absolutely nobody loved. The new Sonata is definitely not going to go down that road. This is one car, much like the upcoming Tucson ix35 SUV that one can like.