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War in the D-segment

Does the new Sonata manage to move one up on the Accord? Sriram Narayanan calls the score

BIG BRAWLERS The new Sonata keeps step with the Accord in the looks department from almost every angle

We hate giving history lessons, but for some of you who may have just joined in, the Hyundai Sonata was, well, a segment-defying car - the D-segment, that is. While opinions differed - it looked very regal to some eyes and loud to others, it did sell reasonably well. Even the Honda Accord, when it was first launched, did no considerable damage. And then finally, the Japanese company let loose their latest generation Accord, and the D-segment has never been the same since.

A while ago, we did give you an initial perspective on the then to-be-launched new Hyundai Sonata. This time round, since the Sonata Embera has been officially launched, we compare it with its arch rival, the Honda Accord - yes, we went ahead and actually pitted the two against each other.

As you may know by now, the Sonata Embera is longer, wider and taller than the car it replaces. And as you can see from the exteriors, it's not a minor facelift - the entire car has been reworked, from ground-up. And keeping in tune with European trend today, the Sonata is dressed in a more business-like fashion, abandoning those curvy lines that marked its predecessor.

Park the Accord next to it, and the Sonata actually manages to keep up with the competition from the good-looking Jap. However, the looks department is entirely your call, though we must say that both cars look good in their own right.

Cabin log

The insides of the Sonata are less conservative than the exterior. The wide fascia is two-tone, split in the centre by a long strip of wood, and rises and dips over the central console. Overall, the looks and feel of the Sonata cabin lend it better looking and more spacious than the Accord. However, component quality in the Sonata has a bit of both good and the bad. The Accord clearly beats the Sonata in terms of quality of the steering wheel and the air-conditioning vents. And compared to the Accord's tasteful electro-luminescent dials, the Sonata's instrument panel looks ordinary.

The Sonata, however, fares much better on the comfort front. The front seats have just the right amount of support, are wide, well-designed and comfortable on long journeys. The rear too is more comfortable than the Accord's.Rear seat passengers also get a remote control for the music system - an intelligent inclusion not found even on many more expensive cars.

The Hyundai steals the show in the ride quality department too. Its raised-for-India suspension offers superior ride, especially at low speeds. It glides over poor sections of roads and broken patches with nonchalance. The Sonata feels rock-steady with little upsetting the car, not something you can say of the Accord, which always feels unsettled and loose at high speeds. Moreover, the Accord constantly makes its passengers aware of the surface they are travelling on. The Accord however, is the better driver's car. The steering has more feel, the car's keen at changing directions and enjoys being driven hard.

Powertrain time

Coming to the engines, Honda's 2400cc, 141 bhp motor has been around for quite some time and continues to be the benchmark in its class. It feels as smooth and eager at 6,000 rpm as it does at 3500. And Hyundai seem to have had this factor at the top of their list as they went about developing an equally potent, all-aluminium 2400cc 160 bhp motor for the Sonata.

So is it faster than the Accord? Well, no. To be fair, the Sonata is slower only by a few microseconds. It takes 11.47 seconds to touch 100 kph compared to the Accord's 11.14 sec. And in the run to 150 kph, the Accord beats the Sonata by a mere two seconds. Both cars are adequately powered and eat up the miles at a rapid pace. However, the Sonata's not as responsive as the Accord.

As the revs climb upwards, the Hyundai's engine starts emitting stress-signals and feels underpowered. However, the first half of the rev-band is where the Sonata shines. Not only does it have more torque than the Accord - 23 kgm - compared to the Accord's 19.5, it also comes in much earlier at 4,250 rpm. The Accord achieves its maximum torque at only 4,800 rpm.

And while the Accord has an additional fifth cog in the automatic, the Sonata, even with a four-speeder, is not too distressed, thanks to good low-end pulling power.

Now comes one of the key questions. Does the Shiftronic Sonata get the better of the Accord's auto box? Well, as a transmission, the Sonata's Shiftronic has its pluses. It lends you the convenience of an automatic and, if you may so wish, lets you switch over to separate `+' and `-' gate to change gears manually without a clutch, of course. The minus point? Well, though convenient, the Shiftronic's obviously not as urgent or lively as one would like it to be - one would rather live with accelerator kick-downs for downshifting, and the Accord, in this department, is marginally the more responsive of the two. In terms of drinking habits, there isn't much to choose between the two. While, the Accord returned a respectable 8.7 kpl through our average highway/urban cycle, the Sonata snatched a minor lead with 8.9 kpl. So there - this turned out a closely-fought duel. The Sonata rides well on its designed-for-India suspension, straight-line stability is superb and the motor delivers considerable punch even from low engine speeds. The rear seats are more comfortable, and the car is as well equipped as the Accord. Performance is effortless, though it lacks the outright pace of the Accord.

Final countdown

So then, which is the better car? Well, for all the improvements in the Sonata, it still has a few notches to cover before it can challenge the driver-centric approach of the Accord - you're better off behind the wheel of an Accord. But if you are going to be driven around wherever you go, choose to relax in the Sonata's rear seats though.

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