A NEAT facelift does a lot to bring Hyundai's Sonata back into the styling mainstream, while extensive improvements in safety, comfort and on-road dynamics make it a stronger prospect in the mid-size category. The reintroduction of a four-cylinder version aims at broadening the appeal too, although it does not mean any decrease in entry-level pricing. A bigger capacity for the V6 gives more punch, but there's still some lack of verve below 3500rpm that becomes glaringly obvious in the manual transmission version. Equipment levels are reasonable with a driver's airbag and air-conditioning standard on all models. It is a little disappointing that there are virtually no visual differences between the cheapest and dearest models.
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Hyundai Sonata Exec V6
Released: August 1998
Ended: September 2001
Family Tree: SonataTHE heavily facelifted EF-B Sonata tested here replaced the fourth all-new Sonata model, the EF model (pictured above) in October 2001. Sales of the better built, engineered and designed EF, which appeared in August 1998 with an all-new body, chassis and engines, were not as strong as its predecessor. The four-cylinder was dropped in 2000, but has reappeared in EF-B. Sonata was first sold in Australia in 1989, before being usurped by Grandeur as the flagship of Hyundai's range.
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