My finance view

About five years ago, I went to a talk by auto analysts who said Korean manufacturers are starting to worry their Japanese neighbors.

If that was true then, arrivals such as Hyundai’s 2011 Sonata now must be keeping execs up at night. The sixth-generation sedan raises the bar yet again for the Korean automaker with a roomy, smooth riding, well-equipped and neatly finished car priced below Japanese rivals. Not only that, but our Venetian red tester caused a number of double-takes with its stylish look.

The base Sonata GLS starts at $19,915, about $500 more than the 2010. That includes power, heated, folding side mirrors; chrome-tipped exhaust; air conditioning; steering-wheel controls for audio and Bluetooth systems (including phonebook download); power windows; remote locking; cruise control; and audio system with six speakers, CD player, XM and MP3 compatibility, iPOD and USB ports.

On the safety front you get antilock brakes with emergency assist feature, side airbags and curtains, traction and stability control, and tire-pressure monitor.

That price is about two thousand less than the Honda Accord, which along with the Sonata, ride at the larger end the midsize group. The smaller Toyota Camry comes closer in price, but isn’t quite as well equipped.

The base versions of all those cars come with 4-cylinder engines and manual transmissions, which means most people will upgrade. In the case of the Hyundai, you get a 2.4-liter engine rated at 198 or 200 horsepower matched to a six-speed manual or automatic transmission. The latter adds $1,000 to the tab.

The standard 4-cylinder gets a little buzzy when you tromp hard on the accelerator. But after a few days behind the wheel, I found it plenty powerful, even fun to drive. The 4-cylinder returns decent fuel economy 22 miles per gallon in the city, 34 on the highway with the automatic.

That’s the only engine available initially, but Hyundai has a 274-horsepower 4-cylinder turbo (expected to deliver mileage at 22/34) and a hybrid estimated at 37/39 in the pipeline.

We tested the mid-level SE, which starts at $23,315, adding the automatic, bigger alloy wheels, sportier suspension, fog lamps, dual exhaust, push-button starter, leather trim, eight-way power driver’s seat, steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles and automatic headlamps instant payday loans.

The sedan made a good first impression. Its coupe-like profile looks sharp on approach. I got in with our editor and managing editor for the first time after deadline. Randi checked out the window sticker and asked us to guess the price. I said $27,000, Ilana $30,000. Looking around at the neat fit and finish, quality materials, roomy surrounds, I said $27,000, Ilana, $30,000 – both well over the real price of $23,315.

Randi wished for a sunroof, which is available as part of a $2,600 package that also includes navigation. Only Ilana had a complaint. Pointing at the stick-figure-shapped buttons that control air-flow directions she said, “That’s cheesy, I wouldn’t buy it just because of that.”

I thought the buttons were OK, even intuitive, but I would have made it smaller and the radio controls larger. Others thought it was a little cheesy too, but certainly not a deal breaker.

All in all, the new Sonata is an impressive car offering a lot for the money. In other words, Hyundai is coming on strong in the race to catch perennial top sellers Camry and Accord. Consider stats at autos.aol.com: No. 1 Camry sold 28,435 cars in June, a 7.7 percent increase, and while Hyundai sold 17,711 Sonatas to take seventh place among all sedans, that represents a nearly 49 percent increase over June 2009.

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