Despite record-breaking sales, driven by a string of high-quality vehicles, there are still customers for whom Hyundai products fly below the metaphorical radar. Take, for example, just two: the all-new 2011 Hyundai Sonata and the sophisticated 2010 Hyundai Genesis sedan. They might not have the same name recognition as some of their rivals, but they’re the perfect example of the kind of “choices that are just as worthy of your buying dollars, if not more so. They’re the dark horses,” according to the editors at Edmunds.com—the team that just officially named both cars to the website’s “Top 10 Best Dark-Horse Cars” of 2010.
Of the Genesis, Edmunds.com notes that it “delivers everything that luxury-car shoppers look for in a premium sedan.” And that includes something those buyers can look for all they want and not find anywhere else but the Genesis and the Rolls Royce Phantom: A Lexicon-branded audio system packing a 12-channel digital amp, 17 speakers, 528 watts of power and Lexicon’s unique LOGIC 7 technology.
In addition to that kind of exclusive luxury, the Genesis also offers “lots of power and smooth performance,” said the website. To put some numbers on that assessment, the Genesis’ dynamic 4.6-liter V8 makes a robust 375 hp, more than similarly engined rivals like the Lexus GS, Infiniti M and BMW 5 Series. On the other hand, “since it’s a Hyundai, it comes with a relatively affordable price; as such, this overachiever creams the competition when it comes to value.”
As for the Sonata, “this outstanding four-door has what it takes to dominate the competitive mid-size sedan segment.” That means both class-leading power and class-leading fuel economy, courtesy of an all-new, high-efficiency I4 engine and one of the very few six-speed automatic transmissions to be developed by an automaker “in house.” The “true game-changer” also was the first vehicle in its class to provide a standard Bluetooth hands-free phone system and the first popular midsizer to offer HD Radio as a factory-installed option.
Also notable: Hyundai will soon launch both a high-performance turbo-charged Sonata model—which will again top its class in terms of power (274 hp/269 lb.-ft. of torque) and fuel efficiency (34 mpg highway)—and a hybrid version that will become the first U.S. model to implement Hyundai’s proprietary Hybrid Blue Drive. This system uses lithium polymer batteries that are lighter and more efficient than the nickel-metal hydride units found in rivals like the Ford Fusion and Toyota Camry hybrids, helping the Sonata hybrid offer better highway fuel efficiency, 39 mpg, than any other mainstream hybrid competitor and better fuel efficiency in the city, 37 mpg, than all but the Fusion’s 39 mpg mark.
According to Salisbury Hyundai, that’s further evidence of Hyundai’s ongoing commitment to be the auto industry’s fuel efficiency leader. In fact, the automaker led the U.S. auto industry in fuel economy in both 2008 and 2009, and remains the only company to post an average fleet fuel economy of more than 30 mpg in 2010.
It’s also a good sign that Hyundai’s new products won’t be keeping their “dark-horse” status for very much longer.
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