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2015 Hyundai Sonata found uncovered in Korea

Hyundai is locked and loaded to debut its redesigned, 2015 Sonata at the New York Auto Show next month. For one enterprising Korean photographer, however, the reveal just couldn't come soon enough.
A South Korean website called Bobaedream.co.kr unceremoniously published some images of what would appear to be a completely undisguised example of the new Sonata. Korean Car Blog quickly followed up on the leak, claiming that the car in question was fitted with Hyundai's 2.0-liter turbocharged GDI engine, making 274 horsepower, and connected to an all-new, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Whether that information came from a reliable insider source (as the photos would suggest) or was just a best guess, we can't say. But we can see what direction Hyundai is headed in with the Sonata. The front end seen in the spy shots is more or less what we'd already seen in the last teaser picture, with a new headlamp design helping to set off a prominent grille. The grille does seem to have some element of the strong, graphical surround from the teaser, too, though it's not as defined in these low-resolution pictures. Sheetmetal on the hood and bodysides seems cleaner, straighter and less fussy than in the current car, too. As for whether or not this is the Korean-spec car or the one destined for the US market, that's unclear, though we have been told that the two cars do look very similar.

Hyundai hires actor Paul Rudd as pitchman [w/video]

The Dude abides, but his deep voice is going to be coming from your TV a little less. After seven years of his earthiness, laid back actor Jeff Bridges is no longer the voice of Hyundai in the brand's advertising. He has been replaced by comedian Paul Rudd who is already narrating the new commercial for the 2015 Hyundai Sonata.
"We were looking for a voice that could be recognizable and relatable to a new generation of car buyers," said Steve Shannon, vice president of Marketing, Hyundai Motor America, in the company's announcement of the deal. "Rudd can be serious, humorous, informative and entertaining all at the same time."
According to Hyundai spokesperson Derek Joyce speaking to Autoblog, the deal with Rudd goes for the next three years. "He's our tier one voice, and that's going to affect tone" in the company's ads," Joyce said. The first spot with Rudd is titled Co-Pilot, and it stars a backseat driver losing out to the Sonata's navigation system and safety features at every turn. Rudd isn't physically in the commercial but does the ending voiceover. The company wouldn't say when the next ad with the new pitchman might debut.

Hyundai shoots down the rumor claiming it is done developing engines

Hyundai has clarified that the recent rumor claiming it had stopped developing gasoline- and diesel-burning engines to focus on various forms of electrifications is false. It said that development work remains on-going and that the internal combustion engine still has a future. "Hyundai Motor Group can confirm that it is not halting the development of its engines following recent media speculation. The Group is dedicated to providing a strong portfolio of powertrains to its global customers, which includes a combination of highly efficient engines and zero-emissions electric motors," said senior group manager Michael Stewart in an interview with Motor1. The report that emerged in late 2021 claimed that the Hyundai Group (which includes the Hyundai brand, Kia, and Genesis, among other entities) had completely stopped designing piston-powered engines to focus on electrification. It claimed that most of the engineers had been assigned new roles related to electrification, though it also noted that some were staying behind to continue refining the technology. If this sounds familiar, it's likely because Hyundai recently shot down a separate but similar rumor that said it had put the hydrogen-electric powertrain it planned to install in many of its cars (including some upmarket Genesis models) on hiatus. The carmaker explained that it has merely reshuffled the team that's developing the technology because unspecified technical hurdles have slowed down the project. Several electric Hyundai models are in the pipeline, including the production version of the Prophecy concept unveiled in 2020 and a relatively big SUV previewed by the 2021 Seven concept. But, its comments suggest that more gasoline-powered models are on the way as well, which is great news; its range of N-tuned high-performance models includes excellent cars and there's still room for it to grow. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.