"It-Sonata-Accord!!"

2006 Hyundai Sonata (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123)

This Saturday morning I went flying in a 1956 Cessna 170B floatplane. It's a noisy, rattly, cramped little aircraft that's older than my parents and about as advanced as a pair of rubber boots. Once the floats lift out of the water though, none of that matters. You feel a push into your seat and the ground keeps disappearing farther and farther behind you until you level off and marvel at the scenery below. This is where the little rattly float-plane is in its "zone". The Cessna is a magical experience -- it can go wherever it wants, has no speed limits or signs to obey, and gives you a different perspective on how the world looks. I've never seen my house, school, and local coffee-shop hangout all at the same time before.

For those of us confined to 4 wheels and pavement instead of the atmosphere, there is a new player in the market of affordable, midsized cars, and its called the Sonata. It has limits as to where it can go, has signs to obey and can't give you a birds eye view of your town. But unlike the Cessna, its efficient, advanced, relaxing and quiet. I spoke of the Cessna being in its "Zone" a moment ago, and how it performs its job, in that zone, very well. The Sonata has a zone too -- it really shines when hauling around 4 or 5 people who don't want to kick in a whole lot for gas money, but want to be comfortable, safe and well equipped at the same time.

The first order of business -- this Sonata looks like a Honda Accord from the back. The one sedan rear-end I thought was too ugly to be copied, has been copied. (It is much nicer looking on the Sonata). From the front, I see a little bit of Acura TSX in the grille and lights, and some Lexus-like muscular lines running from the window pillars, down the hood, and into the grille. Some folks in a parking lot told me it looked like an Audi. It's a good looking car, and since there are few original looking cars on the road now anyhow, one can't really complain. (I stopped trying to figure out most new car styling about 6 years back and don't plan to resume any time soon.) Looking like a Honda Accord is fine -- it's also equipped like one in either 4 or 6 cylinder trim, and retails for thousands less when both are fully loaded.

Inside, my tester combined light grey and navy blue materials for an upbeat color scheme. The interior of this new Sonata, in a word, is clever. There are clever storage spaces about the gear shifter and center console to store your coffee money, glasses, cell phone, PDA or any other small objects. The armrest is clever too -- it has two separate storage compartments stacked on top of one another inside it. There is even a clever place to put your MP3 CD's in the center stack out of sight, and a clever place for your sunglasses overhead. The materials are beautifully pieced together, and soft leather even covers the steering wheel and shifter knob on all models -- a nice touch for where your hands will spend most of their time. Everything in the car feels rich with quality -- every click, every knob, every adjustment and control you can manipulate feels solid and precise.

It's also safe, with side-impact beams as well as six airbags. You even get active head restraints, which keep you from snapping your neck if you get rear ended (this may happen, for instance, if the person behind you is

2006 Hyundai Sonata (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123)

trying to figure out where he has seen those taillights before, and forgets to brake). There is plenty of headroom to go around and the Sonata will seat 4 adults or 2 grownups and 3 kids very comfortably. Open the doors and have a seat, front or back, and the roominess is fantastic. I'm not just referring to once you are seated either. There is more than enough room as you enter and exit the car from any door as well. I usually bonk my head on something when I get into the backseat of a 4 door car, not the Sonata though. I kept asking myself "where is this room coming from?" You look at the car from the outside and it doesn't look very big. This really comes to life in the trunk area. If you want to wow your friends, show them the trunk -- I thought my eyes were playing a trick on me, and kept walking to the side of the car and back around to see how the trunk was made to be so large. I even put a mountain bike in the back without even taking it apart! The trunk is larger than that of a Honda Accord, in fact it's even bigger than the trunk in a Cadillac STS!

2006 Hyundai Sonata (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123)

The engine in my tester was a 2.4-liter with 162 horsepower. Ordering your Sonata with this engine means you don't mind giving up a little performance to save on fuel. The 4-cylinder is a little weak off the line, though it accelerates progressively quicker as the revs climb- right to the redline. The acceleration of the 4-cylinder Sonata is fitting of its mature character -- this car would seem out of place being in a hurry. The peaky powercurve is amusing; flying along really uses the upper part of the tachometer, while shifting the gears yourself and hearing the engine at full volume makes you grin when you wind it out. It is very smooth, and makes a nice sound during high-rpm operation, though it'll perhaps be a tad loud for some. The soft bottom end acceleration was appreciated while driving in slow traffic, with very smooth and consistent throttle take up. The manual-mode shifts are very smooth, and the gear ratios are very tall. In fact, second gear takes the car over 120 km/h -- meaning adequate get up and go for passing, despite not having a hugely powerful engine. A 235-horsepower V6 is also available if you want your Sonata to go as quick as it looks, but a manual transmission is unavailable with that engine. (Note to self -- call Hyundai and ask for a V6 6-speed model.)

On the road, the ride is comfortable and smooth. The weight shifts easily from side to side over uneven surfaces -- it feels light-footed, almost. The little bit of tire noise simply makes you appreciate how well the multilink

2006 Hyundai Sonata (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123)

suspension works well at keeping the bumps under the struts and out of your spine. It's pretty grippy too: throw the Sonata a corner and it just chews right on through it. The balance of comfort and grip is well done. The car put a grin, not a yawn on my face in the backroads. The performance element of the Sonata is definitely present -- a grin while accelerating and a grin while cornering -- not all of the cars in this price range are this fun. The Sonata brushes off speed with ease and composure. The brake feel is just about perfect and very linear, as well as easy to modulate. The nose dives a fair bit under hard braking, but the marvelous suspension maintains a tight grasp on the road.

Graduates can take advantage of Hyundai's graduate rebate program, whether they have graduated within the past 4 years, or if they will be graduating within 4 months. This takes $750 off of the sticker price. Save even more by switching your own gears. Hyundai's grad rebate program is one of the most competitive available -- they seem to understand that not everyone goes and buys a car within a year of graduating, unlike Honda who only offers a grad program if you've graduated within the past year.

This new Sonata is very valuable in terms of its quality, features and especially its room. It is a car you (or your family) can grow in to easily. It has all the standard features you need, a great ride, a fun attitude and it's great to look at too. The four-cylinder model starts at under $22,000,

2006 Hyundai Sonata (Photo: Justin Pritchard, Auto123)

with a well-equipped V6 model coming in around $28,000. A base Accord starts at over $24,000. Even with all the options, its hard to get the Sonata's sticker to go over $30,000. Price out a similarly equipped Accord V6 and you'll be shelling out another 3 or 4 thousand dollars. It seems fairly obvious that on its own, the Sonata is a competent car. Despite its bold, mature looks, the car looks even better on paper beside its major competitors, and I've driven most of them. It stands up tall and proud with the big players in its market, and has a warranty and dealer service ratings that are hard to beat. You don't need to be a genius to understand why this car, I believe, is the best way to spend your money on a new 4-door. The 100,000 km warranty is tough to match, Hyundai has fantastic dealer service ratings and their commitment to quality is apparent in every inch of this new Sonata. The major competitors can cost thousands more when equipped similarly. Their combination of competitive pricing combined with a competitive warranty and a competitive grad rebate program means you'll have a tough time justifying giving Toyota or Honda a few thousand more for a similar vehicle.

I think I've done my good deed for the day, and saved anyone reading this a few thousand dollars. Thank me later.