Kiplinger’s Adds Hyundai Elantra, Sonata to “Best New Model” List

[Hyundai NEWS]

The all-new 2011 Hyundai Elantra and Sonata—completely redesigned for the current model year—have been named among Kiplinger’s “Best New Models” in the annual rating of vehicle value.

The honor is based on a wide range of factors, including vehicle performance, value and safety, using a weighted scale the attributes approximately 50 percent of a vehicle’s score to its performance and value, 35 percent to its safety, and the rest being based on test-drive impressions.

The Sonata was honored in the “Best New Model: Cars $20,000-$25,000” category, receiving praise for its “sculpted lines and an aggressive stance more apropos of luxury models,” as well as its standout, four-cylinder-only engine lineup. It’s a trio that includes:

Sonata, boasting a 200-hp, 186 lb.-ft. of torque and EPA ratings of up to 22 mpg city/35 mpg highway (MSRP: $19,195)
Sonata 2.0T, with a responsive 2.0-liter turbocharged engine that delivers 274 hp, 269 lb.-ft. of torque and an EPA line of 22 mpg city/33 mpg highway (MSRP: $24,145)
Sonata Hybrid, leveraging Hyundai’s innovative lithium polymer battery technology to achieve EPA marks that reach 36 mpg city/40 mpg highway—yet still offer more than 200 hp combined from it high-efficiency I4 engine and interior-permanent magnet synchronous motor (MSRP: $25,795)
The “Best New Model: Car Under $20,000” was the Elantra, which comes in well under that mark with a base MSRP of $14,830. Yet despite that small price, as Kiplinger’s points out, the “Elantra is built with midsize interior space.” And it offers big-time fuel efficiency, too, showcasing the ability to attain EPA ratings of 29 mpg city/40 mpg highway with both its six-speed manual and similarly cogged automatic transmissions. Other reasons for its recognition included high levels of content and impressive-for-its-class power.