Hyundai Sonata N Line Leaked

Perhaps feeling that this would be its last opportunity to woo American midsize sedan buyers, Hyundai pulled out all the styling stops when it crafted the current-generation Sonata. Heavy on lines and curves and sporting some impressive front-end lighting, the Sonata makes the Camry and Accord look stodgy by comparison.

But the automaker didn’t stop there. It went to work crafting a hotter Sonata — a variant that’s almost here. And thanks to someone’s mistake and another person’s quick reflexes, we can see what that sedan will look like.

Official images of the upcoming Sonata N Line appeared on The Korean Car Blog this week, revealing the turbocharged performer in full. Sporting a revised front fascia with a little more aggression down low and N Line badging in the passenger-side corner of the grille, the N Line retains the front and rear air deflectors aero-enhanced stock Sonatas.

Out back, dual chrome exhaust tips protrude from a revised lower bumper. Nineteen-inch wheels fill each well, shod in grippy low-profile rubber. Inside, N Line-badged seats greet the driver and front passenger.

For Hyundai products lacking a full-on N variant, N Line represents a top-of-the-line offering. It essentially replaces “Sport” models. And so the Sonata N Line boosts the model’s horsepower game, coming equipped with a turbocharged Smartstream 2.5-liter four-cylinder making 290 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. This 2.5L power, which happens to be less than offered in the Genesis lineup, routes to the front wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic.

While the Sonata N Line offers up a more compelling sporty family sedan package than Hyundai fielded in years past, the current-generation Sonata has proven unable to turn back market forces. Arriving for the 2018 model year, the Sonata saw its sales continue a downward slide. Whereas Sonata sales topped 225,000 in the U.S. in 2011, volume amounted to just 87,466 units in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

[Image: Hyundai]