GO
GoAutoLogo
MENU

Make / Model Search

Hyundai - Sonata - Turbo

Hyundai Sonata (Y2 Sonata)

Y2 Sonata

Make: Hyundai

Model: Sonata

Released: Jan 1970

Discontinued: Feb 1992

Hyundai logo1 Mar 1989

By THE GOAUTO TEAM

The medium-sized, front-wheel drive, four-cylinder Sonata arrived here in March 1989.

It was only the second South Korean car sold here, competing against the similar-sized Toyota Camry and Mitsubishi Magna.

The spacious five-seater sedan came in GL (with power steering and cloth trim), mid-range GLE (with power windows, central locking, folding rear seat and better audio), and luxury GLS variants, the latter often equipped with climate control air-conditioning, cruise control and alloy wheels.

From early ’90 there was a choice of two Mitsubishi-designed engines and transmissions: the 86kW 2.4L four-cylinder unit was joined by a 108kW 3.0L V6. Both were available with a five-speed manual or four-speed auto.

Hyundai pitched the bigger engine against the Falcon and Commodore competition.

A rare GLS ZR sports version was released in ’90, followed by a slightly revised range in ’91.

All had power steering as standard. Despite its dull design and driving dynamics, many buyers responded to the Sonata’s value and space attributes, especially as a recession was beginning to bite.

Latest reviews

Motor industry news

GoAutoNews is Australia’s number one automotive industry journal covering the latest news, future and new model releases, market trends, industry personnel movements, and international events.

Catch up on all of the latest industry news with this week's edition of GoAutoNews
Click here