(Lesser Sonatae make do with a column-mounted EPS.) And, to heighten the impression of steering sportiness, the bottom of the steering wheel is squared off. But several editors who test-drove the Sport 2.0T on some challenging roads basically agreed that the "Sport" badging may be overselling the driving experience a bit. This car just isn't much fun to hustle, and the suspension's ride penalty is too great to justify its meager handling payoff. Chassis dynamic brilliance is one of the last hurdles Hyundai has yet to clear. Still, the fact that most other areas of automotive design and engineering have been more or less mastered by the company that was building crude ox-cart Ponys as recently as 1990 is nothing short of miraculous.

The 2015 Sonata is a great looking, feature-laden car, especially in its Sport 2.0T trim, and these attributes -- not the vehicle's dynamic performance -- are what should motivate purchase of the Sonata lineup's flagship, which starts at a princely $29,385 and comes with only one major option package, a $4,950 whopper filled with techie gizmos including forward collision warning, adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, auto high beams, rear parking assist, BlueLink telematics, heated and cooled seats, a panoramic sunroof, and more. For that money, if rear headroom isn't your chief concern, you could get your 2.0-liter turbo wrapped in a decently equipped Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class. Just sayin'.

2015 Hyundai Sonata Sport 2.0T
BASE PRICE	$29,385
PRICE AS TESTED	$34,460
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front-engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door sedan
ENGINE	2.0L/245-hp/260-lb-ft turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4
TRANSMISSION	6-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	3605 lb (60/40%)
WHEELBASE	110.4 in
LENGTH x WIDTH x HEIGHT	191.1 x 73.4 x 58.1 in
0-60 MPH	8 sec
QUARTER MILE	16.2 sec @ 88.4 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	120 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.81 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	27.5 sec @ 0.70 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY/COMB FUEL ECON	23/32/26 mpg
ENERGY CONS., CITY/HWY	147/105 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS, COMB	0.74 lb/mile