Hyundai Touts Redesigned Sonata Platform

Hyundai Motor Co. says the third-generation Sonata midsize sedan’s all-new platform is lighter, safer, stronger and more durable than the previous architecture, while enabling improved driving dynamics.

The 2020-model Sonata launches this month in South Korea. Sales in the U.S. and Europe will begin later this year.

Hyundai attributes the new platform’s improvements in part to the use of parts formed from ultra-high strength steel via a hot-stamping manufacturing process. The material allows for a more complex multi-load-path design that increases energy absorption and prevents deformation of the passenger cell during a collision, according to the carmaker.
 

Other purported benefits of the design include a lower center of gravity and improved NVH characteristics. Hyundai says the new platform also smooths air flow to enhance underbody aerodynamics and help cool the engine.

To  bolster safety, the structure is designed to move the Sonata’s tires outward during head-on collisions. This helps prevent the car from spinning and incurring a secondary collision, Hyundai says.