2025 Hyundai Sonata Expert Review

Table of Contents

• Performance and MPGs
• 2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: The Other Upgraded Powertrain
• Safety Ratings and Features
• Cargo Space and Interior Room
• Technology
• Which 2025 Hyundai Sonata Trim Level Is Best?

Pros

• 🎉 Fun and comfortable N Line model
• 📺 Large standard displays
• 🚗 Available all-wheel drive

Cons

• 🔍 Styling conceals older platform
• ❌ No limited-slip differential for N Line
• 📉 Fewer trims than before refresh

While other companies are cutting out the conventional midsize sedan, Hyundai has stayed committed to providing a sleek and dynamic model in this venerable market. With a selection of powertrains and a pleasing look, the 2025 Hyundai Sonata rolls over into the new model year with minor adjustments, including a new base trim level. Rivals include various midsize sedans such as the Kia K5, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry.

Now that SUVs rule the market, sedans have to stand out if they are going to prosper. Hyundai has gone boldly with its most recent facelift for 2024 in the midsize Sonata, defying convention. Futuristic front and back architecture accentuate the sedan’s sweeping form. Inside the interior, the Sonata gains from elegant and sophisticated amenities. Available all-wheel drive increases the marketability of the Sonata to consumers living in places with hostile climates. This Hyundai sedan emphasizes building confidence on slick surfaces rather than enhancing performance.

The revised Sonata so far really impresses us. We noted in our examination of the sporty N Line variant its quick acceleration and comfortable suspension adjustment. The Sonata is still a fantastic value since it provides lots of technology with its most potent petrol type at a reasonable starting price. The hybrid variant suffers from poor acceleration and a gearbox that feels indecisive during rapid driving, even if its ride is pleasant. If you desire outstanding fuel efficiency, we still think it’s worth looking at.

Performance and MPGs

Hyundai presents the Sonata from 2025 in three different tastes. A 2.5-liter inline four-cylinder providing 191 horsepower and 181 lb-ft of torque, the standard engine is All-wheel drive is optional, and an eight-speed automatic gives power to the front wheels in basic configuration. The 0-60 mph sprint under all-wheel drive takes 7.9 seconds. Front-wheel-drive variants should provide 25/36 mpg city/highway, and all-wheel-drive models should return 25/34 mpg, as we do not expect the fuel efficiency of the base Sonata to vary from its 2024 EPA rating.

Those seeking more power should step up to the Sonata N Line, which has a 2.5-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder pumping out 290 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. Combining this engine with an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox allows a 5.3-second sprint from 0 to 60 mph. Hyundai has eliminated the limited-slip differential of the Sonata N Line as of 2024, so midcorner wheelspin is more difficult to control than in previous years. Fuel efficiency suffers; the EPA rates the 2024 Sonata N Line at 23/33 mpg.

2025 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: The Other Upgraded Powertrain

For 2025, Hyundai presents the Sonata Hybrid in two trims: SEL and Limited. Driven by an electric motor with 51-kW power and a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder, the Sonata Hybrid keeps developing 192 horsepower. Every Sonata Hybrid sedan has front-wheel drive and a six-speed automatic gearbox. From a rest, hitting 60 mph takes 8.6 seconds. The 50/54 mpg city/highway rating of the 2024 model is expected to remain unchanged, as we anticipate that the EPA fuel efficiency figures for the Sonata Hybrid will not vary significantly in 2025. Range is supposed to be amazing—680 miles or such.

Notable equipment on SEL variants includes a four-way power passenger seat, wireless device charging, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel. Rising to the range-topping Limited model, the most elegant variation of the whole Sonata lineup, equips leather seating surfaces, blind-spot view monitoring cameras, a panoramic sunroof, and Hyundai’s Remote Smart Parking Assist that lets the car be driven with the key fob for short distances.

Safety Ratings and Features

Hyundai’s long list of features continues over from the previous model year since it hasn’t changed the active safety systems used in the 2025 Sonata. Adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, front automated emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and automatic high beams form the standard package. Highway Driving Assist appears on higher trim levels. Another feature is Hyundai’s Smart Park, also known as Remote Smart Parking Assist. This device lets the driver stand outside and move the Sonata into a parking space.

Though the midsize sedan got a poor rating on the revised moderate overlap front crash test, IIHS designated the 2024 Sonata a 2024 Top Safety Pick. For LATCH simplicity of use, it ranked second highest. With four stars in the front crash test, five stars in the side collision test, and five stars in the rollover evaluation, NHTSA gave the Sonata five stars altogether.

Cargo Space and Interior Room

Good midsize sedans have loads of legroom and roomy trunk capacity. In this sense, the Hyundai Sonata lies halfway between the others. Though the second row isn’t as roomy as the Subaru Legacy or Toyota Camry, front legroom is first-rate. Though the trunk of the Honda Accord is just marginally larger, cargo space is among the finest in the class.

Model	Legroom (Front/Rear)	Cargo Space (Seats Up/Down)
2025 Hyundai Sonata	46.1 / 34.8 inches	15.6 cubic feet
2025 Subaru Legacy	42.8 / 39.5 inches	15.1 cubic feet
2025 Honda Accord	42.3 / 40.8 inches	16.7 cubic feet
2025 Toyota Camry	42.1 / 38.0 inches	15.1 cubic feet

Technology

Lower trim levels include a 12.3-inch touchscreen and 4.2-inch instrument cluster. Many Sonatas, however, come standard with twin 12.3-inch screens, with a touchscreen in the middle of the cockpit and a completely digital instrument cluster ahead of the driver. The N Line model gets a twelve-speaker premium Bose audio system. Standard over the whole grade range is wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Every 2025 Hyundai Sonata features two second-row USB-C connectors.

Which 2025 Hyundai Sonata Trim Level Is Best?

Grades SE, SEL, SEL Convenience, N Line, SEL Hybrid, and Limited Hybrid can all be fitted on the Hyundai Sonata. We would stay with the SEL hybrid, which undercuts the limited hybrid by roughly $6,000. This model exceeds the minimum requirements we would have for an automobile, starting at about $32,000. Among the noteworthy gear are four-way power passenger seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, wireless charging, keyless entry and ignition, and a second-row air vent. For drivers who value acceleration and agility, N Line cars provide significantly more power and far less fuel economy.