2024 Hyundai Sonata facelift spied, Australian timing to be confirmed

UPDATE, March 27: New Sonata revealed, Australia confirmed

Hyundai has shown off its redesigned Sonata today, confirming the heavy makeover hinted at with the earlier leaks. Get the full story and photos at the link below.

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A pair of blurry new images offers a first look at the upcoming 2024 Hyundai Sonata facelift, caught in what looks to be filming for an upcoming marketing campaign.

Posted this week to enthusiast site Korean Car Blog, the images show the mid-sized sedan will debut a major front-end makeover with the same full-width LED light bar that first appeared with the Staria van and is now also worn by the facelifted Grandeur in Korea and the upcoming second-generation Kona.

The new lighting signature sits about a dramatically reshaped front bar with driving lights nestled in black mesh frames, flanking a wide open grille design.

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Details at the rear are less clear, despite being an overall sharper image, but it seems we can expect the wrap-around LED bar to remain integrated with the tall ducklip spoiler – although reconfigured to include a new section through the hatch lid.

What changes we’ll see in the cabin or under the bonnet are yet to be revealed, although no upgrades to performance numbers are likely. Inside, we can likely expect a tweaked dash design, a new steering wheel and larger displays.

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The Sonata N-Line in its current guise

When will the new-look Sonata come to Australia?

Hyundai’s local arm isn’t offering any official word on the facelifted Sonata, although it has also not offered any hints that it will retire anytime in the immediate future.

If the Sonata does continue here, in the same N Line-only guise currently offered, then an Australian debut sometime this year would seem likely – given the local range has seen no model-year updates since it arrived in late 2020.

Below: That time we put the Sonata N-Line up against the 4-cylinder Stinger

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Much like stablemate Kia with its Stinger’s small but passionate fan base, Hyundai doesn’t appear desperate to give up on the sedan segment as quickly as many rivals have done. The Subaru Liberty and Ford Mondeo are now both long gone from Australia, and the Mazda6 is expected to be retired in the coming year.

There can be little mistaking the Sonata’s role in Australia, however. With only 536 examples sold across all of 2022, the warm sedan exists purely as a passion piece for the local arm. But (this writer will now editorialise a little), as Hyundai N buyers have come to learn in recent years, Hyundai’s Australian team isn’t short on passion.

Watch for the updated Sonata to arrive in the coming months.

Below: The rear of the current Sonata N-Line

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