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Workers prep around a Hyundai Sonata at the Hyundai 1272exhibit is shown at the 2018 North American International Auto Show

The 2020 Hyundai Sonata SEL Trim Offers the Best Value

While the Hyundai Sonata is a car that gets good reviews and a decent amount of sales, that hasn’t stopped Hyundai from improving on it. In fact, for the 2020 model year, Hyundai has given the Sonata a total redesign. Here’s a look at the 2020 Sonata, its trims, and why the SEL trim is …

While the Hyundai Sonata is a car that gets good reviews and a decent amount of sales, that hasn’t stopped Hyundai from improving on it. In fact, for the 2020 model year, Hyundai has given the Sonata a total redesign. Here’s a look at the 2020 Sonata, its trims, and why the SEL trim is the best option out there.

What’s great about the 2020 Hyundai Sonata

As U.S. News said, Hyundai has completely redesigned the Sonata, which is a good thing if you’re shopping brand-new, but not so much if you’re looking to buy used. While the Sonata is still the Sonata, the 2020 version will be significantly different in many ways from its past model years.

For example, U.S. News said that Hyundai has given the Sonata one of the best interiors in its class. U.S. News described it as an “upscale interior,” and they also praised the fact that the Sonata has a lot of modern, user-friendly features, such as a standard 8-inch touchscreen display that comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

On top of that, U.S. News said that the Sonata’s standard smart safety features have been expanded. Furthermore, Hyundai is offering more options, such as a 10.25-inch touchscreen display. Lastly, U.S. News said that its seats were spacious and comfortable, and that the Sonata is as reliable of a car as Hyundai is known for making.

The different trims that Hyundai offers for the Sonata

U.S. News said that Hyundai currently offers four trims on the Sonata, the SE trim, the SEL trim, the SEL Plus trim, and the Limited trim. The SE trim is the standard trim, and it comes with all the standard features that have been listed so far and more. One of the other standard features in the SE trim is its engine, which is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that gets 191 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque. The SE trim starts at $23,600.

The SEL trim, which starts at $25,700, has the same standard engine as the standard Sonata. That said, U.S. News said that the SEL trim has other comfort features as standard, such as dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, and a blind spot monitoring system. 

The SEL Plus trim starts at $27,650, and instead of the 2.5-liter engine, it comes standard with the Sonata’s 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. This engine gets 180 hp and 195 lb-ft of torque. Other than that, the SEL Plus gets a fancier interior as well as more convenience features as standard.

The Limited trim starts at $33,500 and it comes with that 1.6-liter engine as standard as well. The 10.25-inch touchscreen is also standard as is a lot of other fancy stuff for its interior. Some of the things that come standard with the Limited trim include a panoramic sunroof and a premium audio system.

Why the Hyundai Sonata SEL trim is the best

Most people who buy a Hyundai Sonata are not looking for a luxury car, so a lot of the stuff that the SEL Plus trim and the Limited trim offer is unnecessary. And like U.S. News mentioned, the standard Sonata comes with a lot of great stuff as is. 

That’s why the SEL trim is the best trim pound for pound. It’s about $2,000 more than the standard trim, and you’ll get quite a lot of great additions for the price tag. Some of these additions, such as heated front seats, are almost necessities in some areas of the world, so $2,000 isn’t a steep premium to pay for them.

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