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We have written before about Hyundai’s upcoming , but previous spy images didn’t allow for much to be said about its styling direction. But now our spies have brought us pictures of both the interior and exterior, and we can predict that the next Sonata will have a surprisingly saucy profile. The car appears to have grown measurably, although with the roofline stretching into the trunk, it has a four-door-coupe-ish, Volkswagen CC–like sleekness, with an upswept character line providing a convenient location for the door handles. Other than the more elegantly contoured grille surround, the front and rear graphic elements remain tough to make out beneath the cladding. It does appear that the Sonata will display Hyundai badging up front, unlike its rear-wheel-drive brother, the Genesis sedan.

Inside, the Sonata gets much sportier, with blue-accented controls and a swoopy four-spoke steering wheel. The HVAC controls look very Volvo-like, and the tunneled gauges could have been ripped right out of a Mercedes-Benz SLK.

Whether or not the Sonata sounds as sweet as it may look depends on how Hyundai tunes the engines. A four-cylinder and a V-6 are virtually guaranteed, and we expect output levels to compete with the leaders in the segment, including the Honda Accord, Mazda 6, Chevrolet Malibu, and Nissan Altima. We also have reported on the upcoming hybrid model that will mate the four-cylinder to a 40-hp electric motor powered by lithium-polymer batteries. In any case, all powertrains must be reconciled with the company’s very ambitious and self-imposed

, so expect to see some techno tricks such as direct injection and maybe even forced induction phased in as that date approaches.

We expect to see the 2011 Sonata in either concept or production form at the 2009 Los Angeles auto show in November or later at the 2010 Detroit auto show in January, and to arrive in dealerships sometime in the first half of 2010.

Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/news/spied/09q2/2011_hyundai_sonata-spied