Author: Steve Allen |
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The 2016 Hyundai Sonata was named a Kelley Blue Book Best Family Car, receiving high marks for safety, comfort, convenience, spaciousness for both passengers and cargo, and fit of various rear-facing and forward-facing child safety car seats. The Sonata was also recognized for its value and class-leading warranty combined with solid resale value and refinement.

“Safety is a top priority for families shopping for a new car, so we ensure our vehicles offer the latest safety technology and the best crash performance,” said Mike O’Brien, vice president, product and corporate planning, Hyundai Motor America. “Earning the designation of a Best Family Car by the expert automotive editors at Kelley Blue Book means the Sonata passed not only the safety test but also the test on the ease of car seat installations and more — meeting needs of the modern family.”

The KBB.com editors tested a group of vehicles for two weeks. They drove, lived with, folded down the seats of, paired phones to and installed baby seats in each of the contenders. The KBB.com editors also loaded cargo, contorted themselves into third rows, watched movies on rear-seat screens and toted rowing teams to marinas — in short, they did everything that families might do with a vehicle day to day. And because many of the editors have their own children with ages ranging from newborn to college-age, they did all this with a certain sense of what a family needs and wants.

In addition to being named a Kelley Blue Book Best Family Car, the 2016 Sonata recently received the prestigious IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ Award. For 2016, the Sonata added even more safety equipment, making Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) functionality available to models previously equipped with Forward Collision Warning (FCW). Additional advanced safety options available on the 2016 Sonata lineup include Lane Departure Warning (LDW); Smart Cruise Control with spot/start capability; rear parking sensors; and Blind Spot Detection (BSD) with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA) and Lane Change Assist. Standard safety equipment includes Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) with Electronic Stability Control (ESC) and Traction Control System; driver’s-side blind spot mirror; seven airbags, including a driver’s knee airbag; four-wheel disc brakes; ABS with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist; and Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) with indicators for each tire.