1. Words to learn:

2. Answer the questions, please:

1. Is Triton-8 the upgrade engine for the Ford Expedition?

2. What is the weight of Navigator?

3. How many seconds did it required for Navigator to reach 60mph?

4. What does power adjustability give the Navigator?

5. What is a small innovation for Lincoln?

All-new flagship for the South Korean sales king

Thanks to the three tenors of the mid-size-car market — the Ford Taurus, the Honda Accord, and the Toyota Camry — that segment may be the toughest for a new car to track. With those three answering almost every demand customers in this segment seem to have — and selling a million-plus units a year in the process – what kind of chance can an average or even above average car have?

With the Hyundai Sonata, that chance has always been based on offering a comparable car at a low price and that holds true for the all-new 1999 version, a substantially better car than the one it replaced.

A day of driving early versions of a V-6-power Sonata GLS (the upscale model) with four-speed automatic (the base version will be available with a four cylinder engine and five–speed manual transformation) showed the newest Hyundai to be surprisingly good at the normal demands one makes on a family sedan. That would be wearing through traffic, beating someone across an intersection, cruising quietly along the interstate for many hours, ingesting copious amounts of stuff into the trunk, hauling your traditionally causing you no grief.

Nothing here suggests an exciting relationship with a vehicle, but that is not a top priority with the target market. Still you get the impression the new Sonata could pick up your skirts and dance if you really wanted it to. At the heard of the Sonata’s “let’s party semi-hearty” attitude is a structure that’s noticeably stiffer than that of the previous model, the result of computer-aided design and bits of carefully placed high-tensile-strength steel reinforcements. The suspension is unequal-length control arms up front, an independent multilink arrangement in the back and gas-pressurized shocks and anti-roll bars at both ends.

Our GLS tester wore capable Michelin P205/60HR-15 tires on attractive aluminum alloy wheels; the base model will come with P195/70R-14 all-season shoes and different, less flashy wheels and less expensive shocks.

The Sonata’s handling was reasonably crisp and without drama. Tossed a little too quickly into a curve, the car behaves with quiet understated competence.

The Sonata’s acceleration is more than adequate with new all-aluminum 2.5-liter DOHC V-6, which is smaller than the 3/0-liter V-6 it succeeds. The new powerplant’s 170 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 166 pound-feet of torque at 4000 rpm could be better maximized with quicker downshifts from the otherwise smooth four-speed automatic.

The base 2.4-liter DOHC four-cylinder is rated at 149 horsepower at 5500rpm and 156 pound-feet of torque at 3000 rpm. Unfortunately, none was available for a test drive.

Inside, the Sonata is similarly improved with handsome trim and logically placed controls and instruments, aside from smallish stereo controls that were located too low for easy access. Six-footers will have plenty of head- and legroom up front, adequate room in the rear.

On top of all this, the 1999 Sonata is easy on the eyes. It may be too stylish for the folks who like the blandness that infects the mid-size category, but others will enjoy that. Hyundai has made substantial strides in styling these past few years, and the Sonata continues that trend.

Hyundai’s situation mirrors the troubles of its home country. Economic and political stability in South Korea, when they are finally achieved, will make it easier for U.S. consumers to trust the company and its cars in the long-term. The Sonata’s stylists, engineers and assemblers have done their part in offering a car that compares favorably with others in the class, for what we suspect could be as much as $2000 less. Now the car’s success is up to circumstances beyond its control.

Answer the questions:

1. What cars are called “the mid-size-car market”?

2. What cars does Hyundai Sonata offer?

3. Describe the V-6-power Sonata GLS please.

4. What impression do you get driving the new Sonata?

5. Why is the Sonata’s acceleration more than adequate?

6. What is the Sonata improved with?

7. Why is the 1999 Sonata easy on the eyes?

8. What people will enjoy Hyundai Sonata?

9. What does Hyundai’s situation mirror?

10. What have the Sonata’s stylists, engineers, assemblers done?