Hyundai will launch the Sonata in India powered by its own proprietary Sirius 133bhp, four-cylinder, dohc 16-valve, 2-litre engine. Mated to a five-speed manual gearbox, the 133 horses and 117.6Nm of torque are enough to propel this grand tourer to cruise all day long at or near its peak performance capability.

If that's not all, the Namyang facility also boasts of Hyundai's very own full-scale wind tunnel, just the third aero-acoustic wind tunnel in the world, according to Hyundai and capable of producing wind speeds upto 200kmph. Other car makers also have wind tunnels but these only estimate air flow and wind resistance but the Hyundai facility can also determine wind noise and how to take measures to iron it out. Earlier Hyundai made do with a small scale wind tunnel in Seoul with full-size prototypes having to be shipped to the MIRA wind tunnel (on Hyundai built car carriers via the Hyundai Merchant Marine arm) in the UK for final tweaking.

Further, the company has three proving grounds - at Namyang, Ulsan and Whasung - on which its engineers keep on pounding their own prototypes and also cars from other manufacturers incessantly to see what makes them tick or otherwise.

Add to that a unique capability to design and build entire powertrains, operate state-of-the-art crash testing facilities and perfect efficient production engineering processes, systems and hardware means that this company, its recent financial troubles notwithstanding, is poised for a massive leap forward.

The Sonata employs double wishbone front suspension (pic) with gas charged shock absorbers while a multi-link layout is featured at the rear. Ventilated disc brakes are featured on all four wheels.

The Sonata's body structure is one of the major attributes of the car in that it is highly rigid and flex free making for superb dynamics and great occupant comfort. Cabin space management is truly world class for a car of its size while the boot area has been increased marginally from its predecessor.

I felt this brief was needed before we got to the Sonata proper because it is the car which made the world sit up and look at Hyundai with grudging respect, especially in the US. And now in its latest version it is all set to further establish its maker's fortunes in all the major markets of the world.

Having said a brief word about the inspiration behind the exterior styling, the one thing which marks the Sonata out as a Korean automobile is the toothy grille. Through the last two decades, the grille design on the Hyundai cars has always been distinctively different, almost as a strong Korean trait. When in Korea, at both Namyang and Ulsan I asked the Hyundai people to define their style ethos but the designers couldn't explain a Hyundai style as such. However they did talk about it being as contemporary as any other international car maker even if it meant to be inspired by good design. They however spoke about making interiors softer, more friendly, more "touching"; by extension almost criticising the Japanese, who they said miniaturise things like sound system controls to fit the design. That said, the Sonata is an impressive car, which disguises its bulk (4745mm long, 1790mm wide and 1420mm tall) very effectively by its elegance; maybe it has to do with the added classic accents which have a subtle tinge of retro thrown in. Add in tasty ten-spoke aluminium alloy wheels shod with 205/65 VR15 rubber (the Indian version will come with 195/65 R15 Bridgestones) which fill up the wheel wells endowing the car with an athletic look when viewed in profile. Even with the slightly smaller Indian tyres, HMIL claims a 175mm ground clearance for the Sonata which is good. The surface finish quality is exquisite and the overall fit and finish right in the European ballpark.

The same attention to quality and finish extends to the interior. Open the door and slide into the plush driver's seat to a world of near opulence. The large dia steering wheel with the wooden rim inserts immediately grabs your attention as does the wood-framed large instrument panel with its twin clocks (240kmph speedo on the right and a tacho red lined to a 8000rpm max limit), fuel and temperature gauges plus various telltale lights. Move to the centre console on the dashboard and the same high quality feel continues with wood grain surrounds flanking the air vents and the switches for the climate control system plus the audio system (a CD-changer is an optional extra). The plush feeling is clear evidence that Hyundai wants to pamper the Sonata's target audience right and proper. While the test car had leather upholstery, we also got the opportunity to check out the India-spec Sonata with fabric upholstery and door inserts and found that pretty classy enough as well and more suitable to our climatic environ.