This past Tuesday I took my Accord in for warranty work and Honda graciously agreed to pay for a rental for 5 days. They chauffeured me to Enterprise where I picked up a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. I was happy from the start because I expected them to put me into a penalty box car like last time (2014 Nissan Versa). It is the base model with a white pearl exterior and grey cloth interior. Styling is subjective I know, but it is a handsome design and I think it will age fairly well. The interior is well appointed for being the base model, you get all the basics (power windows / door locks / a/c / manually adjustable seats, plus bluetooth connection for calling and a nice display in the instrument cluster that has a plethora of settings. The belt line is high so you do feel kind of like you are enveloped by the car, yet visibility out of the front and sides does not suffer at least for me. Visibility out of the rear isn't bad but its not best in class either. The exterior has some nice touches as well for being the base model, for instance you get full LED daytime running lights and hid headlights which give the car a more premium look. They also give you 16 inch allow wheels and a trunk lip spoiler, combine all that with the white pearl paint job and it looks very nice. If I had to describe the driving experience in one word I would have to pick "insulated". It shifts smoothly, goes over small and large bumps with poise, braking and steering are effortless, and the cabin is very quite. Let me be a little more detailed...the engine noise that gets through the cabin is minimal but you hear a growling noise in addition to the direct injection and it doesn't sound very refined, its not the ticking noise that was bad it was that growling upon acceleration. I am not sure if it is normal or if something was wrong. I noticed it while I was driving home and I checked the oil to make sure it was full, it sounded almost as if it was low on oil but all was well when I checked. The transmission was very smooth, almost too smooth for me. Shifts were a bit slow and slushy. I actually enjoy feeling the shifts from a stepped automatic, it just feels like I am more in tune with my car when I do. Again adding to the over all "insulated" if not numb feeling when driving the car. Steering was effortless, but devoid of any feel. This is the most NUMB steering I have ever felt, I have driven a few cars equipped with electric power steering and this was pretty bad in terms of road feel. Its great in the fact that it does what its supposed to do with ease, it just doesn't communicate back. "It listens, but it doesn't speak". You can however, change the driving mode to sport which basically increases throttle response, raises shift points, and makes the steering more heavy. This is a nice feature to have but it makes the steering almost too heavy, and it still feels artificial. Braking is more than sufficient, I don't have any numbers but in the real world I certainly didn't find myself wanting more stopping power. My overall impression from the Sonata is that it is a great family sedan that will envelope and isolate you from the outside world day in and day out without any fuss. Personally I like to feel a little more in tune with my car, I appreciate steering feel / road feel and more overall feedback from the cars I drive. This week of driving the Sonata has made me appreciate and even miss my 2012 Honda Accord for the superior driving dynamics that it has. The final takeaway is that the Sonata will be what 80-90% of what car buyers want, and it should be on your list if you are shopping for a mainstream sedan. If you are more of a driving enthusiast however, you may find the Sonata to feel just a bit numb.