Not so long ago, it was possible to get some surprisingly fast and fun midsize sedans from all of the major players. Honda offered the Accord with a derivative of the Type R engine. The Camry still had a sonorous V6 option. They’re all long gone now, though. Hyundai, and also Kia, have filled the gap with their turbocharged family sedans.
Now, Hyundai has given its 290-horsepower turbo sedan, the Sonata N Line, a mildly menacing makeover, and has us wondering, will it come to America?
Hyundai Sonata Black N Line from the front three-quarter angleHyundai
Hyundai Korea Channels The Dark Side For The Sonata N Line
One of the oldest pages in the automotive sales and marketing handbook is the simple and effective trim package. Depending on the decade, that trim could either consist of more chrome or more gloss black. In the last couple of decades, the latter has been the preferred choice, and that continues with the Hyundai Sonata Black N Line going on sale in South Korea.
It’s not an imaginative name, but it gets the job done. We would also describe the changes as the same. The N Line already featured a lot of dark trim, specifically with the mirror caps, window surrounds, and body extensions, so it was basically halfway to being fully darkened, if not more. So, all Hyundai did was give the car black badges and completely black wheels. From what we can tell, they’re just the same wheels that are on the regular N Line, but with the silver sections painted over in black. The body can only be painted in black or white, too. That’s genuinely the extent of the changes, as everything else is the same.
Hyundai Sonata Black N Line from the rear three-quarter angleHyundai
Will It Come To America?
Hyundai has launched a couple of blackout packages for its large SUVs in America, so there’s a recent precedent for the Black N Line. However, Hyundai still hasn’t officially announced the trim for the US. So, we reached out to a Hyundai representative, and they neither confirmed nor denied whether it would come here.
“Hyundai Motor America is aware of the announcement of the new Korean-market Black N Line trim for Sonata. We have nothing further to share at this time.” —Hyundai representative
Even though the Black N Line isn’t available, the regular N Line still is. Besides the black badging and all-black wheels, it has all the same trim, and it can be had in more than two body colors.
Hyundai Sonata Black N Line from the front three-quarter angleHyundai
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
We don’t see any reason why Hyundai couldn’t or wouldn’t offer this trim package in the US. It’s a simple, cheap change, and almost every automaker that does business in the US does a black trim package now and then. Plus, as we’ve mentioned, Hyundai has a couple similar packages for other models in its lineup.
We genuinely wouldn’t be surprised if the package is slated to show up soon, it’s just that the US branch isn’t able to talk about it yet.
