2020 Hyundai Sonata vs. 2020 Toyota Camry

2020 Hyundai Sonata Limited ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Year after year, the Toyota Camry has a target on its back. It’s America’s best-selling mid-size sedan, long renowned as an excellent family car. So when a hot new competitor hits the market, it’s only natural to see how it stacks up against the standard-bearer.

One of the most dramatic new mid-size sedans is the Hyundai Sonata, which saw a full redesign for the 2020 model year. The previous Sonata was all about comfort and value, while the new model seeks to provide a luxury experience at still-affordable prices. To see if this combination is enough to topple the vaunted Camry, we explore how the two sedans compare across eight categories — and pick an overall winner.

Exterior Styling

Hyundai and Toyota took different approaches to styling their mid-size sedans. In the Camry’s last full redesign, for the 2018 model year, Toyota kept things simple, classy, and generally unobjectionable. You won’t find lots of creases and edges along the Camry’s bodywork, just a high, rounded roof and big windows. That’s not to say it’s all dull. The sport-themed Camry SE, XSE, and TRD trim levels have a more aggressive hourglass-shaped grille, reshaped rear bumper, and available two-tone roof.

The freshly redesigned Sonata, meanwhile, avoids conventionality. Hyundai sweated the details, including a hood that fits seamlessly against the grille, and unique LED headlight spears that merge seamlessly into chrome trim running up toward the windshield. A crisp lightbar connects the angular taillights, which emerge from a crease running along the whole side of the vehicle. And the sedan’s overall shape is low and wide, for a more athletic stance than the Camry. We won’t impose our judgment on this aesthetic difference, so this has to be a tie.

Tie

Photo by Brady Holt

Interior Design

The Sonata and Camry interiors are less different than their exteriors. And if anything, it’s Toyota that shows more design flourish, with a center stack that curves down and away from the gear selector and cupholders. The Sonata dash is more straightforward: infotainment on the top, climate controls in the middle, and open storage space below that.

We’ll again defer to readers’ aesthetic preferences, but the Sonata secures the win in this category for its superior cabin materials and its more advanced infotainment. The 2020 Camry has a choice of 7-inch and 8-inch touchscreens (or 7-inch or 9-inch screens in the 2021 Camry), while the Sonata has a standard 8-inch touchscreen with an available upgrade to a 10.25-inch touchscreen. The Sonata’s system is also more responsive than the Camry’s, and the Sonata has richer cabin materials. The Camry’s cabin is pleasant, up-to-date, and user-friendly, but the Sonata’s is even more so.

Hyundai Sonata

Photo by Brady Holt

Interior Space and Comfort

Both of these mid-size sedans are spacious and comfortable. There’s room for four adults to stretch out for a long road trip, or five to avoid feeling too pinched on a shorter drive. The Sonata has the lower-slung, sportier vibe you’d also find in a Honda Accord, while the Camry sits you up a little higher and more upright. The Camry’s seats are cushier and more enveloping, both in the front and the back, and their support also holds up better on a long trip.

In the back, the Sonata has plenty of space but a lower, less comfortable seat cushion than the Camry. The Sonata’s trunk measures a generous 16.0 cubic feet, while the Camry’s is a less-impressive 15.1 cubic feet. Unless you know you’d max out your trunk volume, we’ll give the nod to the Camry.

Toyota Camry

Photo by Brady Holt

Ride and Handling

The Toyota Camry is almost synonymous with dull-driving, comfort-focused transportation. That’s not the case these days. It still offers outstanding smoothness and quietness, but it has also become quite agile. Its steering is responsive and decently precise, and the car doesn’t pitch and roll when it takes a curve. It’s a highly composed vehicle whether you’re trying to go straight or around a turn.

The Sonata doesn’t have the same dynamic prowess. It’s not a bad car to drive, to be sure. Bumps thump through more than they do in the Camry, but the suspension is more steady and firm than stiff and unyielding. The Sonata’s responsive steering also helps it feel agile when you’re driving gently. However, the Hyundai’s steering can go numb when you push the car harder, and its handling also has less poise than the Camry. A new 2021 Sonata N Line performance model promises sportier performance, but otherwise, the Camry is both more comfortable and more fun.

Toyota Camry

Photo by Brady Holt

Acceleration

The Camry’s performance advantage extends to a straight line. The standard engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that generates 203 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. It’s strong and lively, and it feels natural to drive it either hard or gently (though it gets loud and coarse if you really floor the accelerator). Power junkies can upgrade to a strong, smooth, quiet 3.5-liter V6 that makes 301 horsepower and 267 lb-ft of torque.

The 2020 Sonata has a choice of two engines with similar power output to each other: a standard 2.5-liter four-cylinder with 191 hp and 181 lb-ft of torque, and a 1.6-liter turbo with 180 hp and 195 lb-ft. This turbo is quicker off the line, smoother, and quieter, but it’s still only a rival to the base Camry’s power. The 2021 Sonata N Line has a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder with 290 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque, which is a better challenge to the Camry V6 — but Toyota doesn’t make you buy a specialty performance model to get plenty of speed. The Sonata and Camry are also both sold as hybrids, which we’ll discuss in a moment.

Toyota Camry

Photo by Brady Holt

Fuel Economy

The 2.5-liter front-wheel-drive Camry has EPA ratings that range from 27 mpg in the city, 38 mpg on the highway, and 31 mpg combined, all the way up to 29 mpg city, 41 mpg highway, and 34 mpg combined — the best showing in its class. By contrast, the 2020 Sonata’s estimates (depending on engine and trim level) range from 27 mpg city/37 mpg highway/30 mpg combined to 28 city/38 highway/32 combined. The Camry V6 gets about 22 city/32 highway/26 combined depending on the trim level, and an all-wheel-drive four-cylinder model gets 25 city/34 highway/29 combined; the Sonata N Line doesn’t have EPA ratings as of this writing.

For maximum fuel economy, Hyundai’s gas-electric model has a slight edge over the Toyota’s. The Sonata Hybrid manages from 45 city/51 highway/47 combined to 50 city/54 highway/52 combined, depending on the trim level. The Camry Hybrid ranges from 44 city/47 highway/46 combined to 51 city/53 highway/52 combined. But with the most popular engines, the Camry has the advantage.

Toyota Camry

Photo by Brady Holt

Safety

The Camry and Sonata are both among the safest sedans you can buy, with top-notch scores in crash tests and collision avoidance, and with a long list of standard high-tech safety systems. They both include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, and lane-keeping steering corrections as standard equipment on all models. Both earned Good scores in all Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash tests and overall five-star National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ratings.

Their differences are nuanced. The Camry earned a higher IIHS score for its base-model headlights and a slightly higher NHTSA frontal-impact crash test score. The Sonata’s automatic emergency braking system is slightly better at avoiding a pedestrian, and a blind-spot monitoring system is standard on more of its trim levels. To break the tie, we’re looking at the Camry’s optional all-wheel drive, which provides greater traction in slippery weather.

Toyota Camry

Photo by Brady Holt

Pricing and Features

The 2020 Hyundai Sonata is priced from $23,400, compared with $24,425 for the base 2020 Toyota Camry. But while Hyundai is known as a value brand, the Sonata’s advantage over the Camry isn’t about a cut-rate price tag — it’s about all the extra stuff that Hyundai provides for similar money.

Many features that are often restricted to vehicles’ pricey trim levels are widely available on the Sonata. These include Digital Key, which lets you use your Android Smartphone to unlock and start the vehicle; a digital gauge cluster; a 12-speaker Bose sound system; and a heated steering wheel. You won’t find those features on any Camry, for that matter. Nor does Toyota offer the Sonata’s available blind-spot camera or “Smart Park” system, which lets you use the vehicle’s keyfob to remotely move the vehicle a short distance. We mentioned that only the Camry lets you get all-wheel drive or a V6 engine, that about does it for Camry exclusives. Hyundai now also trumps Toyota’s once-outstanding free maintenance program, offering three years to Toyota’s two years. The Camry is a well-priced mid-size sedan with lots of standard safety features, but the Sonata provides even more for the money.

Hyundai Sonata

Photo by Brady Holt

Final Thoughts

Merely tallying up the wins makes this matchup look lopsided, which wouldn’t be fair to the 2020 Hyundai Sonata. Hyundai’s latest mid-size sedan provides high-end style, features, and build quality even at affordable prices, while staying competitive for its comfort, performance, and safety. The Sonata is a solid competitor even before you consider its price advantage.

But to us, the 2020 Toyota Camry justifies its slightly higher price. It may not have the Sonata’s visual punch or beautifully finished cabin, but the Camry wafts down the road with equal parts serenity and fuel efficiency — and it doesn’t shy away from a winding road, either. Overall, it’s the better-rounded mid-size sedan.

Toyota Camry

Photo by Brady Holt