Hyundai has released new information and photos of the 2016 Sonata Plug-In Hybrid, which offers an all-electric driving range of 24 miles (38 km).
Scheduled to go on sale in the US later this fall, the first-ever Sonata PHEV features a 9.8 kWh lithium polymer battery pack, roughly five times larger than the Sonata Hybrid’s battery.
The battery pack can recharge in less than three hours with a Level-Two charger or in less than nine hours using a standard 120V outlet.
The 2016 Sonata Plug-In Hybrid uses a six-speed automatic transmission with Hyundai’s Transmission-Mounted Electrical Device (TMED) 50kW (67hp) electric motor in place of a torque converter. The electric motor is 32 percent more powerful than the motor used the in Sonata Hybrid and allows EV operation at higher engine load and speed.
The hybrid system also includes a 2.0-liter Nu four-cylinder GDI engine rated at 154hp and 140lb-ft (190Nm) of torque – the same gasoline engine found in the Sonata Hybrid. The PHEV’s total system output is 202hp at 6,000 rpm.
Based on internal estimates, Sonata PHEV is expected to deliver 93 MPGe combined in EV mode. In charge sustaining mode, it is expected to return 40 mpg (5.9 l/100 km) combined, based on internal testing.
From the outside, the Sonata Plug-In Hybrid looks very similar to the Sonata Hybrid, with the only significant change over the latter model being the charging port on the driver front fender. Inside, a battery charge indicator is located on top of the dashboard to make it easy to see the state of charge from outside the vehicle.
The Sonata Plug-In Hybrid will be available in California, Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in 2015. Buyers will be eligible for a $2,500 fixed federal tax credit and a variable federal tax credit based on battery capacity that will also be over $2,000. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.