Hyundai has stepped up its design game over the past decade and these improvements are definitely showcased in the new 2020 Hyundai Sonata. All-new for this year, the Hyundai Sonata dons the brand’s new “Sensuous Sportiness” design language. Which we’re guessing means that the new Sonata is equal parts sensual and sporty. Fair enough.

A new design isn’t all the Sonata has to offer, there are some new technical enhancement and a new choice of engines. We’ll go over that later, but after taking a second look at what the new Sonata has to offer, we did notice a few interesting features that prospective buyers might get a kick out of.

New design, a new set of eyes

Now in its eighth generation, the 2020 Hyundai Sonata is longer, lower, and wider than the previous generation. With the new body dimensions comes a new design inside and out and there are a few notable design elements that caught our eye. Looking at the front of the car, the angular headlights and wide-mouth front grille are the most eye-catching, while the coolest feature is the chrome strip that lights up when the headlights are on and go halfway up the hood. It’s a distinct feature that will everyone looking in rearview mirrors as you drive behind them.

Remote Smart Parking Assist

A new car being able to park itself nowadays is nothing too new. Audi and Volkswagen have had their self-parking assist systems for years and so has Ford, but those systems focus on parallel parking and backing-in maneuvers. The Hyundai Sonata’s new system (standard on the Limited trim level) goes back and forth, sans driver, with the simple push of a button on the remote key fob. What’s the point of this feature? It works well if you park the Sonata in a tight spot with no room to open the doors. It can also impress your friends and anyone nearby.

Blind Spot View Monitor

This feature is pretty self-explanatory and while blind-spot indication is nothing new, the Hyundai does it a little differently. When you opt for the available 12.3-inch digital display, mainly on the higher trims, the digital gauges flash to a camera view of the blind spots on either side of the car when the turn signals are activated. That’s a step up in sleek safety technology.

Nature Sounds

This is a bit of an oddball feature, so we had to add it to this list. Piping in engine sounds into the cabin to give the driver a sportier aural driving experience is one thing, but in the new Sonata, Hyundai included a setting for “nature sounds,” in which you can listen to different natural sounds like a “lively forest,” an “open-air café,” and a “snowy village,” to name a few. Why? Hyundai says that these sounds are meant to keep the driver, and occupants, calm during highway congestion or traffic jams by reducing the outside noise of the city or highway.

Ahead of the game?

These are only a few of the interesting features that currently on the 2020 Hyundai Sonata. And while they might not sway anyone enough to ultimately purchase the car, they could be a good sign of things to come for car designs of the future. While we might not have flying cars or at least one’s that levitate, we can all rest assured that the in-cabin nature sounds will get us calmly headed in the right direction.