Hyundai Sonata 2.4 CDX

There seems to be a cut-off point around about 40, at which you are either expected to have reached the hallowed levels of a senior company executive with the car allowance to match, or you simply don’t exist.

To an extent, car companies are looking after their own interests, because catching customers when they are young can win loyalty to a brand for life. And in terms of marketing, you can advertise a car to young people and older customers will buy it, but it doesn’t work the other way round.

But Hyundai is under no illusions about who is likely to buy the Hyundai – grey power is the name of the game.

Hyundai is targeting 45-year-old men in the ABC1 category. Nice to see that the people who put their cards in phone boxes aren’t the only ones targeting this market.

So what does Hyundai have for a man with a lifetime of car-buying experience behind him and a comfortable salary?

On face value, it offers a rather attractive exterior that isn’t shamed by other more well-known brands.

The Sonata has a solid, well-proportioned exterior that hints at a Mazda6 or an old-generation Toyota Camry.

Prices aren’t at the bargain-basement level you might have expected when looking at Hyundais, as they start at £16,495 for the manual and hit £17,495 for the automatic.

In the UK, there is just the one 2.4-litre petrol engine, offering 160bhp at 5,800rpm and 161lb-ft of torque at 4,250rpm. CO2 emissions are 198g/km for the manual tested here, equivalent to a 26% benefit-in-kind tax rate.

Step inside the cabin and it seems bare. The dashboard is a sea of grey plastic. Of particular note is the radio, which sits forlornly at the top of the dashboard like an aftermarket item in a cheap supermini.

Put first impressions aside, however, and the experience improves. The instrument panel is clear, if a little basic, and the standard leather seats are comfortable.

The 2.4-litre engine revs quietly and allows for relaxed cruising, although the four-cylinder unit is surprisingly sedate through the revs.

Along motorway stretches the Sonata rides minor imperfections well and even large potholes don’t transmit harshly into the cabin.

It is all very well screwed together, which suggests there will be little reason to call on Hyundai’s excellent five-year/unlimited-mileage warranty.

The steering is light, and as a result doesn’t provide enough feedback to transmit levels of grip when cornering, and the suspension doesn’t seem to like the sporty element of the drive home either.

Overall it is an excellent effort which would give the big volume players a run for their money. But therein lies the problem. At this price, the big players in fleet can play the discount game all day long and win hands down, and they have a vast slush fund to produce excellent interiors packed with equipment.

The Sonata is a decent effort and a winner if you value space and leather above all else – and you don’t mind 10,000-mile service intervals. But the volume rivals offer so much more depth and development to their product for the same money that it is hard to see a fleet manager ditching the big brands just yet.

Fact file

Hyundai Sonata 2.4CDX

Delivered price, standard car (P11D value): £16,292
CO2 emissions (g/km): 198
BIK % of P11D in 2006: 26%
Graduated VED rate: £190
Insurance group: 12
Combined mpg: 33.2
CAP Monitor residual value: £4,675/29%
Depreciation 19.36 pence per mile x 60,000: £11,616
Maintenance 2.75 pence per mile x 60,000: £1,650
Fuel 12.93 pence per mile x 60,000: £7,758
Wholelife cost 35.04 pence per mile x 60,000: £21,024
Typical contract hire rate: £346