First Drive: 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid looks to split the uprights

Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid hails from a nation where Buddhism is one of the dominant religions. After all, this slippery sedan’s design is the gas-electric’s equivalent of The Middle Path – a road that the company hopes is truly the way to automotive enlightenment.

Say what?

In the still-young history of the modern hybrid automobile, there have been two prevailing schools of thought on design: As the less costly path, The Low Road to hybridization is already a crowded one – it’s a design route that basically calls for the electrification hardware to be buried beneath a familiar bodyshell that’s shared with a conventional internal combustion-only model (see: Lexus LS 600h, Ford Fusion Hybrid,Chevrolet Silverado, etc.). The driving philosophy here is to keep production costs in check while also appealing to audiences that might be otherwise reluctant to embrace “new” technology.

By contrast, The High Road calls for swoopier model-specific bodywork – if not an entire dedicated platform – enabling a “greener than thou” halo for its owners and parent company. Unfortunately, this high-visibility strategy also costs a boatload of cash, and the only such model that has managed to make a solid business case for itself is the Toyota Prius, a vehicle that’s become the de-facto postercar for the green movement.

But here’s the conundrum that Hyundai has keenly recognized: Despite being on the checklist of every politician, environmentalist and Hollywood glitterati, hybrids don’t sell in America – they account for less than two percent of new vehicles purchased in the U.S. every year, and their high technology bandwidth means that they require a disproportionate amount of money to develop. Basically, Hyundai knows that the Sonata Hybrid is a necessity for improving its technological capabilities, as well as for burnishing its industry-leading CAFE scores, but it also seems to understand that it is almost certain to lose money on each one it builds. Which is why they’ve taken The Middle Path.