The exterior is bland, but it ain't ugly like the PoS Malibu, bloated like the Accord, odd looking like the new Camry, or as bland as a Ford 500. The interior is not cheap, It's got better quality materials than the Malibu and a better design. I've seen both, sat in both, the Maibu is cheap. The Sonata doesn't have a manual in V6 form, but in the midsize segment, how many buyers want a manual? Target customers for the most part don't. For those who do, get the new Altima, which is far superior to any of the mentioned cars. I like the Fusion better than all these though. Anyway, a lot of buyers, who don't want or care about a manual aren't gonna go carving the twisties. It handles fine for the segement, not class leading, but better than a LaCrosse or a malibu or a 500 (which has no manual or sport suspension option) I bet.
I never said I wanted a Sonata, I'd much prefer a Caliber SRT-4, Charger, 300C, Magnum, or Challenger or Sky....or maybe the new Avenger/Sebring..those look promising. Or maybe the new Altima.
Still, I will defend the car because it's a good car, and better than many of the cars in this segment. A lot of you guys who hate this thing seem baised against it just because it's from Hyundai, if the Malbu was anywhere near as good, or even if it had a Malibu badge on it, I bet you'd be singing a different tune. It's not a bad car, it's not a poorly built car, it's not at the top of the class but it's far from the bottom.