Unlike many other hybrid vehicle variants, the hybrid version of the Sonata is strikingly different from it’s conventional counterpart. Everything from the headlights/taillights to the tires and side sills are completely different in the hybrid version of the 2011 Hyundai Sonata. Of course, these changes may appear to be simply cosmetic, but Hyundai insists that they make the vehicle more aerodynamic, thus allowing for more gas mileage.

The 2011 Sonata Hybrid is the first consumer vehicle to use Hyundai’s Hybrid Blue Drive Technology, which is a proprietary platform that has been used in prototype vehicles for a while now. The unique Blue Drive can operate fully independent of the opposing power source. In other words, the driver can choose to run the car using it’s 40-horsepower electric motor alone, or the 169-horsepower gasoline engine.