After being absent from the Malaysian market for about two years, Hyundai's D-segment model is set to return to Malaysia as Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has just previewed the all-new 2020 Hyundai Sonata in Malaysia.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve been up close and personal with the all-new Hyundai Sonata, as we’ve seen the car before at Hyundai Motor Company’s (HMC) regional training centre. It’s worth mentioning that the unit we first saw wasn’t destined for the Malaysian market as it was a left-hand drive car.

Speaking of which, the DN8-generation Sonata has never been offered with the steering on the right side – it appears that Malaysia is the first market globally to receive the right-hand drive unit.

Powering the all-new Hyundai Sonata is 2.5-litre Smartsteam G2.5 MPI naturally-aspirated petrol engine that does 180 PS and 232 Nm, hooked up to a 6-speed automatic that drives the front wheels.

For the Malaysian market, HSDM will be offering just one variant of the all-new Sonata, which includes these equipment:

• LED headlights
• LED daytime running lights
• LED tail lights
• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Heads-up display
• 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
• 8.0-inch infotainment display
• Android Auto, Apple CarPlay
• Qi wireless charging pad
• Power-adjustable driver seat with memory
• 6 airbags
• Tire pressure monitoring system

Hyundai Nexo pictured, but works the same in the Sonata

While the all-new Sonata lacks Hyundai’s SmartSense ADAS suite, it does come equipped with the new Blind-spot View Monitor – essentially similar to Honda’s ingenious LaneWatch but with a twist. Unlike LaneWatch that projects video feed from the passenger-side wing mirror onto the infotainment display, Hyundai’s solution features cameras on both the left and right side of the car, feeding video into the instrument cluster.

Prices of the all-new Hyundai Sonata will be made known once HSDM launches the model.