Sonata

Make
Hyundai
Segment
Sedan

Station wagon sales are pretty abysmal in the United States. Wagons only account for 1.4 percent of the total US car market and of that 1.4 percent, 1.2 percent comes from the Subaru Outback alone. It's no wonder why there are no more mainstream station wagons left on the market as even Volkswagen has stopped selling the popular Golf SportWagen. Hyundai hasn't offered a true station wagon in the US for a long time and based on the wagon models the Korean automaker used to sell, this hasn't been such a loss.

But a new rendering from Nikita Chuyko has us thinking that the 2020 Hyundai Sonata would make a pretty sexy station wagon. Hyundai clearly envisioned the latest eight-generation Sonata to have a four-door-coupe profile but the wagon bodystyle looks surprisingly fitting with the car's design.

In its previous generation, Kia offered a wagon variant called the Optima Sportswagon in other markets but there was never a Hyundai equivalent. The rendering artist has managed to keep all of the Sonata's unique styling elements such as the distinct LED light profile, two-tone wheels, and one-piece taillight design intact here in the wagon transformation.

Like most sedans that have been rendered into a wagon, the rear glass above the taillights does look a bit odd sitting above what looks less like a tailgate and more like a trunk. But forgiving the obvious shortcomings of a rendering versus a real design, we think it looks pretty nice.

We'd expect a Sonata wagon to be powered by the same 2.5-liter or 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines found in the sedan but there would be far more than 16.3 cubic feet in the trunk. With the popularity of crossovers though, we see no reason why Hyundai would ever need to build such a vehicle. Even if a Sonata wagon was greenlit for production, it would likely feature a raised ride height to help it cater to crossover shoppers. Sadly, this looks to be relegated to the annals of online renders that will never reach production, meaning that the European market Volkswagen Arteon Shooting Brake will remain unchallenged.