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How the Blue Link Apple Watch app talks to Hyundai Sonata PHEV

Getting all of our electronic gadgets to talk to each other is the technologist utopia normally called the Internet of Things. Cars are no strangers to this new Internet and that means that your smartphone is getting more and more chatty with any number of vehicles, especially plug-in vehicles. The new 2016 Hyundai Sonata Plug-In Hybrid is the latest that can communicate with your phone, and it also has a new-found ability to talk to smart watches. We talked with Hyundai's manager of connected care publicity, Miles Johnson, about the new features in the Apple Watch app during out recent test drive of the Sonata PHEV. To be honest, there's nothing groundbreaking in the new Blue Link Apple Watch app except that it works on your wrist instead of your palm – you can see the state of charge and be guided to your car in a crowded parking lot – but we're still in favor of anything that makes electric vehicles seem one step ahead of your non-connected ride. You can get an up-close and personal look at the new app's capabilities in the video above and read our first drive of the PHEV and the standard hybrid here.

Hyundai previews the subcompact Kona crossover's funky fresh face

It seems as though the already crowded subcompact crossover segment will welcome yet another competitor. Hyundai says it will launch its new Kona this summer, and it just released a teaser showing its front fascia. We'd previously seen spy photos of the car, but this is our clearest look at the nose yet. From the looks of it, it will be going down the funky styling route of the Toyota C-HR and Nissan Juke. The first styling cue you'll notice is the split headlight arrangement that we've seen before on the Jeep Cherokee and Nissan Juke. The top lamps are just LED running lights, and the lower units, also LED on the Kona, provide the actual forward illumination at night. Together, they create a scowling aggressive look. Between the lower lamps is a low and wide version of Hyundai's corporate "cascading" grille. It does have a unique twist, though, in the upper slot that looks rather like a scoop. It also helps create a dual-plane look to the front of the vehicle. Hyundai hasn't released many details about the Kona aside from a release date and a size. It actually hasn't even announced the markets in which the Kona will be available. However, it's likely it will come to the US, since the subcompact crossover arena has been booming here. The only other information Hyundai has revealed about the Kona is that it will have good visibility and "agile driving dynamics." That sounds good to us, but we can't verify either until we get our hands on one. At least it won't be a long wait. Related Video:

2018 Hyundai Sonata Sport Quick Spin Review | Returning to the revolution

The 2018 Hyundai Sonata represents a course correction of the sort that just wasn't needed with the previous-generation model. Besides a few added features here and there, that car really didn't change much during the course of its lifetime, and frankly, it didn't need to. When something works, don't screw it up. It arrived at a time when Honda and Toyota were pretty much phoning it in, and boasted a revolutionary design that quite literally changed the way midsize family sedans look to this day. Toyota designer Ian Cartabiano told me that Sonata was one of the few cars over the years that made his fellow designers wake up a bit and realize the game was changing. Then, after staging a revolution, Hyundai played it safe. The Sonata introduced three years ago was conservative to the point of anonymity outside, while not really moving the needle on the vehicle dynamics front. If there was one, clear area where that revolutionary Sonata fell short -- and indeed virtually every Hyundai -- it was in the sophistication and poise it demonstrated out on the road. Well, after the cool reception to the model redesign, Hyundai got a wake up call of its own. This 2018 Hyundai Sonata gets a rather significant facelift, adopting the curvy trapezoidal grille found on more recently introduced models, and ditching its conservative anonymity for a more organic overall appearance certainly in keeping with its "Fluidic Sculpture" predecessor. The rear was also redone with more tapered, dare I say "aggressive" taillights and the license plate relocated to the bumper. Is the end result a great-looking car? Shoulder shrug, but it's sure better than before. Compare the 2018 Hyundai Sonata to its rivals using the Autoblog Compare Cars tool. 2018 Hyundai Sonata Sport View 5 Photos However, I knew the 2018 Sonata looked different. I was quite frankly not expecting it to drive different, because when you review cars long enough, you start to know what a particular brand's cars feel like behind the wheel. There'll be subtle changes over the years, but the language remains the same. Well, the Sonata has been hitting the Rosetta Stone. The change is immediately apparent. The on-center steering feel is crisp, the turn-in more immediate and effort is consistent. It just feels "right" now whereas before turning the Sonata was one of numb indifference.