Nice Light for Dark Driving - 2015 Hyundai Sonata Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.com

Nice Light for Dark Driving - 2015 Hyundai Sonata Long-Term Road Test

The 2015 Hyundai Sonata's interior lighting is subtle, stylish and practical.

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schen72

Many cars actually have that "pinlight" above the center console and sometimes in the back seat. BMWs use an orange light whereas Honda/Acura use a blue light. I agree it's a nice tough and costs probably nothing to implement.

misterfusion

I loved the subtle orange LED accent lighting in my Saturn Aura. Gave it a real upscale touch, and of course it was functional.

allthingshonda

Telling my age but I remember how cool I thought it was that my aunt's Nissan Maxima would selectively illuminate audio functions depending on the mode. When the radio was playing the preset numbers were lit up but if you played a tape the presets would go dark and tape functions like rewind and fast forward would light up. And how ingenious I thought the illuminated ring around the ignition was. So much better than stabbing in the dark for the ignition switch on my Mom's Buick. Glad the Japanese still embrace some old tech even today. My Acura TSX still has the illuminated ring around the ignition. And the small ambient light in the roof and footwells work well but not overwhelming so you really only see it in really dark areas.

nuieve

Haha, you reminded me of the only thing I hated about this car when I had it for 2500 miles (rental)

That stupid pin light drove me and everybody in the car with me completely nuts. I stuck gum on it for the rest of the trip. It's completely retarded that it's so bright and you can't turn it off or at least dim. It's like having one of the dome lights permanently on because it's essentially a dome light.

If I need to reach for something once in 800 miles, I can always turn the light on for a second, grab it and turn it off. I don't need it to shine it for 10 hours in case I need it on for 1-2 seconds. Really stupid. If I bought this car, removing that light would be my first project.

markinnaples_

My old MB C230 has that subtle light on the bottom side of the rear view mirror, and it's just enough light to be helpful and not a hindrance.

schen72

nuieve said:

Haha, you reminded me of the only thing I hated about this car when I had it for 2500 miles (rental)

That stupid pin light drove me and everybody in the car with me completely nuts. I stuck gum on it for the rest of the trip. It's completely retarded that it's so bright and you can't turn it off or at least dim. It's like having one of the dome lights permanently on because it's essentially a dome light.

If I need to reach for something once in 800 miles, I can always turn the light on for a second, grab it and turn it off. I don't need it to shine it for 10 hours in case I need it on for 1-2 seconds. Really stupid. If I bought this car, removing that light would be my first project.

The pin light on my Acuras and a rental BMW were really subtle. The LED itself is recessed a bit into the shroud, so you can't actually see the light directly, so it never seems harsh.

tatermctatums

My C5 Z06 had a yellow led light on the bottom of the mirror and my 2010 Jetta TDI has 2 red LEDs by the sunroof knob for the same purpose. Both put out enough light to be useful while still being subtle. Personally, I don't like using the dome/map lights unless necessary since that destroys your night vision.