Being affluent is a tough order in the midst of a recession.

You may have money, but you don't want to flaunt it and antagonize those around you who may be suffering right now. And you also want to get as much value as you can for the money. That's one of the ways you became affluent, after all.

With all that in mind, if you want a new, stylish car that will make you proud, you'll want to check out Hyundai's 2011 Sonata four-door sedan.

That's right. I said Hyundai. If you still think Hyundais are cheap, poorly built cars, you've been hiding out all these years. Hyundais are winning award after award for quality, including being named the highest quality non-premium brand by J.D. Power in 2009, and its Hyundai Genesis won the North American Car of the Year award last year.

What's nice about the all-new Sonata, which is on sale now, is that it looks rich, and a lot more expensive than it really is. Base prices run from $19,195 for a GLS with a sport six-speed manual, to the Limited sedan with navigation, which has a base price of $27,395.

The new Sonata is enhanced by tasteful strips of chrome trim, one of which starts just under the windows and stretches out to the front headlights. Although it looks like one piece of chrome, it's actually several pieces which fit together precisely.

A beautiful, aggressive chrome grille that looks like waves of ocean water can be seen upfront, flanked by huge, tearddrop headlights that give the car a dynamic, athletic stance.

The roofline is a low, sleek, semi-fastback design to a trunk lid that has hints of a spoiler. Some models feature flashy chrome-trimmed dual exhausts round back.

Altogether, the design by up-and-coming Hyundai designer Andre Hudson makes the new Sonata hands-down the best-looking family car on the road. It really looks more like an entry-level luxury sedan.

Inside you'll see Hyundai's "fluidic sculpture" design theme carried out in a multi-level dashboard. Like waves, it flows out over a waterfall center stack trimmed in satin aluminum finishes, then flows back over the car's gauges.

The interior has tasteful hints of chrome, satin finishes and aluminum throughout, with nicely sized round controls here and there that are absolutely silent in operation. And you won't have any guesswork on how the controls for the heat and air work; there's a profile of a human figure that guides you to precisely where you want to make adjustments. And there are soft-touch finishes throughout the inside of the car.

In terms of total interior volume, at 120.2 cubic feet, the Sonata las more room than Toyota's Camry, Honda's Accord, Nissan's Altmia, Ford's Fusion, and the Chevy Malibu. In fact, there's so much room that the Environmental Protection Agency has labeled the Sonata a "large car."

But the Sonata sure doesn't feel like it when you're on the road. It has a 198 horsepower, 2.4 liter four-cylinder engine that feels more powerful than some V-6s. Again, it outscores all of its competitors, this time on horsespower and torque, which gives cars their push and oomph when on the road. Fuel economy is rated at 24 city/35 highway for the manual transmission version, and 22/35 for the automatic equipped versions.

You can corner fairly aggressively in the new Sonata, and in the sporty SE version, there's a nice burble and whoosh in the exhaust when you accelerate, adding to the fun.

Standard equipment is extensive on all models including the base GLS: power steering, windows and locks; a heated mirror; remote keyless entry; tilt and telescopic steering wheel with cruise and audio controls; active head restraints; integrated Bluetooth with phonebook transfer and many other features.

SE adds sports tuned suspension, a bit more horsepower, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, dual exhaust, chrome door handles and more. Standard equipment with the Limited includes leather, dual automatic temperature control, premium door sill plates, in-dash six-disc CD changer, alloy wheels, side mirror turn signal indicators, sunroof, and other items.