Autoblog

Hyundai has quickly developed a full range of products in its US lineup, and quality scores from companies like JD Power show those vehicles now rank among the best in the industry. For all of Hyundai's progress the past few years, the South Korean automaker has taken its time getting navigation systems into its fleet of cars and trucks.

For '08, the Azera, Santa Fe, and Veracruz all get nav systems, the Genesis sedan receives a separate high-end interface, and the bread-and-butter 2009 Sonata will get the tech as well. The folks over at Kicking Tires proclaim the interface to be bright, clear, and easy to use. It's about time. With Hyundai raising the price of entry for the Sonata to match (or exceed) the competition, it's important that the midsize sedan has everything the competition offers. It's just a shame that it took until now for them to do it.

[Source: Kicking Tires]

We reviewed a 2007 Hyundai Azera Limited not long ago and found the sedan from South Korea (actually, it's built in Montgomery, Alabama) to be a looker with a less than inspiring interior. While Hyundai has yet to address our criticisms inside the car, it has added a new model to the lineup aimed at courting folks who value fuel economy over the raw charisma of the current car's 263-horsepower 3.8L V6. The new GLS, available in dealerships now, will come with a smaller 3.3L V6 producing 234 horsepower while returning 21 mpg city / 28 mpg highway. As such, it will start at $24,895 (including $660 shipping), a full $1,300 less than the midrange SE model that starts at $26,195. Both the SE and the range-topping Limited ($27,995) still come with the larger 3.8L V6 that returns 19 mpg city / 24 mpg highway. However, if you can stand being down on power a bit, the new GLS offers the majority of standard features for which Hyundai is famous while being more efficient in the fuel department and less expensive.

[Source: Hyundai via Kicking Tires]

click above image to view high-resolution photo gallery

Much has been said about Hyundai's rise from being a pusher of Point-A-to-Point-B transportation to the purveyor of high value, safe and stylish vehicles. Nearly its entire lineup is full of ready for primetime hardware, save the Tiburon that idles into 2007 with merely a refresh of its aging design. The Azera debuted as a 2006 model to replace the XG350, a Korean import that filled a hole in the company's lineup but whose claws weren't sharp enough to play in the tiger pit that is the large car market in North America.

Like all the new models Hyundai has marched out in the past few years, the Azera looks great on paper and stacks up extremely well against other large cars in its class, like the Toyota Avalon, Ford Five-Hundred, Buick Lucerne and Chrysler 300. It starts with a low base price and piles on a big V6, lots of standard safety equipment and a sheetmetal suit that fits just right. But does the Azera have that something special that makes a contender into a champion, or do the sum of its parts equal no more than just the sum of its parts?

Hyundai's looking to bust into the highly-competitive entry-level luxury field with the 2008 Equus. The South Korean automaker already has the safety and luxury appointments thing down with the Azera, but the Equus appears to promise much more. With a spec sheet that includes rear-wheel-drive, V8 power, and a $30,000+ sticker price, Hyundai is clearly trying to follow the criteria that helped brands such as Lexus and Infiniti become established players in this tough segment.

Toyota was able to make Lexus a legitimate luxury brand in the states within 10 years with low prices, tons of standard equipment, and rock-solid reliability. What remains to be seen is whether a vehicle at this price point can survive a battle of the luxury sedans while sporting a Hyundai badge on the front grille.

[Source: The Car Connection]

The boys from Buick and their pimperific Lucernes will not be the dominant force in the 'executive' custom segment, if Hyundai has anything to do with it. The Korean automaker tapped, for the second time, L.A.-based K-Daddyz Kustoms to do what they do best to a new Azera and the results may give the Buick's barges a fair amount of competition.

The exterior gets the prerequisite paint job, courtesy of DuPont's Hot Hues, with additional airbrushing to bring it up a notch. The Azera also sports a custom sunroof with a vinyl top, suicide doors, billet mirrors and all the expected adornments to separate this whip from the Azera's normal clientele. Naturally, chromed dubs fill the wheels wells and a Universal Air Suspension air ride setup takes the bumps.

Inside, Infiniti Audio covers the A/V side of the things, with the rest of the interior getting a few subtle tweaks to bring it up to 'kustom' status.

Our man John Neff snapped the pics and confesses that, "I like it more than any of the Lucernes I've seen. Note to GM: 11 Lucernes is at least 10 too many."

More detailed pics are after the jump.

While trolling the AutoWeek forums we found a post that led us to Kia's Korean website where, front and center, the brand was touting the "N.E.X.T. Opirus". We're not sure what "N.E.X.T." stands for, but it's clear from these photos that Kia has gone to the trouble of cleaning up the front and rear clips of the Opirus, which is the basis for the North American Amanti. The front end looks much better with a wider and shorter grille (are those LED lamps in the lower bumper à la the Audi S6?), while out back... is that... is that a Bangle-butt on a Kia (see the rear shot after the jump)? The interior including the center console is also redone and now includes the requisite navigation system the Amanti has been missing for so long.

The improvements are much appreciated, but end far short of a complete redesign. The Opirus, however, does get a major boost in power thanks to the corporate 3.8-liter V6 also used in the Hyundai Azera. Producing 263 horsepower, the larger powerplant would give the Amanti a lot more get up and go than its current 200-hp, 3.5-liter V6.

The AutoWeek forum members are now haggling over price, some insisting that if these changes occur to the North American Amanti that its base price will immediately crest the $30K mark, putting Kia in uncharted territory.

(Follow the jump for additional pics of the exterior and interior)

[Source: AutoWeek forums]

In the world of large sedans* equipped with side airbags, some do a better job than others at protecting occupants according to the latest results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Achieving the top score of "good" are the Chevrolet Impala and Toyota Camry (this serious group of testers does not issue any scores of "excellent" or "exceptional" or even "super marvelous"). The Buick Lucerne and Hyundai Azera both earned an "acceptable" rating, while the Chrysler 300 and Buick LaCrosse came in with a "marginal" score.

The IIHS points out the importance of side-impact test scores by noting that in collisions involving modern vehicles, more drivers die in side impacts than in collisions of the frontal nature. Indeed, with the dramatic improvement in frontal protection, most vehicles now receive a rating of "good" from the institute in this measure of performance, with the most significant distinctions in safety now being in the realm of side impact protection.

*Concerning the comments that came up during our last post on "large cars" - we're not the ones who call these "large sedans", as that assessment is made by the EPA. We know that a Lucerne is not as large as your grandpa's Electra 225. We're also aware that it is no longer 1965.

[Source: IIHS; more info from the institute is posted after the jump]

Before Hyundai brings its first V8 RWD luxury vehicle to market next year we hope the name changes. Equus? Why would you name a car after a genus of the family Equidae that comprises horses, asses and zebras? Regardless, The Car Connection reports the car's interior will live up to luxury car standards with the requisite wood trim and leather seating surfaces.

It's hard to tell what the Equus will look like with this prototype's extra outer layers of camo, but Hyundai's standard fare that includes six airbags, ABS, stability control and a low- to mid-$30,000 price tag could make any V8 RWD luxury car look good.

[Source: The Car Connection]

Hyundai is gradually climbing the street cred ladder with its 2006 Azera, which went for a whopping (at least by Hyundai standards) $27,500 average transaction price in March; the highest of any Hyundai ever and higher than the XG350 the Azera replaces. While Hyundai still fights the perception that real car buyers don't buy its wares, the company is already selling twice as many Azeras as it did XG350s.

One thing the company says is working is its Hyundai Challenge, which encourages drivers to try out the Hyundai Sonata and compare it to other imports in its class, including the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. Inside Line quotes a Hyundai spokesperson as saying the company won't pit the vehicle against its domestic rivals because "we want consumers to know we are competitive against the imports [rather than] brands losing market share." Ouch, that kind of rhetoric must sting in Detroit.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line]

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has given the new 2006 Hyundai Azera a frontal offset impact rating of “Good”, the organization’s best rating for crashworthiness. Like many a Hyundai, the Azera’s virtually a padded room on wheels with Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, ABS and eight airbags all standard.

The Azera’s “Good” rating gives Hyundai a full-boat of highly rated vehicles. All current model Hyundai vehicles tested by the IIHS, which includes the Elantra, Santa Fe, Sonata and XG300/XG350, have earned a “Good” frontal offset impact rating.

[Source: Hyundai and IIHS]