What A Difference A Year Makes



There was a point in time where if we read one more lede that started with "Hyundai sure is on a roll these days," we would have clawed our eyes out. Fact of the matter, though, is that those words were absolutely true. Hyundai has really come a long way here in the United States, especially in the past couple of years. And the only reason people have stopped writing about Hyundai's forward momentum is because, frankly, we expect nothing less now. Every new product blows the doors off of the one that came before it, and brand-new ventures like the Genesis line or funky-fresh Veloster are nothing short of impressive.

But every family has its black sheep, and unfortunately for Hyundai, that might be the largest one in its herd. You see, while Hyundai has worked hard to create a unique brand identity here in the United States by offering cars that are designed specifically with our market in mind, the Equus was simply a vehicle hauled over from Korea with a few minor Americanized tweaks. Don't get us wrong, the Equus is a plenty good car, and through its faults, we praised it in both our initial first drive and follow-up review as being a tremendous value that's pretty darn up to snuff with its competitive set. But over time, can something that's simply a good value work in the highly competitive full-size luxury set?

That in mind, we ordered a White Satin Pearl 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate for our long-term garage in order to see if after one year of day-to-day use, the big flagship would be able to stand tall with the rest of its Modern Hyundai kin, or simply be another budget-minded also-ran from the days of Old Hyundai. 52 weeks and 22,638 miles later, all we can say is, man, what a difference a year makes.

Keep your eyes locked on the official Autoblog Facebook page for the majority of our updates, as well as the official Autoblog Twitter account (@therealautoblog, look for the #ablongterm hashtag).

Our long-term 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate has made its way back to my hands after spending the summer with other members of the Autoblog team. Its mileage has nearly tripled since I last drove the big white luxoliner. Summertime excursions and business trips have added up, meaning the Equus now has just under 19,000 miles on the odometer.

With those miles has come a bit of wear and tear, but a recent dealership trip smoothed out many of the rough edges. (Read Editor-in-Chief Neff's report from last month to see what we mean.) Still, a few blemishes remain, but much of it is to be expected with this level of use. We've already talked about the discolored driver's seat, but I've also noticed some general wear in the leather that wasn't there before I gave the Equus away for its summer of road trippin'.

Like us on Facebook to see all of our long-term vehicle updates

Like us on Facebook to see all of our long-term vehicle updates