2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate, April 2011

Between me and Editor-in-Chief John Neff, Autoblog has racked up 3,500 miles on our long-term 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate since its arrival in March. Now that the initial honeymoon phase is over, we're getting a very good feel for how the Big Korean handles day-to-day tasks.

First and foremost, I continue to be impressed with the sheer number of compliments the Equus receives, most of which are from women. This car really turns heads, possibly due to the fact they're scarce on the road – I have yet to see another one in metro Detroit. I wasn't too keen on the Hyundai's design when it first arrived, but am now finding the Equus to be a very regal beast, especially in white. Even the guys at my local car wash, who don't usually say much about the test cars I bring through, could not hold back their positive praise. Neff even took the Equus on a high-end house hunting trip and found its presence was enough to convince real estate agents he could afford the top-dollar listings.

I've had the chance to take the Equus on a couple of longer road trips, and while it's comfortable and quiet for the most part, these long-distance drives also brought out some complaints with our long-term tester.

Continue reading Long-Term Logbook: 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate, April 2011...

Photos copyright ©2011 Steven J. Ewing / AOL

Almost immediately, I noticed a problem with the HID headlamps: The default position is set much too high, though it's unclear whether or not this is simply a problem with our specific test car, or if this is the case for all Equui on the road. In any case, we feel bad about blinding other drivers at night (we've had several people flash their high-beams at us), so we'll be asking the service technicians to adjust our headlamp positioning when we take the car in for its first scheduled maintenance next month. Don't forget, all service appointments can be scheduled through the Equus' iPad app, so stay tuned for a video of how that experience works.



As I discussed when I recently reviewed an Equus, the rear passenger seat on our Ultimate tester is the place to be. It's funny, my friends now call dibs on the back seat instead of shotgun when we're going on long drives, and so far, not a single complaint has been uttered by folks riding in the rear executive throne behind the front passenger. At this point, the footrest function seems to be merely a novelty, since it can't be used when someone is riding in the front passenger seat. Still, whether the passengers have been five years old or 25 years old, the rear seats have proven to be comfortable and plush for long-distance trips.



Up front, however, it's a different story. On a recent 600-mile round trip from Detroit to Chicago and back, both myself and my front passenger complained about back and leg pain after the journey. The bottom seat cushions are much too flat and don't provide ample side bolstering, and there's no way to adjust this. Same goes for the seat backs, which don't provide adequate side bolstering, and furthermore, the lumbar bulge is too overly inflated even in its default setting. I am constantly making small tweaks to the seat adjustment while driving, simply because I can't ever seem to get comfortable.

Seats aside, the Equus is really great for long-distance trips – it truly eats up the miles on the open road, and our fuel economy hasn't been all that horrible considering the vehicle's size. It's easy to manage 24 miles per gallon on highway-only runs, and between Neff and myself, we've averaged 19.1 mpg – right in line with Hyundai's own 19 mpg combined fuel economy rating.

The Equus will continue to circulate through the Autoblog staff, so stay tuned for another update on Autoblog.com in about one month's time. And remember, you can keep up with our instant feedback about the long-term Equus by Liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter (remember to look for tweets with the #ablongterm tag).

Photos copyright ©2011 Steven J. Ewing / AOL