Hyundai Takes Purdy For a Ride - Introduces 2012 Azera, Updated 5.0-Liter Equus and Freshened Genesis Coupe In Las Vegas
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Hyundai Specs, Prices, Comparisons and Reviews
By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Detroit Bureau
The Hyundai folks are nothing if not efficient and effective. They brought a gaggle of us to Las Vegas in the dead of winter (winter in Vegas, by the way, is 55 and sunny) to experience not one, but three cars – the uber-luxury sedan Equus with new V8, the all-new, fully updated Azera sedan, and the freshened, rear-wheel drive, fun-loving Genesis Coupe.
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This was my first wheel time with Hyundai’s big, luxurious executive sedan called Equus. The Hyundai folks met me at the airport with one and I had a chance to take a long route – mostly freeways - to the hotel. Later, I took it out for a few hours driving to Blue Diamond, a little desert town across the first mountain to the southwest of Vegas, to hook up with my old friend, artist and desert guide, Mojave Moses, who entertains me whenever I come to Las Vegas.
The Equus is a remarkable car – benchmarked against the S-Class Mercedes, Lexus LS 460 and 7-Series BMW. The news revealed here is about a new direct-injected 5.0-liter V8 that sings like a German mill all the way to red line. Equus also has gadgetry galore and a cabin so quiet I could hear my heart beat. We’ll do a full review on the Equus once we’ve been able to live with it for a week. In the meantime we’ll leave you with just a couple of tidbits.
The sweet new engine makes 429 horsepower at 6,400 rpm and 376 pound-feet of torque. Fuel mileage is just one click less than the 4.6-liter from which it is derived, at 15-mpg city, 23 highway and 18-mpg combined. Considering a nearly 10% increase in power, that’s not bad.
On the road, the Equus did not have quite the ambiance of the more expensive German competitors, but it is significantly less expensive as well. Priced not far from it main Asian competitor – Lexus LS 450 – the Equus matches up well overall, and the marketing technique puts most of its competition to shame. More on that with a full review as well.
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The big news here this week is the all-new, full-size, front-wheel drive Hyundai Azera sedan. Bigger than Sonata, smaller than Equus and priced barely more than 30 grand, the Azera is poised to make a big splash in its segment of the market. This is essentially a near-luxury, large sedan sharing the segment with Lexus ES 350, Nissan Maxima, Buick LaCrosse, Ford Taurus and maybe even Chrysler 300. It’s a crowded segment with stiff competition.
The last generation Azera has been out of production for a while as they cleared inventories in anticipation for this new one. When I was shopping for a backup car last summer, used Azeras were on my list, but I didn’t find many. It was not a hot selling car. Like other Hyundai and Kia products of the last generation it was competent, good quality but not particularly inspiring. This new Azera, like its Korean stable mates, is changing all that. It remains competent with excellent quality, improved content and significantly more inspiring.
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Under the hood only one powertrain is available, but it’s a good one. This new version of Hyundai’s Lambda 3.3-liter V6 features direct injection, but is normally aspirated. With 293 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque it is second only to LaCrosse in power, but the horsepower/liter number is best in class at 88.8. Putting that power to good use is a smooth 6-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy matches the best in the segment at 20-mpg in the city, 29 on the highway and 23-mpg combined using regular fuel. This 3,600-pound Azera is lighter than LaCrosse and Taurus.
Suspension is of conventional design with McPherson struts in front, an independent, multi-link design in the rear and stabilizer bars at both ends. Our relatively limited experience on the smooth, uncomplicated roads of the Mojave shows the suspension tuning to be well-balanced, but we’ll reserve judgment on that until we get it on some of our dismal urban roads in Michigan. The cabin seemed exceptionally quiet at speed.
Safety features include nine, count ‘em, nine airbags. That’s more than most congressional committees. Chassis dynamics, like stability control, abs, brake assist and everything else the science guys could come up with, are included to keep the overzealous driver from getting in trouble, and to assist the average driver in bad conditions.
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We drove the new Azera out to the race track at Pahrump by way of the tiny desert town of Blue Diamond and famous Red Rock Park, just a few miles down the road. My co-driver had not experienced the desert back roads so we spent a good deal of the day exploring.
Driving dynamics are excellent. Without having them side-by-side I can say with some confidence that it feels as good as any of its competitors and better than some. Characteristically, this Hyundai sedan has raised the bar substantially, particularly in standard content.
Price is close to the same as a comparably equipped last generation Azera. Remember, it comes standard with a lot of stuff that was optional on the last gen car. The standard Azera now starts just over $32,000 and with the optional Technology Package (19-inch alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, HID Xenom headlights, power rear sunshade, Infinity audio system, power tilt and telescopic steering wheel, ambient lighting, rear parking assist sensors and ventilated front seat) adding another 2 grand.
As we expected the new Azera becomes a value leader in its class, as have the other new Hyundai products of this generation.
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We attended the launch of the Genesis Coupe here in Vegas at the same Pahrump race track just about two and a half years ago. At the time I was mightily impressed that Hyundai would introduce a rear-wheel drive sport coupe to compete with cars like Mustang and Camaro. Certainly, the Genesis Coupe was not the brute the others were but it had a degree of sophistication the others lacked. See our story HERE
I’m now impressed that it would be refreshed so soon. It’s been selling reasonably well, but a few upgrades sharpen its edge nicely. Most noticeably, the front fascia, grill, headlights and hood contours look more aggressive. Adding to the drama are the new 18 and 19-inch wheels. Rear fascia is modestly more dramatic.
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Under the hood the turbo 4-cylinder engine now gets a twin-scroll turbo and a more robust intercooler. Using premium fuel it makes 274 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque getting marginally better fuel economy – 20/31-mpg with the new, internally developed 8-speed automatic and 21/30 with the six-speed manual.
The 3.8-liter V6 is still available as well and now gets direct injection adding significant horsepower to an amazing 348 with almost 300 pound-feet or torque. Zero-to-60-mph times are claimed in the low 5-second range. That’s a lot of ponies for this small sport coupe and we felt them all on the race track.
While we had excellent seat time in the Genesis Coupes on the track, an autocross course and the open road (skittering across the Mojave almost to Death Valley), we were impressed again. The engineers have slightly retuned the suspension, but it was already competent on both road and track. While both powertrains give us a good adrenalin rush on full throttle, pushing hard into the corners, blasting out onto the straights or topping out on the long desert two lanes, they each have a distinctive character. Steering is just a tad quicker, by 7% claim the Hyundai engineers. I wonder how they measure that precisely. Brakes are upgraded as well and Bermbos, with four-piston calipers, come with the R-Spec and Trac editions.
With either engine the Genesis Coupe reminds us what fun we can have with this relatively inexpensive performance car.
So, thanks to our friends at Hyundai for hosting us in lovely Lost Wages, NV and the race track at Pahrump. They did an admirable job of giving us the flavor of three distinct cars from their lineup. That results in our unequivocal recommendation that readers make a visit to their Hyundai dealer if they are considering cars in any of these categories.
© Steve Purdy, Shunpiker Productions, All Rights Reserved
