2011 Hyundai Equus is an ambitious model

Hyundai sure has come a long way (though haven’t we all?).  But back in the mid-80s it began selling vehicles in the United States, and its main product at the time, the now extinct Excel, was notable only for its affordability.  A widely held perception was that the Korean-based automaker was producing cheap knockoffs of the real thing.  Hyundai only began producing vehicles with its own technology a few years later, beginning with the stalwart Sonata.  Perhaps you’ve heard of it? 

Flash forward 25 short years, and Hyundai is poised to become possibly the #1 car brand in the world.  It is the fastest growing automaker in the world and keeps earning accolade after accolade, the latest being it has jumped ahead of Toyota and Honda in brand loyalty.  There is a high demand for any and all new Hyundai Accent and used Hyundai Elantra.  Bloomington and Carbondale dealers are fielding new requests every day.

And now Hyundai is gearing up to play with the big boys by adding a large luxury sedan to its fleet: the 2011 Equus.  It’s a long ways from the used Hyundai Elantra Bloomington dealers are used to selling.  With its introduction at the 2010 New York International Auto Show earlier this year, folks began to take notice.  Those who still harbored the notion that Hyundai was producing cheap knockoffs were forced to reconsider their position.

The Equus has a longer wheelbase than the Lexus LS460 and it’ll be cheaper than the LS460 and the Mercedes S-Class, coming in around the mid-$50,000 price range.  In addition to the technological comforts and stylings that the Equus will come equipped with (heated, cooled driver seat; reclining rear heated and cooled seats with a footrest; rear and optional front-view cameras for parking and blind spots), Hyundai will be offering an iPad with each purchase that will contain the owner’s manual on it along with all of the other standard, cool functions from Steve Jobs and co.

Will the Equus have what it takes to compete in this arena that is truly only for the big hitters, or will it have to be satisfied selling its Sonata and Genesis and a used Hyundai Accent in Bloomington?  Some critics are pointing to its smaller engine as a potential downside.  The 2011 Equus will have a 4.6-liter Tau V8 with a six-speed automatic transmission and 385 horsepower.  Instead of bumping up to a 5-liter engine, Hyundai is using this smaller engine to maintain the basic powertrain from the Genesis platform on which the Equus is based.  It’s a slightly risky strategy as luxury car-buyers seem to want more power for their bucks, but if anything Hyundai has earned the right to say it knows what it’s doing, and critics should probably know by now to take their word for it.  New and used Hyundai Accent Bloomington dealers have known it for years.