Azera Hyundai 2007
Hyundai is not cheap but has long list of standards
“What kind of car is that?”
It’s a question you get asked a lot as an automotive journalist, but not a question you get asked a lot about Hyundais.
Even now, people generally associate Hyundai with small cars – and the sporty Tiburon. They may be familiar with the shape of the Sonata, but despite having been on sale for more than a year, the Azera’s pedigree still comes as a bit of a surprise.
For one thing, it’s big – as big as a Buick Lucerne or a Toyota Avalon and indeed as long as some large high-end luxury cars. For another thing, the Azera looks expensive, far more expensive than its sub-$40,000 asking price.
Its shape is long, flowing and elegant – to my eyes, more attractive than either of its closest competitors, the Toyota Avalon ($41,135 to start) or Buick Lucerne ($31,145 for the 197-hp V6; $36,840 for the V8).
The Azera’s detailing is nice, too: the multi-spoke alloy wheels are fantastic and there’s just the right amount of jewellery on the body – a hint of chrome around the grille and side trim and an elegantly integrated set of lights at the back. Heck, even the Azera lettering looks expensive.
You’ll notice that, like all Hyundais, the Azera is competitively priced. But it is no longer the cheapest car in its segment, and its list of standard features is longer than either that of the Avalon or Lucerne, which with options can come in well above what you’d pay for an Azera.
Max out an Avalon and you’re looking at more than $47,000; move up to the loaded Lucerne CXS (which is just a bit more powerful than the Hyundai despite two extra cylinders) and you’re looking at $43,000-plus.
My Azera tester, with no options available, was $37,495. The one I drove was actually a 2006 Premium model; the 2007 version arrives in March and with it will come a number of enhancements as well as a simplified model lineup.
Gone is the base model with its cloth seats. “Everyone wanted the leather,” says Hyundai Canada rep Thomas McPherson.
The lineup will now consist of two models, a fully-loaded GLS and an even more loaded Limited edition. All models will have leather and XM satellite radio as standard equipment, while the Limited model adds a wood-grain steering wheel, memory seats, extra chrome trim and side-view mirrors with turn-signal repeaters.
Whichever Azera you choose, you’ll be getting an interior packed with goodies. The Infinity sound system with six-disc CD changer in the Premium (Limited for 2007) has terrific sound quality. The virtual sound stage sounds as big as a concert hall. Power assists are standard for everything from the windows to the mirrors to the moonroof and even the rear sun shade. The quality of materials used throughout is first-rate, with thick, supple leather on the seats and doors. The plastics are as good as anything Toyota is using these days.
Luxury amenities are becoming increasingly common these days, even on entry-level cars, and Hyundai has led the charge. But the luxury of space is becoming less common.
Sure, there are a lot of tall, well-packaged cars on the market, but few are as big or as downright spacious as the Azera. It is truly a full-sized sedan, with more interior room than a long-wheelbase 7-series BMW and a trunk big enough to hold more golf bags than you’ll ever need to hold. Indeed, such is the rear-seat and trunk space that more than once, I found myself ferrying an acquaintance into town from the airport thinking that the big Hyundai would make a terrific airport limo.
Of course, the Azera’s ride reinforces the limo-like ambience. On the highway, it floats over bumps big and small. Its fat tires and soft suspension make it one of the smoothest-riding cars I’ve driven in a long time. On potholed urban streets and country roads, it can be a bit busy as the car will sometimes hit a bump while still reacting to another. Slightly tighter damping of the ride motions would go a long way to making the Azera more confident in town.
Given its dimensions and heavily front-biased weight distribution, the Azera is far from being sporty, but that’s not to say it isn’t capable. While you get barely any information from the steering about what’s going on at the contact patches, the Azera can generate a lot of cornering grip and can handle highway ramps a lot faster than you’d guess.
Similarly, the brake pedal is soft but actual braking power is quite excellent. Along with ABS, the Azera also comes with an effective stability-control system that helps keep it pointed in the right direction when the conditions get really slippery.
This is also a fast car. While the big Hyundai is pretty much silent no matter how hard you’re on the gas, the 3.8-litre V6 produces 263 horsepower, enough to smoke the front tires coming away from stoplights if you’re overly aggressive, and enough to deliver sufficient passing punch on the highway no matter what the situation.
Good thing, too, because the five-speed automatic (it has a shift-it-yourself gate to the left of D), while smooth, is not the most alert when it comes to downshifts. Getting it to kick down into a lower gear sometimes requires a deliberately harsh stab at the throttle, hardly decorous behaviour for a big luxury sedan.
Given the number of Azeras I see on the road these days, it looks as if buyers are having no trouble thinking of Hyundai as a maker of luxury sedans, as well as high-value vehicles such as the Accent and Elantra.
Later this year, we’ll see the introduction of the company’s Veracruz crossover, a large three-row vehicle packed with amenities such as navigation and rear-seat DVD system. It’ll take Hyundai well past the $40,000 price mark and into territory it has never charted before.
The company is confident that the Veracruz will be a success, reasoning that people who entered the market in the 1990s, when Hyundai really upped its quality and performance, are now ready for something bigger and more upscale.
Thanks to these buyers’ largely positive experiences – Hyundai has done very well in the past few J.D. Power surveys – these owners aren’t at all reluctant to sink big money into another one of the company’s cars.
Hyundai feels it can compete in areas besides value – that people will buy its cars because they’re great cars and not just because they’re a great deal.
You know what? They’re right.
Filed under: Azera Hyundai, Hyundai America, Hyundai Azera, Hyundai Dealers, Hyundai Dealerships, Hyundai Finance, Hyundai Lease, Hyundai Warranty, Hyundai Web Site
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