Kids in Beverly Hills live a little differently. We're passing by the high school and the line of cars is something you'd see in a music video. They're all black. They're all enormous and they all cost more than a few years' tuition at a private school. There are SUVs, sedans, some full-size coupes and even a couple of towncars. The kids whose parents have last-gen German sedans and sub-lux Japanese cars walk a block north to hitch a ride. American cars? Only if it's an Escalade. And only if there's a driver.
But slotted between a sedan a dictator drives and an SUV a movie star drives is a 2011 Hyundai Equus. We don't stick around to see the kid hop into the reclining backseat (creepy), but that a Hyundai has made it to the front line of a high school in Beverly Hills is monumental.
It's as big a step, and equally as unlikely as Hyundai selling a $59,000 car. But there it was, and here we are with something like 17 feet and $58,900 worth of high-end luxury Hyundai in our long-term fleet for the next 12 months and 20,000 miles.
What We Got
There are no options on the Hyundai Equus, just two trim levels. You can get the Equus Signature, which we have. It seats five and has more standard features than, well, almost anything. Included are: 19-inch wheels, adjustable air suspension, lane departure warning system, adaptive cruise control, adaptive bi-xenon headlights, foglights, automatic wipers, a windshield wiper de-icer, auto-dimming exterior mirrors, sunroof, keyless ignition/entry, 10-way power driver seats (with massage), eight-way power passenger seat, a tilt-and-telescoping wheel, leather, Alcantara headliner, 60/40-split folding and reclining rear seats, power rear window shades, navigation, Bluetooth, a 17-speaker Lexicon surround sound system with iPod, satellite radio and six-DVD changer. Oh, and an Apple iPad in lieu of an owner's manual. Because, why not? For your $58,900 (with a $900 destination fee) an iPad seems like a nice trinket.
The other Equus, known as the Ultimate, only seats four, as it has a pair of reclining buckets with heating/cooling/massaging and a center console full refrigerator. The Ultimate also includes a rear-seat entertainment system, power trunk lid and forward-view cornering camera. That one runs $65,400.
Both of these are powered by a 4.6-liter, 385-horsepower (378 with regular fuel) V8 making 333 pound-feet of torque (324 with regular fuel) hooked to a six-speed ZF-built automatic transmission with Shiftronic manual controls. The EPA rates this setup at 16 city/24 highway mpg and 19 mpg combined.
Our 2011 Hyundai Equus Signature is dressed in Black Noir Pearl paint with a cashmere interior and, as you already know, carries a sticker price of $58,900. We didn't pay that, though, as the manufacturer provided the car to us for 12 months.
Why We Got It
Scary as it seems to pay nearly $60,000 for a Hyundai, the strategy of average car companies going big is nothing new. Thing is, most of the time the carmaker will spend a few hundred million dollars developing, promoting and branding an offshoot sub-brand to differentiate the new expensive stuff from the old average guy stuff. It offers something aspirational, something special above and beyond the benefits afforded simply by the toy they've just bought.
Hyundai took the road less traveled here and instead of developing the next Acura, Infiniti or Lexus, simply built a fairly expensive luxury car under the Hyundai banner. Though it should be noted that the message was not lost on Hyundai; with all but the center trunk badge, a unique Equus badge has replaced the H logo on Hyundai's most expensive and ambitious project to date.
We're used to Hyundai scooping up market share in the compact and midsize segments, it's even stealing chunks of crossovers and, well, help us all if the company figures out how to make a minivan.
But skipping steps and running headlong into full-size luxury? Certainly the savings — a 2011 Mercedes S400 hybrid starts at $91,000 while the Lexus LS 460 starts closer at $66,230 — will sway some buyers; they didn't get rich for nothing.
But will it sway us? Will it ride like a luxury car? Will it get valets running as if it were a luxury car? Will it get those failed starlets prepping our coffee all wide-eyed and hopeful like a luxury car would?
We've got 20,000 miles and 12 months with the 2011 Hyundai Equus to figure out. First stop: Starbucks...
Current Odometer: 1,668
Best Fuel Economy: 22.5
Worst Fuel Economy: 13.5
Average Fuel Economy (over the life of the vehicle): 18.4
This vehicle was provided to Edmunds for the purpose of this evaluation.
Follow the long-term road test blog for updates about our 2011 Hyundai Equus.
Add A Comment »
zxe says:
08:55 PM, 08/25/2011
"The rear is one of the few places you'll find a Hyundai badge"
WAIT WAIT WAIT WHAT?!?! I THOUGHT THIS WAS AN EQUUS I WAS ORDERING, NOT A HYUNDAI!! DX
jtw715 says:
02:41 PM, 06/15/2011
I saw this car at the Dallas Auto Show and I must say, it was lovely in person. VERY comfortable, and the fit and finish was top quality. Hats off to Hyundai for doing a great job. They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but what does it mean when the immitator bests the immitated.
kabbut says:
09:13 AM, 04/12/2011
nutsaboutcars says:
Iam a actual genesis v8 owner a 2010 and let me say this..The car looks great and the seats are very comfortable but hyundai needs to put this car back in finishing school. The switch gear is very cheap for this type car as well as the horrible weak lexicon audio system. The car is noisy and the v8 engine is not as buttery smooth and refined they claim it is
You keep adding to your lack of credibilty. Why in the world would you purchase the car if it had these precieved issues?? Personally, I find the transmission has no problems finding its gears. Lexicon sound system is weak?? Perhaps your wax build up is affecting your hearing? Car is noisy? I guess your salesman didn't tell you how many cubic feet of sound deafening material is added to the car. If you want to slag the car...thats your choice. But you may want to actually drive one before you do.
christopher42 says:
03:06 PM, 04/03/2011
I wonder why Hyundai isn't gunning at the new Audi A8, probably can't live up to it's claims against an A8. Hyundai hasn't done anything wrong but I can't seem to get around the fact that this following sentence sounds good. "Hello, I arrived in a Hyundai not my Audi A8 because I wanted to save money when I'm rich."
jaydfla says:
06:11 PM, 03/17/2011
For me, the most striking thing about practically ALL of the comments posted here, with few exceptions, compare the Equus to BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Lexus. Am I the only one to think it sad that no one is comparing this car to something American made? The answer is really simple; no one is comparing this car to a Detroit product, because there is NO comparison. Detroit hasn't rolled out an exceptional luxury car in decades. That is heart-breaking.
When you look at the luxury cars that the US auto manufactures offer, they are not even close to the level of the cars mentioned here ... INCLUDING a Hyundai!! There is not one thing in the Lincoln line up, nor in Cadillac that makes this kind of statement. I well rememer when WE were the industry standard. Those days are gone. The fact that an American car company can not come up with a roomy, comfortable, reliable, and stylish car of this caliber is inexcusable. Who would have ever guessed that the big three could not keep up with a HYUNDAI?!
nutsaboutcars says:
06:08 AM, 03/02/2011
Iam a actual genesis v8 owner a 2010 and let me say this..The car looks great and the seats are very comfortable but hyundai needs to put this car back in finishing school. The switch gear is very cheap for this type car as well as the horrible weak lexicon audio system. The car is noisy and the v8 engine is not as buttery smooth and refined they claim it is
jsmit86 says:
06:46 PM, 02/16/2011
I have spent a fair amount of time riding in the Equus in Seoul over the years. Darn nice car. While I never have had the pleasure of driving one, it is as nice riding inside as any LS, or S Class I have been in.
j2j says:
01:56 AM, 02/16/2011
Funny how people seem to forget that when the Lexus LS400 was launched, Lexus had NO brand cache and what sold the LS400 was its incredibly low MSRP of $35K, good reviews and better service.
And while it is true that Hyundai would likely have to launch a premium brand to become a true player in the luxury market, sales of the Equus is in line of what previous iterations of the Audi A8 had been selling at - and that's w/ the Equus not available w/ AWD which is a killer for sales in cold weather states.
As for the whole buying a used S Class/7 Series, etc. for the same price, some people don't want to deal w/ German reliability and really, it's a silly argument since in a year or 2, there will also be used Equus sedans on the market.
nutsaboutcars says:
"Since the equus is nothing but a stretched genesis sedan with a little more toys iam not impressed. I say this because the same mechanicals in both cars dont make sense when the equus is heavier and the genesis sedan needs much more polishing..The audio system they are talking about sucks and the engine well its not quiet and or buttery smooth as a lexus v8 even with the good stuff. Hyundai should of sent the genesis back to refining school than comming out with this thing."
****
An interesting and not very credible POV since the Lexicon audio system is one of the top rated auto audio systems and the Tau V8 has made Ward's Best Engine list 3 times running, not the Toyota V8 - lol.
Also, the E Class coupe is built on the same frame as the Class and the BMW 5 and 7 Series are both built on a version of the same platform.
j2j says:
01:56 AM, 02/16/2011
Funny how people seem to forget that when the Lexus LS400 was launched, Lexus had NO brand cache and what sold the LS400 was its incredibly low MSRP of $35K, good reviews and better service.
And while it is true that Hyundai would likely have to launch a premium brand to become a true player in the luxury market, sales of the Equus is in line of what previous iterations of the Audi A8 had been selling at - and that's w/ the Equus not available w/ AWD which is a killer for sales in cold weather states.
As for the whole buying a used S Class/7 Series, etc. for the same price, some people don't want to deal w/ German reliability and really, it's a silly argument since in a year or 2, there will also be used Equus sedans on the market.
nutsaboutcars says:
"Since the equus is nothing but a stretched genesis sedan with a little more toys iam not impressed. I say this because the same mechanicals in both cars dont make sense when the equus is heavier and the genesis sedan needs much more polishing..The audio system they are talking about sucks and the engine well its not quiet and or buttery smooth as a lexus v8 even with the good stuff. Hyundai should of sent the genesis back to refining school than comming out with this thing."
****
An interesting and not very credible POV since the Lexicon audio system is one of the top rated auto audio systems and the Tau V8 has made Ward's Best Engine list 3 times running, not the Toyota V8 - lol.
Also, the E Class coupe is built on the same frame as the Class and the BMW 5 and 7 Series are both built on a version of the same platform.
j2j says:
01:56 AM, 02/16/2011
Funny how people seem to forget that when the Lexus LS400 was launched, Lexus had NO brand cache and what sold the LS400 was its incredibly low MSRP of $35K, good reviews and better service.
And while it is true that Hyundai would likely have to launch a premium brand to become a true player in the luxury market, sales of the Equus is in line of what previous iterations of the Audi A8 had been selling at - and that's w/ the Equus not available w/ AWD which is a killer for sales in cold weather states.
As for the whole buying a used S Class/7 Series, etc. for the same price, some people don't want to deal w/ German reliability and really, it's a silly argument since in a year or 2, there will also be used Equus sedans on the market.
nutsaboutcars says:
"Since the equus is nothing but a stretched genesis sedan with a little more toys iam not impressed. I say this because the same mechanicals in both cars dont make sense when the equus is heavier and the genesis sedan needs much more polishing..The audio system they are talking about sucks and the engine well its not quiet and or buttery smooth as a lexus v8 even with the good stuff. Hyundai should of sent the genesis back to refining school than comming out with this thing."
****
An interesting and not very credible POV since the Lexicon audio system is one of the top rated auto audio systems and the Tau V8 has made Ward's Best Engine list 3 times running, not the Toyota V8 - lol.
Also, the E Class coupe is built on the same frame as the Class and the BMW 5 and 7 Series are both built on a version of the same platform.