Hyundai’s new flagship model, the Equus
Korean-based auto maker Hyundai has released more details of its latest product, the Equus premium sedan, along with its arrival in showrooms across Korea. With a total of $337 millions spent on developing this second generation Equus, there are two engine options to choose from, with four trim levels for the entry level Equus VS380 model and the Equus VS460 Prestige.
The base model of the Equus VS380 which measures 5,160 mm long, 1,900 mm wide, 1,495 mm high and which features a wheelbase of 3,045 mm, comes with a 3.8 liter Lambda V6 what is able to produce 285HP at 6,200 revs and 358Nm of torque at 4,500 revs while delivering 100 kilometers with 10.8 liters of fuel. The VS460 on the other hand comes fitted with a 4.6 liter Tau V8 that is good for 360HP at 6,500 revs and 439Nm of torque which returns 100 kilometers with 11.4 liters of fuel.
Suspension wise, the front and rear of the new Equus, which is set to take on the Mercedes S Class and BMW 7 Series is fitted with a 5 link suspension featuring lightweight aluminium control arms, with Amplitude Selective Dampers (ASD) which features an innovative relief valve. The air suspension is electronically governed to minimize body roll, nose-diving and other undesirable characteristics when you push it harder.
In terms of safety, the Equus comes with a bunch of them including Vehicle Stability Management which integrates the Lane Departure Warning System, Pre-Safety System, Third Generation Smart Cruise Control (SCC) and other sub-systems to provide active and passive safety systems.
With the Pre-Safety System, the car can detect a potential collision and will subsequently apply the brakes and trigger a flashing warning light on a TFT-LCD which is then followed by an audible alert and a vibration in the seat belt harness. If a collision is unavoidable, full braking force is automatically applied and front seat belts are reeled in within a split of a second in order to maximize protection.
Other features include 9 airbags in total including a Knee Airbag for the driver, video cameras in the rear and front to eliminate blind spots during parking and reversing, which works with a Parking Guidance System to provide a computer graphic overlay on the display screen to assist the driver as well as High Intensity Discharge Head Lamps with Adaptive Front Lighting System. Continue reading for the rest of the report and to view an image gallery.
On the inside, Hyundai’s new flagship model features, among others, heating in the steering wheel, seat cushions and backrests, seat cooling system and a glove box drink chiller, massage system in the rear seats and an advanced Driver Information System that displays navigational maps, personal cell phone directories (downloadable via Bluetooth) and serves as the central control of the 17-speaker Lexicon Sound System.
The system is accessible through touch-screen menus or jog wheel which has buttons for menu short cuts. There is also a 3.5-inch TFT-LCD colour display screen nestled between the speedometer and the tachometer that presents information such as tire pressure levels, lane departure warning and so on.
Prices start from 33,514 Euros for the Equus VS380 and tops at 55,857 Euros for the top of the line VS460. A long wheelbase version is expected to join the line-up later this year, and will most probably feature a 5.0 liter V8.
March 17, 2009 @ 11:03 am
Not bad…
March 17, 2009 @ 11:05 am
big ‘kidney’ in front.. not so beauty for me..
March 17, 2009 @ 11:05 am
where’s the person that always 1st ? this car look bulky
March 17, 2009 @ 11:22 am
Unless they change the grill, then this car looks perfect to me.
March 17, 2009 @ 11:26 am
Everytime we read about Hyundai/Kia they always come out something to surprise us in term of technology, safety & design… Only we can.. haiz…
March 17, 2009 @ 11:29 am
I guess ths car is targeted for the US mkt….very american lookin.
March 17, 2009 @ 11:43 am
wow, not bad….
March 17, 2009 @ 11:52 am
i have to say .. this looks nice .
the whole car looks to be modify by brabus ..
March 17, 2009 @ 12:27 pm
Yet all luxury sedan cars tends to look and feels like an old rich man. Plenty of chrome finish here and there, plus some wood-like trimmings inside.
Still, the Koreans is catching up with the Japs and Europeans pretty quickly. I wonder how our own makes should achieve that level of tech.
March 17, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
The back looks like a Lexus…
March 17, 2009 @ 1:10 pm
does not inspire at all…
look too similar..
like most of the car on road now..
just copy the current trend..
March 17, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
front end styling is too busy .
one thing hyundai must think of is to make their own luxury marque. toyota has proven that using their own tyota name doesn’t really work.
March 17, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Tak tahulah kenapa, saya masih tak boleh terima lagi kereta buatan Korea…
March 17, 2009 @ 1:55 pm
Genesis looks nicer… But this should be a very cheap car compared to S and 7…
March 17, 2009 @ 1:59 pm
[quote comment="221696"]Tak tahulah kenapa, saya masih tak boleh terima lagi kereta buatan Korea…[/quote]
Tunggulah i20 dan i30… Sudah nak sampai… I pasti mereka dapat tangkap matamu…
March 17, 2009 @ 2:43 pm
It does look good. No doubt about it. Equus does have a sense of luxury from a brand which doesn’t really associate with luxury lineups.
March 17, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
how do you spell Equus? is it eeqiuus or ekoos?
March 17, 2009 @ 3:07 pm
Looks to Lexusish, Mercedish, and BMWish. It is great effort from the Koreans actually. The tailgate remind me to the dugong’s vios.
March 17, 2009 @ 3:26 pm
Vios looks like dugong … i though more of a tapir backend hahah
March 17, 2009 @ 3:50 pm
what? 17 speakers! its even more than Lexus and the speakers in my home! boom boom interior indeed.
March 17, 2009 @ 4:58 pm
The rear looks strikingly similiar to the Honda Legend.
March 17, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
The front grill and that “spirit of ecstasy” look like year 2000 hyundai grandeur/XG.
March 17, 2009 @ 6:45 pm
pity.
soon we can only see these marque in museums once the north took the south.
March 17, 2009 @ 7:24 pm
this is one huge car, with a wheelbase of more than 3,000 mm. Bigger than the BMW 7 Series?
March 17, 2009 @ 8:17 pm
its not luxurious enough…the looks doesnt catch my eyes…the fornt is way too complicated…and theyre trying to follow Lexus footsteps..’isnt time someone did to lexus what lexus did to mercedes?’ tht was their slogan in their Genesis ad…even the exhaust is from lexus..so as sum of the interior bits..
overall…i respect this car…without comparing to merc bmw and lexus, this is a very good car…at least the koreans are giving their best shot to compete globally..
we on the other hand have a long way to go…
March 17, 2009 @ 8:35 pm
I personally think what is lacking is design langauge, even Kia now have one, Lexus have Le Finess, BMW have flaming, Ford have kinetic etc etc. It is hard to distinguish oneself from the crowd when a central design theme is lacking, therefore attracting annoying comment likes “look like this and that, BMWish, Mercedish…” Hope Hyundai will find their design langauge or a concept design like BMW GINA Project to lead their future products.
March 17, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
Looks so much like Toyota Crown….
March 17, 2009 @ 10:46 pm
It looks like they took a LS460, slapped their ugly grill and pedestrian-impaling emblem on its front, crafted the new dugong Vios’s rear end onto it and called it a Hyundai. Thank goodness the Lexus they started off with is so good looking, that this still looks passable. It’s impressive how far Hyundai has come in such a short time, but they seriously need to develop a design language of their own. Go hire a head of design with some semblance of creativity, please!
March 17, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
I remember reading that this is the model that has 7-series presence, 5-series comfort level and 3-series pricing, something to that effect… If that’s the case, then this may be the key to unlock the higher-end passenger car market for Korean makes.
March 18, 2009 @ 1:48 am
The spec sheet looks impressive. And the improvements are impressive, at least on paper. The Korean car industry progresses by leaps and bounds. Better than our banana car proton
March 18, 2009 @ 2:22 am
[quote comment="221696"]Tak tahulah kenapa, saya masih tak boleh terima lagi kereta buatan Korea…[/quote]
dulu saya pun tak boleh terima kereta buatan Jepun…
times are changing…the koreans can make a lexus…but not a 7-series / s-class
March 18, 2009 @ 10:17 am
Look like BMW 6 series. Very nice. Good jobs.
March 18, 2009 @ 10:25 am
Why this car cannot accept old car(more than 10 years) trade in? Only for other model. What the fuss? What the proton and govenment doing? Wait so long but no good news.
Make me change decision to buy naza citra 1 offer RM10k come with 2.0 cc.
March 18, 2009 @ 10:26 am
Alamak wrong post. The comment is for proton Exora. Sorry.
March 18, 2009 @ 11:34 am
congratz Hyundai!
but how about Genesis Sedan and Genesis Cuope ??
will get market at Malaysia or not ??
March 18, 2009 @ 10:03 pm
not copycat la… just “refer” and “improvise” ma… then the outcome only kick-ass ma…hahaha.. 17 Speakers man!! Phewitt!!
March 23, 2009 @ 5:39 am
Now BENTLEY style?
Slanted back windows and that bold (Bentley Continental) tall wheel arch from back tail lamps to the middle of back door, Bentley exhaust design… Korean’s Bentley lol.
March 26, 2009 @ 9:29 am
I was in Korea during the time it was launched. The teaser ads on TV and the final launch ads on TV were impressive.
I believe the top end version is going for 105 million KRW there (abt RM280k).
I briefly looked at the actual car in Incheon airport before I left the country. It had an understated feeling of luxury. I had been in a previous Equus model before and was thoroughly impressed with it (as it was quieter, plusher and a smoother than an E-class at that time plus it certainly had more features).