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 litre 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 litres of fuel. The VS460 on the other hand comes fitted with a 4.6 litre Tau V8 that is good for 360HP at 6,500 revs and 439Nm of torque which returns 100 kilometers with 11.4 litres 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 litre V8.

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Harvinder Sidhu

Harvinder Singh Sidhu thinks there's nothing better than Formula 1, not even sliced bread. Having written about cars since 2006, he plunged head first into the industry out of a passion for all things four-wheeled and everything in between. The F1 enthusiast has been following the sport since 1999 and has been keeping up with it since. In between races he keeps himself busy as the host of the Driven motoring show and as our version of the Joker.

 

Comments

  • AdamRadin on Mar 17, 2009 at 7:03 pm

    Not bad…

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  • the stik on Mar 17, 2009 at 7:05 pm

    big 'kidney' in front.. not so beauty for me..

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  • where's the person that always 1st ? this car look bulky

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  • Alifz on Mar 17, 2009 at 7:22 pm

    Unless they change the grill, then this car looks perfect to me.

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  • Littlefire on Mar 17, 2009 at 7:26 pm

    Everytime we read about Hyundai/Kia they always come out something to surprise us in term of technology, safety & design… Only we can.. haiz…

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  • I guess ths car is targeted for the US mkt….very american lookin.

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  • mitlanevo on Mar 17, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    wow, not bad….

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  • lambov12 (Member) on Mar 17, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    i have to say .. this looks nice .

    the whole car looks to be modify by brabus ..

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  • pulge on Mar 17, 2009 at 8:27 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.

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  • Tiadaid on Mar 17, 2009 at 8:30 pm

    The back looks like a Lexus…

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  • mkrafz on Mar 17, 2009 at 9:10 pm

    does not inspire at all…

    look too similar..

    like most of the car on road now..

    just copy the current trend..

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  • 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.

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  • muryadi on Mar 17, 2009 at 9:55 pm

    Tak tahulah kenapa, saya masih tak boleh terima lagi kereta buatan Korea…

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  • Caddilac Wong on Mar 17, 2009 at 9:55 pm

    Genesis looks nicer… But this should be a very cheap car compared to S and 7…

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  • Caddilac Wong on Mar 17, 2009 at 9:59 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…

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  • kei9 (Member) on Mar 17, 2009 at 10:43 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.

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  • newbie on Mar 17, 2009 at 10:45 pm

    how do you spell Equus? is it eeqiuus or ekoos?

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  • azrai on Mar 17, 2009 at 11:07 pm

    Looks to Lexusish, Mercedish, and BMWish. It is great effort from the Koreans actually. The tailgate remind me to the dugong's vios.

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  • Bodow on Mar 17, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    Vios looks like dugong … i though more of a tapir backend hahah

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  • what? 17 speakers! its even more than Lexus and the speakers in my home! boom boom interior indeed.

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  • MyviKiller on Mar 18, 2009 at 12:58 am

    The rear looks strikingly similiar to the Honda Legend.

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  • painsama on Mar 18, 2009 at 1:08 am

    The front grill and that "spirit of ecstasy" look like year 2000 hyundai grandeur/XG.

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  • nibiru on Mar 18, 2009 at 2:45 am

    pity.

    soon we can only see these marque in museums once the north took the south.

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  • CFA28 on Mar 18, 2009 at 3:24 am

    this is one huge car, with a wheelbase of more than 3,000 mm. Bigger than the BMW 7 Series?

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  • Gajen on Mar 18, 2009 at 4:17 am

    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…

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  • johan on Mar 18, 2009 at 4:35 am

    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.

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  • Edwardo on Mar 18, 2009 at 5:19 am

    Looks so much like Toyota Crown….

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  • James on Mar 18, 2009 at 6:46 am

    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!

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  • noAP4u on Mar 18, 2009 at 7:52 am

    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.

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  • reuben how on Mar 18, 2009 at 9:48 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

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  • [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

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  • Ricky on Mar 18, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    Look like BMW 6 series. Very nice. Good jobs.

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  • Ricky on Mar 18, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    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.

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  • Ricky on Mar 18, 2009 at 6:26 pm

    Alamak wrong post. The comment is for proton Exora. Sorry.

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  • camprodohc (Member) on Mar 18, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    congratz Hyundai!

    but how about Genesis Sedan and Genesis Cuope ??

    will get market at Malaysia or not ??

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  • not copycat la… just "refer" and "improvise" ma… then the outcome only kick-ass ma…hahaha.. 17 Speakers man!! Phewitt!!

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  • Farhat Haniff on Mar 23, 2009 at 1:39 pm

    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.

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  • Kelvin on Mar 26, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    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).

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