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I am confused by Hyundai's sedan lineup in the US. I am not sure which model competes which of other car companies. Let me list their models from smallest to biggest.
Accent- Obviously subcompact, competes with Chevrolet Aveo, Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit ?
Elantra- Compact, competes with Chevrolet Cobalt, Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra, Honda Civic ?
Sonata- This is where my confusion begins. Is it a midsize car that compates with Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Camry, Accord, Altima, etc? Once when I was renting a car, the rental agency guy gave me an offer between Sonata and Chevrolet Impala.
Azera- What is this car's segment? Large full size FWD like Ford Taurus, Impala, Maxima ? But I believe it comes with I4 engine option which none of the others have.
Genesis- This is a full size RWD car with a V8, so competes with BMW 7 series, Mercedes S class, Jaguar XJ ,etc?
Equus- To be launched shortly. Again RWD, V8. So what does this compete with?
If the Genesis is the one that competes with Taurus, Impala, etc. then what is the Azera for?
Sorry about the long post, but please explain for me. I am confused!
Location: Still in Portland, Oregon, for some reason
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Pardon the list format but here is the breakdown on closest competitors.
Accent - Focus hatchback, Toyota Yaris, Chevy Aveo Elantra - Chevy Cobalt, Ford Focus sedan, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Sonata - Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Mazda6, Toyota Camry Azera - Lexus ES350 and Toyota Avalon (can't think of anything else in that segment, really as far as floaty, Asian half-luxury cars go) Genesis - Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, Mercedes E-Class, Lexus GS, and maybe the Volvo S80 Equus - Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS
The Azera comes with a choice of a 3.3 or 3.8 liter V6. No four cylinder is available.
I wouldn't put them in the same class. The Azera is a near-luxury sedan while the Impala and the Taurus are large family sedans.
Correct.
Granted, with the '11 Sonata classified as a large car nowadays, the Impala and Taurus, along with the Malibu and Fusion, can be considered competitors too.
Then again, the Elantra is up to a mid-sized car classification too ...
the hyundai sedan line up is somewhat cluttered. and its bound to get more so as they decided to bypass launching a premium brand in favor of selling luxury Hyundai's.
the Azera is odd because it doesn't seem to be as modern or desirable as the new Sonata, although more so then the out going model. in my estimation the "match ups" go like this:
Accent - Aveo, Feista, Fit, Yaris, etc (although the current Fit and Yaris exceed it in quality and size, the coming Accent will address that)
Elantra - Civic, Corolla, Focus, etc
Sonata - Camry, Accord, Legacy, Passat, etc
Azera - Upper trim Avalon's, Maxima's, and Taurus's, etc (new Azera due next year will compete better with its intended "near luxury" targets)
Genesis - Lexus ES / GS, Acura RL, Volvo S80, Cadillac CTS, BMW 5 Series (basic models), Infiniti M
Equss - Lexus LS460, Mercedes S Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8, etc
Equus - Audi A8, BMW 7-Series, Mercedes S-Class and Lexus LS
I didnt even know about the Equus! Thanks for posting that! I checked it out and very impessed! A 385 hp V8? WOW. Air spring suspension, etc.
I thought the Genesis was going to be their all-time top-out, but they have went a step further. I wonder if this will eventually replace the Genesis? Hopefully it will not be a failure like the VW Phaeton was and be a failure because no one wanted to pay $60K+ for a VW. The Edmunds write-up says Hyundai is aiming for it not to be by keeping base price under $49K and no higher than $58K.
I have long wondered why Honda has YET to offer a large RWD V8 luxury car to their line-up... not even Acura has ever offered it. Certainlly not Mazda... they dont even have a luxury car anymore since the Millenia phased out. Oh well.
The Equus is not intended to replace the Genesis, it's intended to be the next step up from the Genesis, just like Mercedes sells the S-Class as a step up from the E-Class, BMW sells the 7-series as a step up from the 5-series, Lexus sells the LS as a step up from the GS, etc.
This version of the Equus has already been on sale in Asia for a year or so. Going back to the first generation, the Equus has been around for 10 years.
Location: Still in Portland, Oregon, for some reason
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm
I didnt even know about the Equus! Thanks for posting that! I checked it out and very impessed! A 385 hp V8? WOW. Air spring suspension, etc.
I thought the Genesis was going to be their all-time top-out, but they have went a step further. I wonder if this will eventually replace the Genesis? Hopefully it will not be a failure like the VW Phaeton was and be a failure because no one wanted to pay $60K+ for a VW. The Edmunds write-up says Hyundai is aiming for it not to be by keeping base price under $49K and no higher than $58K.
I have long wondered why Honda has YET to offer a large RWD V8 luxury car to their line-up... not even Acura has ever offered it. Certainlly not Mazda... they dont even have a luxury car anymore since the Millenia phased out. Oh well.
Hats off to Hyundai.
No problem.
Hyundai is very well aware of the mistakes VW made with the Phaeton and they have repeatedly said that the Equus will not suffer the same fate. The fact that people are willing to shell out up to $45,000 for the Genesis gives me hope that the Equus will succeed.
I think one of the factors that caused the Phaeton to fail was the fact that it was almost double the price of VW's next cheapest model, the Passat W8. Hyundai has gotten the public adjusted to the idea of more expensive models by slowly introducing them, starting with the $33,000 Azera in 2006 and the $42,000 Genesis in 2008. VW did no such thing and just slammed the market with a luxury sedan costing up to $120,000. Now why would you buy a Phaeton and get a mediocre dealer experience when you could spend the same amount and get an Audi A8 with brand cachet and a better dealer experience.
I think it's great that Hyundai is doing everything that the Japanese haven't been doing for years. I can't tell you how many times Car & Driver or Motor Trend have said something to the effect of 'Why can't Honda make a rear-wheel drive, V8 sedan?' Apparently Hyundai noticed this lack of attention and took it upon themselves to fill the void. And Honda STILL has no V8 or RWD plans of any sort.
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