By Kim Da-ye
The Grandeur is back.
In its fifth generation, the sedan that carries the 25-year-old brand name has become more powerful, more fuel-efficient, more female driver friendly and sexier, a test drive found. Resembling an eagle spreading its wings for the hunt, the Grandeur is ready to take a big bite of the large car segment at home and abroad.
The design of the car gives somewhat a mixed feeling. This reporter loved the color choices including grey with a hint of bronze and dark violetish-brown, and the wide bumper and grille make the vehicle look grand in size.
The Grandeur wears the fluidic sculpture design which has also been applied to the Sonata, the Avante and the Accent. It completes Hyundai Motor’s family look _ the consistency in vehicle designs to which domestic manufacturers recently pay more attention like Audi and Mercedes-Benz do. Seeing too many vehicles with such a flamboyant design on the road here in Korea, this reporter has got somewhat tired of it. The front of the Grandeur is all too similar to that of the Sonata YF model.
But satisfaction with the driving experience overwhelmed any regrets over the design. This reporter test-drove the HG 300 Royal, the most expensive trim, with all available options fitted. The options included the eight-inch premium wide navigation with cameras attached on both the front and the back and the advanced smart cruise control.
The vehicle ticks all the boxes ― smooth, silent and light. Sitting in the car, one hardly hears any noise and the car smoothly glides as it drives. The gas pedal ― long and wide enough to support the whole foot ― presses so softly that one doesn’t feel the acceleration. Driving between 60 and 100 kilometers per hour feels like driving under 40 kilometers per hour.
The test drive was done on the highways and the bridges in Busan, and the car easily speeds up to 180 kilometers per hour, producing a little hum. The wind was harsh on the bridge, but the vehicle still drove stable and quiet, nearly unaffected by the speed. For such stability, the car felt surprisingly light. Because the driving track wasn’t bumpy, the car’s suspension couldn’t be tested properly.
Furthermore, the Lambda gasoline direct injection (GDI) V6 3.0 engine with the 270 horsepower and 31.6 kilogram-meter of torque gives the vehicle a fine fuel efficiency of 11.6 kilometers per liter (km/L), compared to 9.3 km/L for GM Daewoo’s Alpheon, 11 km/L for Kia Motors’ K7, 9 km/L for Renault Samsung’s SM7 and 9.8 km/L for the Lexus ES 350. The figures were provided by Hyundai Motor. The Grandeur’s fuel efficiency is expected to get a good review abroad as many U.S. auto critics have praised this feature of previous Hyundai cars.
The Grandeur is spacious inside, giving enough legroom for both the driver and passengers but the fluidic design leaves inadequate headroom in the back seat. The trunk is very roomy ― Hyundai says four golf bags would easily fit in it.
The HG 300 Royal sells at 39.01 million won inclusive of the 3.55 million won VAT. The trim is fitted with the smart parking assist system that aids parallel parking, the posture memorizing system, the “active” seats whose four built-in cables massage the driver and the JBL Logic sound system.
The HG 300 Royal, of course, has what the cheaper versions offer. The 34.23-million-won HG 300 Prime comes with seats with built-in air-conditioning and a steering wheel that heats up in winter. The HG 300 Noble, priced at 36.7 million won, is equipped with the electric parking brake and curtains for three windows in the back.
Car buyers have long been complaining about how unfairly domestic automakers manipulate “trims.” Favored options are often available with expensive trims, and with such a pricing system, the car price shoots up by tens of millions won.
The safety features that are fitted with vehicles for export as standard are absent in the same models for domestic consumption, triggering public outcry.
The Grandeur Fifth Generation breaks that bad, old tradition. The model has only four trims, and the cheapest one that costs 31.12 million won inclusive of 2.83 million won VAT comes with many specifications that would usually be found in upper end vehicles.
The basic trim, HG 240 Luxury with the 2.4 GDi Engine, has, in particular, a wide range of safety features: nine airbags including one for the knees; skid-minimizing vehicle dynamic control (VDC) better known as electronic stability control; vehicle stability management (VSM), tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS); and automatic emergency stop signal (ESS).
The rest are as impressive. One starts the car by pressing a button instead of using the key; the beeping parking guide system takes care of both the front and the back; and the car automatically controls fuel-efficiency to the driver’s liking.
This reporter particularly liked the NAPPA leather seat that comes with the basic model at no extra cost and in luxurious colors including chocolate brown and beige. The front seats move electrically, and both the front and back seats have built-in heaters.
Of course, it is equipped with all the gadgetry for which overseas buyers often choose Asian cars including a remote control built into the armrest in the back seat.
The HG 240 Luxury is a little more expensive than its equivalent than the Grandeur TG but the extra features means the price is very reasonable.
The Grandeur Fifth Generation doesn’t hide it is made for the U.S. market, but rather wears that intention on its sleeve. At the launch event on Jan. 13, Hyundai Motor President Yang Seung-suk also told reporters that Hyundai is targeting the U.S. upper-end auto market with the Grandeur.
One feature American drivers will find attractive is the advanced smart cruise control (ASCC) which frees drivers from the duties of braking and accelerating on the highway. The Grandeur is the first Korean car to be fitted with this edgy technology.
And a 55-kilometer test drive tells that Hyundai’s ASCC works. On the highway, this reporter set the ideal speed and distance between cars with the remote control built into the steering wheel and removed the foot from both the break and the accelerator.
With no car in front, the Grandeur drove at the set speed. With a car in front, the Grandeur slowed down or accelerated depending on the distance between the cars. When the car in front stopped, the ASCC brought the Grandeur to a halt.
The feature would ideally suit U.S. drivers who are often on the highway or on roads with little traffic. Because it costs an extra 1.6 million won and is available with high-end trims, fitting it would be a sort of waste for drivers in highly congested cities like Seoul. Urbanites, however, would benefit from it when holidaying to the countryside.
A Hyundai official said that the U.S. price for the new Grandeur wouldn’t differ from the Korean price exclusive of VAT. It will enter the U.S. market next year under the name Azera.
Hyundai is aiming at competing against the Alpheon, K7 and SM7 at home and against the Mercedez-Benz E-Class, the Audi 6, the BMW 5 Series and Lexus ES 350 abroad. A Hyundai official said that the convenient features of the Grandeur could match even those of the Audi 8 and the Mercedez-Benz S-Series.