When I hop into a new vehicle I usually become more attune to seeing others just like it on the road. But this hasn't really happened yet for my time in our Hyundai Veracruz. So I was wondering: Has the vehicle's conservative styling made it relatively invisible, or is it that there aren't many Veracruzs on the road yet?
Hyundai reports that it sold 3,800 Veracruzs for the first three months of 2008. For comparison, Buick sold 11,712 Enclaves and Mazda sold 6,729 CX-9s during the same period...
Styling or sales? Maybe it's a bit of both.
Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 7,321 miles
1487 says:
10:28 AM, 04/14/08
I have seen few on the road here. I think the styling is a major factor along with the reluctance of folks to pay over $30k for a Hyundai. The Veracruz is one of the least attractive crossovers on the market.
dougtheeng says:
10:30 AM, 04/14/08
I quite like how it looks, but I also have not seen many of them on the road. Actually, I don't recall seeing too many CX-9s on the road either.
I like the font they use to spell Veracruz.
cx7lover says:
10:35 AM, 04/14/08
A seriously small dealer network could be the reason too.
estreka says:
10:36 AM, 04/14/08
We only have 6 new car dealerships here (Ford, GM, Dodge, Honda, VW/Hyundai/Nissan, and Subaru) so new car sales are quite limited (nearest major town is 3 hours away). I see Veracruzes on the lot, but I don't think I've seen one on the road. I'll keep an eye out.
ahightower says:
10:49 AM, 04/14/08
I've noticed a few, but I've probably failed to notice many more due to the anonymous, boring styling.
prndlol says:
10:51 AM, 04/14/08
Its dumb grill treatment likely has a good deal to do with it as well.
http://www.auto-talk.net/autonews/uploads/1/Hyundai_Veracruz_1.jpg
wobbly_ears says:
11:09 AM, 04/14/08
It is a sad reflection on the efforts of Hyundai's marketing department. Absolutely pathetic.
When was the last time anyone saw an ad for Veracruz? Or, Azera for that matter? Compared to other CUVs which advertize to get their name out, Hyundai has done absolutely horrendous job promoting it's upper category vehicles.
The same thing happens to Hyunda Azera as well. People who have bought it know that it is the best bang for buck & is a well-kept secret. Go & read the Carspace forums.
Hyundai, reinvigorate your marketing efforts. or else, Genesis is also going to have such dismal sales as Azera & Veracruz.
ahightower says:
11:11 AM, 04/14/08
The regional dealer's association around my area seems to promote them pretty well, but I agree there doesn't seem to be a lot of national advertising for Hyundai.
zoomzoom22 says:
11:24 AM, 04/14/08
I see a lot of CX-9s here in Colorado, as well as a lot of Acadias. I think I've seen two, maybe three of the Veracruz. It's a nice car, but it's too expensive for a Hyundai and doesn't stand out at all, especially considering the competition. Maybe it's because around here, we have basically every car dealership right in town except Hyundai.
ryan02 says:
12:08 PM, 04/14/08
Completely agree with the statement about lack of Veracruz advertizing. I’ve not seen one commercial for the vehicle. I bought a Veracruz in October and we stumbled upon it by accident after shopping for a crossover for months. Once we drove it, we put it at the top of our list, along with the CX 9. I have not seen many of them in my area as well. That’s fine with me, because I hate driving something that’s common. It’s nice to have something not seen in every 5th parking space. As far as the styling, I have a black one, which is the color I think looks best with the styling. It’s seems to be love it or hate it styling with the Vera. My wife and I happen to like it, but obviously from these posts, many would disagree.
I’m also seeing many comments about paying $30,000 for a Hyundai; but what convinced me to go with it over the CX-9 was the fact that we got it for about $3500 less than a comparably equipped CX-9...plus a longer warranty. We really have no complaints….yet. We don’t need to aux iPod input, and we have a portable GPS unit, so lack of these features is not an issue with us. We plan on keeping it for 10 years, so if we start having reliability issues…..I’ll start complaining.
daytona_500 says:
04:04 PM, 04/14/08
I have seen a few Veracruz around, there's one in the exact same color that parks near my house. I think more people are going for the smaller Santa Fe and not looking at the Verzcruz.
I dont think anyone finds the styling offensive, at least I dont. Its no better or worse than its competitors.
dragonflight says:
05:27 PM, 04/14/08
I always see Hyundai dumping their marketing budget into sedans, particularly the Sonata (the DUH campaign) and the Elantra. I haven't seen a single ad for the Santa Fe, Azera, Tucson, Veracruz, or Accent....ever. Disappointing for a company that desperately needs to fight to be in people's minds.
roar02ram says:
07:12 PM, 04/14/08
So we agree that it's lack of advertising, bland styling, and a small dealer network. Hmmm - sounds like a good explanation!
1487 says:
05:37 AM, 04/15/08
Hyundai's dealer network isnt as small as some brands. I believe Saturn and Mazda have fewer dealers than Hyundai. They manage to sell 14k Sonatas some months so they obviously can do more volume than the Veracruz is capable of doing. Hyundai's expensive products have not done well at all. The Azera flopped and this doesnt seem to be doing much better.
tcolberg85 says:
04:27 PM, 04/20/08
I've seen at least one driving around in Silver Lake. Maybe people just aren't buying them on the Westside?