We bid our long-term 2011 Hyundai Equus Signature a forlorn "AMF" (Adios My Friend) two weeks ago.
I was the last staff member to drive it, taking it the night before it was picked up and returned to Hyundai Motor America.
For me it was the final chance to experience that smooth and powerful 4.6L V8, the near-perfect shift-timing of the ZF 6-speed auto transmission, and that solid chassis with its excellent ride quality.
Sure, the interior had many opportunities for improvement. That didn't keep me from being one of the Equus' biggest fans here -- and I'm not a Hyundai cheerleader by any means (I thought our Sonata was vastly overrated.) I enjoyed our Equus because it was a great car, and I will miss it.
And with its departure after an entire year with us, it was another reminder of how quickly 2011 passed.
Time flies.
Albert Austria, Senior VE Engineer @ 20,800 miles (Photo by Scott Jacobs)
Hit the jump for the elegant Equus video, "A Poetic Capture."
incyphe says:
03:15 PM, 01/18/12
that's a pretty good angle. very substantial. this car should only be sold in black.
gslippy says:
03:28 PM, 01/18/12
Well, it sure beats the Swagger Wagon ads.
esoterica says:
05:27 PM, 01/18/12
I'll be surprised if any readers can bring themselves to care that it's gone.
ptcdawg says:
06:14 PM, 01/18/12
Nice car, I'll be on the lookout for this one and others like when they get to 3 or so years old with low mileage.
altimadude05 says:
07:02 PM, 01/18/12
esoterica says:
"I'll be surprised if any readers can bring themselves to care that it's gone."
Maybe so, but I think it's real ballsy of Hyundai to take on the luxury leaders and do as well as they did on their first time out.
Here's you you Equus: You introduced us to the Takahashi Unit of Measurement.
scorp76 says:
09:34 PM, 01/18/12
"I'll be surprised if any readers can bring themselves to care that it's gone."
Some of us do, and have read every blog about it. In contrast, I havent read a single word typed about some crap in the fleet, like the hideous a8 and nissan and fiat, and the insanely boring toyotas and hondas.
litewerk says:
01:27 AM, 01/19/12
@scorp76
I know what you mean. It's still a car that's new and rarely seen. Not reading much on here these days as minivans and sport-utes are not on my radar. A suggestion that has come up before is the new body style Dodge Charger. It is, remember, a RWD sporty sedan which is greatly improved. It should be of some interest to anybody who misses the departed Pontiac G8.
nefariousnigel says:
08:18 AM, 01/19/12
Honestly, did anyone actually drive this thing besides automobile journalists?
I haven't seen an Equus in Chicago ...not a single ONE. I've seen all its competitors beyond count.
I'm thinking the Equus wasn't shooting for Aventador sales numbers.
I did see a sweet black Genesis last week which makes maybe 3 sightings of that model all year.
@scorp76: You're more passionate about the big Korean limo than the actual Koreans.
super_ongoy says:
08:23 AM, 01/19/12
The guy is an ass. He should get off his ass and open the door for the lady. And one should never drive with his suit jacket on, at least if it's not a cheap polyester kind.
noburgers says:
09:45 AM, 01/19/12
Is it me or is Mr Austria being politically correct when he says "Adios, MY FRIEND"? We used to tell our boss each time a person left the company that their luncheon was an "Adios, my friends" party, but we really knew it as "Adios, Mother F***ers"
I'll miss the Equus, mostly as it is new territory for Hyundai in the US. Hopefully improvements and features in the halo car filter down to the cheaper models.
bimmerjay says:
09:57 AM, 01/19/12
This car held together well throughout the test, so kudos for that.
I still don't think the Equus will see much success in the U.S. marketplace without a better interior and a premium nameplate. 2011 sales figures and average transaction prices were pretty low. I just don't think a low price will cut it, as buyers in the $60K luxury realm want a name on the hood.
greenpony says:
10:38 AM, 01/19/12
So... when are you going to post the intro on the Sonic?
dg0472 says:
01:07 PM, 01/19/12
@nefariousnigel,
So you drive all of Chicago? There are five Chicagoland Equus dealers (though none near downtown), so it's hard to believe there are none in Chicago. I, on the other hand, saw two just driving from our office in downtown Greenville, SC, to one of our suburban offices this past Saturday and another the next day. None were livery cars. During this time, I saw not one Lexus LS. Does that mean the Equus now outsells the LS? Hardly. Maybe only in Greenville (which doesn't have an Equus dealer; closest is 30 miles away in Spartanburg)? No. It means that your little corner of the world and where you drive doesn't represent the entire universe, same as with me. Expand your horizons and stop trying to claim that because you've never seen one (were you really looking that hard?), it means only journalists drive them.
miamifan1 says:
02:17 PM, 01/19/12
Get a Benz next, please. Or a Jaguar. Enough with the parade of the same nameplates over and over!
miamifan1 says:
02:19 PM, 01/19/12
I swear you had, at one point, like 4 BMW's at the same time.
canddmeyer says:
03:36 PM, 01/19/12
Beautiful car. Gonna miss those reviews. I saw the Equus as a premium luxury car that cost less and offered more than a 2WD Denali I saw last weekend that stickered at $61,000.
dg0472 says:
05:14 PM, 01/19/12
I second the Jag. Doesn't look like you've ever had one. If too much, the an M-B. Been since '08.
j2j says:
08:45 PM, 01/19/12
"I haven't seen an Equus in Chicago ...not a single ONE. I've seen all its competitors beyond count."
- W/o AWD, likely not going to see to many Equus in the snow belt.
****
"I still don't think the Equus will see much success in the U.S. marketplace without a better interior and a premium nameplate. 2011 sales figures and average transaction prices were pretty low. I just don't think a low price will cut it, as buyers in the $60K luxury realm want a name on the hood."
- A better interior and hopefully more interesting sheetmetal is on the way for the next gen Equus, as well as available AWD.
Considering that AWD makes up 40-50% of RWD-biased, luxury sedan sales, I think Hyundai did alright with the Equus, selling 56% of what Audi did with the A8, which is brand new and is on its 3rd gen
bimmerjay says:
02:52 PM, 01/20/12
"Considering that AWD makes up 40-50% of RWD-biased, luxury sedan sales, I think Hyundai did alright with the Equus, selling 56% of what Audi did with the A8, which is brand new and is on its 3rd gen"
Audi doesn't sell very many A8's in the U.S., but they do worldwide. Hyundai doesn't have the luxury of spreading out their investment like that. The S-Class outsold the Equus by at least 4x in the U.S. and Mercedes charged their customers an extra $40K for the privilege, on average. That is mighty hard to compete with, and Hyundai will have a continued hard time commanding higher prices without a premium nameplate.