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The
Hyundai Azera has always billed itself as a good rival
to the Toyota Camry, the Subaru Legacy, the Nissan Teana
and the soon-to-be-launched Honda Accord and Mazda 6,
but what can make it stand out in a potentially crowded
market?
The
exterior looks like a mix between the current Audi A6
and the ’97-’01 Toyota Camry. The bubble-top roof may
seem a bit tall compared with those on the A6 and the
aforementioned Teana, but the overall design still looks
like it could cheat the wind.
Inside,
a crisp character line runs from the dash through to the
door panels, encircling the driver and front occupant.
It’s an elegant ribbon of textured vinyl, really good
faux wood and metallic piping. Just a subtle design cue,
but along with the cabin’s tight construction, it’s
enough to make the car feel like a BMW 5-Series.
Ergonomics, in general, are well-organized, but many of
the buttons are of like shape, size and texture, so
using them isn’t terribly intuitive. Much like the Teana,
the front-door bins are deceptively small, and the side
mirrors can be folded at a button’s touch. The front
seats themselves are nicely shaped and cushioned, while
there’s also plenty of legroom at the back and the
liberally cushioned seat-bottom and back cushions are
perfectly angled to support adult occupants. The cargo
hold is spacious, and the rear seats fold flat in 60/40
sections for bigger items.
 Three
negatives pop up inside-wise: the location of the aircon
blower and mode buttons, which can be confusing at first
usage; the sunroof’s location, which is directly above
front occupants’ crowns; and the interior trunk release.
Although conveniently mounted on the driver’s door
rather than the floor, it’s a bit hard to use, and
popping the fuel door instead of the trunk lid happens a
lot.
On a par
with the car’s classy digs is the driving experience.
Hyundai saw fit to throw in its own take on variable
intake valve timing inside the Azera’s 3.3L DOHC V6. The
result is more than enough thrust for passing, with the
five-speed A/T upshifting smoothly under full throttle.
Downshifts are prompt, but there’s slight hesitation if
you jump on the gas abruptly in traffic. However, on
mountain passes the A/T often went down to second gear
for decent forward motion. The results are pleasing: a
239-kph top speed and 10.88 km/l on five days of mixed
driving.
The
Azera’s suspension provides a relaxing yet controlled
ride. Generally there was little noise, vibration and
harshness (NVH), but there was slight road noise inside
the cabin at 120 kph and the rear started to wiggle at
220-plus kph. The test car’s tires were to blame, which
were overinflated and had little grip. The fully
independent double-wishbone front, multilink rear
suspension had to work overtime just to cover for the
tire problems, with the car pussyfooting its way on
twisty roads, gently transitioning to understeer at
80-plus kph with the traction control off.
The
Azera’s safety features are excellent. Brake-pedal feel
is progressive during normal driving, but the ABS wakes
up at three-fourths pedal effort and the car’s front end
droops during hard braking. Exterior lighting is bright
due to the use of xenon bulbs, and the foot-activated
parking brake has strong grip. However, the small rear
windshield makes long backing and parallel parking a
chore, exacerbated by the lack of backup sensors.
The
Hyundai Azera has features common in other executive
cars, but given its price tag, even money-conscious top
brass WILL find this car irresistible. In short, it’s
opulence for the frugal executive. |
