Ed Voyles Hyundai's Equus Unveiling

[cliffbig]

Just got back from Ed Voyles Hyundai's presentation at their Marietta, GA showroom. My compliments to Ken Flanagan (Ed Voyles' Equus champion) and the entire team for a first-class presentation in a very attractively remodeled facility.

During the presentation, I was able to get answers to a few of my questions, and discovered two shortcomings. First off, in spite of the earlier info that Ken Flanagan was given by Hyundai, the Equus does not have automatic door closers; they have been removed for the American market. That's one shortcoming. The other? Once again, Hyundai has shortchanged the front seat passenger: the Equus does not have lumbar support adjustment (or any sort of lumbar support) for the front seat passenger--only for the driver.

The Equus headrests are adjustable only up and down--not forward or backward like the BMW.

As we were told before, the Equus does not allow music storage on the hard drive. It does not have streaming bluetooth audio.

I was given brief access to the DIS/Nav system manual, and it appears from the manual that iPod randomization and integration has been improved somewhat, although not to the level of the Equus' competition (Infiniti, BMW, Acura, Lexus, Mercedes). It's still relatively rudimentary.

No "pause and play" feature for radio.

The warranty on the DIS/Nav/Audio system remains 3 years, even though the Equus specialist who was there admitted that the DIS/Nav/Audio system was the most problematic component in the Genesis.

User settings apparently cannot be downloaded to a USB drive and re-uploaded after updates, etc. The USB connection can apparently only be used by the consumer to connect audio devices (iPods, thumb drives, etc.).

It does not appear, from my brief skimming of the manual, that importation of iPhone phone books has been improved.

Because the key was not available and the car could not be started or placed in accessory mode, I was not able to gain answers to my other questions from my "list of 18" that I posted here a couple of weeks ago.

Impressions: it's an attractive car, but not as strikingly elegant or distinctive as I had hoped. The gray exterior color is a lighter gray--almost a dark silver rather than a real gray; I was hoping for something darker, but I don't want a black exterior.

The seating was adequately comfortable, but not impressively so. I have recently test driven a number of cars, and would rate it less comfortable than the BMW, the Lexus, the Acura, or (surprisingly) the Lincoln (!), but more comfortable than the Infiniti. The much-vaunted rear executive seat is only suitable if you're short enough that your feet don't really extend beyond the length of the elevated footrest; tall people are going to be frustrated by the surprising lack of extra footroom/legroom that the vehicle offers rear seat passengers.

The wood trim looks okay, but it is so polished and processed that it looks almost like fake wood; somehow, it doesn't impress like the wood in the Infiniti, the Lexus, and the Lincoln does.

The wheels, which I was afraid might be a little ostentatious, were very attractive in person. And that prominent Hyundai "leaning H" on the back has got to go, as it seems very out of place--like beadazzling a tuxedo.

The front seat has a surprisingly large range of elevation, which made the roof seem a bit low; before I reached maximum elevation, I felt that I would have to hunch down for full windshield visibility. I came away feeling like I had more headroom in the Genesis, although I can't swear that's correct.

I'll post more impressions once I have a chance to drive an Equus in a couple of weeks. I'm still not ruling it out, but I'm also looking at a Lexus 460 as an alternative, along with simply keeping my Genesis (bought it in July '08 and it still has less than 10k miles, so it's not like I have to have a new vehicle...).

 

[waveman]

Thanks for posting. I'm still waiting for a local Hyundai dealer to get an Equus in so that I can take a look and hopefully decide to buy an '11 Genesis instead. It's disappointing to hear that integration with iPods, iPhones, and the like isn't better, since these devices have been around for years. It shouldn't be that hard or expensive to do.

 

[cliffbig]

It's disappointing to hear that integration with iPods, iPhones, and the like isn't better, since these devices have been around for years. It shouldn't be that hard or expensive to do.

As I said, I only got to flip through the manual, since they weren't allowing a real-time test of the iPod integration, but it doesn't look significantly better.

I, too, remain surprise by the corners that were cut as Hyundai ventured into ultra-luxury territory. Behind-the-times technology updates are very surprising, especially considering the fact that the Lexicon system is made by Harman-Kardon, the same company that makes Lexus's Mark Levinson audio system (which has far better iPod integration, based on my observations during my test-drive of the LS460 last week).

The absence of luxury-standard comfort items like lumbar support for the passenger are puzzling as well.

I'm curious to see how the car performs during an actual test drive, but so far I am a bit underwhelmed.

 

[Waki]

If you are even half right, that car doesn't stand a chance in Canada. At the price ( $70K+ ) combined with lousy, unknowledgeable dealer service, one would have to be nuts to even consider it.

 

[ctrcbob]

Jenkins Hyundai in Leesburg Florida (my closest dealer) gets theirs on Tuesday, November 23rd, and Jenkins will have an "Open House" with "Food and Drink" between 6pm and 8pm. Was told that the Equus showing was for ordering only, but when I heard food and drink, I assured them that I would be there.

When I checked with Orlando Hyundai (my selling and servicing dealer), they did not know when they would get the Equus in for showing and ordering. Also don't know if they will put out food and drink, however when I purchased my Genesis, they had a get together for new owners, for show and tell, and one of the things was they fed everyone with great BBQ. They never told me that they would feed us, so my wife and I had something to eat before we went to Orlando. Darn! We did eat BBQ, but not as much as if I had been hungry.

 

[msitter]

I saw the Equus at the Charlotte auto show this past friday. As luck would have it an Lexus LS460L was about 40 feet away so I could compare them as much as the constraints would allow. The Lexus was fully $20k more expensive than the Equus and they seemed to be comparably equipped. The rear seat armrest controls on the Equus looked much more styled than the Lexus. Dash looked more eye pleasing on the Lexus. Since they were not powered up, I could not check the features of the radio, but I can tell you that for $20k extra over the Equus, that radio would have to a whole lot more for me than Ipod integration. Fit and finish seemed equal on the two, and for the most part the quality of materials was similarly equal. The LS460 that was also there had a much smaller back seat than the Equus and only the L model was comparable for room. I have not driven the Equus but I have driven the LS and it is truly boring. I would compare it to a Town Car with a little better body control but definitely kind of numb. If they both cost the same I guess I would pick the Lexus unless the 5ltr/8spd were available but I absolutely do not see the extra $20k in the car. I do not think I really need either of them as my Genesis is plenty big enough for me. Both the LS460L and the Equus are truly massive automobiles compared to the Genesis and the Lexus GS that were also parked in the same area.

 

[DJaxx]

If you are even half right, that car doesn't stand a chance in Canada. At the price ( $70K+ ) combined with lousy, unknowledgeable dealer service, one would have to be nuts to even consider it.

Agreed.....visited Richmond Hill Hyundai yesterday. They were expecting the Equus to arrive in late December, but had still not finalized the plans to segregate a portion of the showroom at their new facility......which involved significant layout changes.

They confirmed the base Equus would start at $63K with the Ultimate version coming in just under $70K. When I inquired about the iPad integration and personal home sales approach as outlined by HMA, it drew blank stares. Goes to your point about ill informed sales and service.

Add in the potential shortcomings outlined by cliffbig and a large +1 to the fact the Equus will have little chance of success in Canada.

I am thrilled with my new Genny, but why would I pay $30K more for the Equus Ultimate when there is nowhere near the imcremental value to my 3.8 Premium purchased last month?

 

[chilly mac]

They confirmed the base Equus would start at $63K with the Ultimate version coming in just under $70K.

Hmm... Thought base was supposed to be about $58K and uber version for about $64K. Geez, base LS460 is "only" $66K...

As a new Genesis owner I really want Hyundai to knock this out of the park, but have serious concerns about their ability to succeed with the Equus if they aren't OTD in the mid 50's or lower.

 

[wallymn]

Just got back from Ed Voyles Hyundai's presentation at their Marietta, GA showroom. My compliments to Ken Flanagan (Ed Voyles' Equus champion) and the entire team for a first-class presentation in a very attractively remodeled facility.

During the presentation, I was able to get answers to a few of my questions, and discovered two shortcomings. First off, in spite of the earlier info that Ken Flanagan was given by Hyundai, the Equus does not have automatic door closers; they have been removed for the American market. That's one shortcoming. The other? Once again, Hyundai has shortchanged the front seat passenger: the Equus does not have lumbar support adjustment (or any sort of lumbar support) for the front seat passenger--only for the driver.

The Equus headrests are adjustable only up and down--not forward or backward like the BMW.

As we were told before, the Equus does not allow music storage on the hard drive. It does not have streaming bluetooth audio.

I was given brief access to the DIS/Nav system manual, and it appears from the manual that iPod randomization and integration has been improved somewhat, although not to the level of the Equus' competition (Infiniti, BMW, Acura, Lexus, Mercedes). It's still relatively rudimentary.

No "pause and play" feature for radio.

The warranty on the DIS/Nav/Audio system remains 3 years, even though the Equus specialist who was there admitted that the DIS/Nav/Audio system was the most problematic component in the Genesis.

User settings apparently cannot be downloaded to a USB drive and re-uploaded after updates, etc. The USB connection can apparently only be used by the consumer to connect audio devices (iPods, thumb drives, etc.).

It does not appear, from my brief skimming of the manual, that importation of iPhone phone books has been improved.

Because the key was not available and the car could not be started or placed in accessory mode, I was not able to gain answers to my other questions from my "list of 18" that I posted here a couple of weeks ago.

Impressions: it's an attractive car, but not as strikingly elegant or distinctive as I had hoped. The gray exterior color is a lighter gray--almost a dark silver rather than a real gray; I was hoping for something darker, but I don't want a black exterior.

The seating was adequately comfortable, but not impressively so. I have recently test driven a number of cars, and would rate it less comfortable than the BMW, the Lexus, the Acura, or (surprisingly) the Lincoln (!), but more comfortable than the Infiniti. The much-vaunted rear executive seat is only suitable if you're short enough that your feet don't really extend beyond the length of the elevated footrest; tall people are going to be frustrated by the surprising lack of extra footroom/legroom that the vehicle offers rear seat passengers.

The wood trim looks okay, but it is so polished and processed that it looks almost like fake wood; somehow, it doesn't impress like the wood in the Infiniti, the Lexus, and the Lincoln does.

The wheels, which I was afraid might be a little ostentatious, were very attractive in person. And that prominent Hyundai "leaning H" on the back has got to go, as it seems very out of place--like beadazzling a tuxedo.

The front seat has a surprisingly large range of elevation, which made the roof seem a bit low; before I reached maximum elevation, I felt that I would have to hunch down for full windshield visibility. I came away feeling like I had more headroom in the Genesis, although I can't swear that's correct.

I'll post more impressions once I have a chance to drive an Equus in a couple of weeks. I'm still not ruling it out, but I'm also looking at a Lexus 460 as an alternative, along with simply keeping my Genesis (bought it in July '08 and it still has less than 10k miles, so it's not like I have to have a new vehicle...).

nice write up... As the Equus and LS460 are not in the same segment as the Genesis.. what is driving you into that segment from the Genesis?
you're averaging 4k miles a year? I have managed that in a week.... more than once...

 

[DJaxx]

Hmm... Thought base was supposed to be about $58K and uber version for about $64K. Geez, base LS460 is "only" $66K...

As a new Genesis owner I really want Hyundai to knock this out of the park, but have serious concerns about their ability to succeed with the Equus if they aren't OTD in the mid 50's or lower.

I was responding to the post on Canada pricing. Accordingly I provided those for the Toronto area.

Agreed.....I would also like to see Hyundai succeed and become a power Brand.....but with the Equus they should have either waited until the 5.0 launched, or come in about 10% lower than reported pricing. I really cannot justify an additional $30K going from my 3.8 Premium Package to the Equus Ultimate. While there are clearly more features in the Equus.....certainly not enough to justify an 80% premium.

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[cliffbig]

nice write up... As the Equus and LS460 are not in the same segment as the Genesis.. what is driving you into that segment from the Genesis?
you're averaging 4k miles a year? I have managed that in a week.... more than once...

My wife has chronic health issues that limit her ability to drive, so I frequently drive her around, and I like for her to be as comfortable as possible. The seats in the Genesis aren't as comfortable as the Equus or the Lexus for longer trips, and the absence of cooled seats makes them even less comfortable during Georgia summers. We don't put a lot of miles on our car, but her comfort is paramount to me, and the Genes-is--while it has performed well--is a bit lacking in passenger comfort.

 

[MHT]

My wife has chronic health issues that limit her ability to drive, so I frequently drive her around, and I like for her to be as comfortable as possible. The seats in the Genesis aren't as comfortable as the Equus or the Lexus for longer trips, and the absence of cooled seats makes them even less comfortable during Georgia summers. We don't put a lot of miles on our car, but her comfort is paramount to me, and the Genes-is--while it has performed well--is a bit lacking in passenger comfort.

I am sorry about your wifes health problems. I suffer from cervical spinal problems and over the years have had three surgeries so comfort in a car is very important to me. I owned a 2007 Lexus LS460 and I find the seat of the Genesis to be just if not more comfortable than the Lexus. I believe if the passenger seat of the Genesis had more features mainly the ability to raise and lower the seat your wife could be more comfortable. I have been in the passenger seat of our Genesis and I am ok with it.
The only thing I am going to ask you is that when you get the chance let your wife sit in the Lexus and Equus for a long time , a long test drive would be nice. No car is perfect but I am being honest with you I like my Genesis much better than I did my Lexus and have had fewer problem in the first six months of ownership than the Lexus. I can not speak for the Equus but keep in mind this is a new car that really has not been tried yet as far as customer ownership in this country is concerned. I would just hate to see you pay $15,000-$20,000 more for a car and find out your wife was no more comfortable in it than she was in the Genesis. I also understand that the passenger seat of the Equus is much like that of the Genesis with no up and down movement. Good luck in your decision and I pray that your wifes health will improve.

 

[waveman]

As I said, I only got to flip through the manual, since they weren't allowing a real-time test of the iPod integration, but it doesn't look significantly better.

I, too, remain surprise by the corners that were cut as Hyundai ventured into ultra-luxury territory. Behind-the-times technology updates are very surprising, especially considering the fact that the Lexicon system is made by Harman-Kardon, the same company that makes Lexus's Mark Levinson audio system (which has far better iPod integration, based on my observations during my test-drive of the LS460 last week).

The absence of luxury-standard comfort items like lumbar support for the passenger are puzzling as well.

I'm curious to see how the car performs during an actual test drive, but so far I am a bit underwhelmed.

It would be interesting to know how much potential there is for improved iPod/phone integration via firmware and/or software updates to the system in the Equus or Genesis.

 

[cliffbig]

I am sorry about your wifes health problems. ... I would just hate to see you pay $15,000-$20,000 more for a car and find out your wife was no more comfortable in it than she was in the Genesis. I also understand that the passenger seat of the Equus is much like that of the Genesis with no up and down movement. Good luck in your decision and I pray that your wifes health will improve.

Thanks for the kind thoughts and concerns--much appreciated.

I believe that the Equus DID allow the passenger seat to be raised and lowered, but I'll have to verify that when I drive the car. I think it was just the lumbar support that was absent.

 

[cliffbig]

It would be interesting to know how much potential there is for improved iPod/phone integration via firmware and/or software updates to the system in the Equus or Genesis.

It would seem feasible, but it took Hyundai almost 2 and a half years to add iPod randomization to the 2009 Genesis (it's an unpromoted benefit of the most recent nav software update), and it's still poorly designed--it takes six different steps to randomize, and it has to be redone every time you turn the car off and start it again.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

It would seem feasible, but it took Hyundai almost 2 and a half years to add iPod randomization to the 2009 Genesis (it's an unpromoted benefit of the most recent nav software update), and it's still poorly designed--it takes six different steps to randomize, and it has to be redone every time you turn the car off and start it again.

Or, start the iPod in shuffle then plug in, 0 steps needed.

At least for the iPod on the iPhone with the Tech package.

Your mileage may vary.

 

[cliffbig]

Or, start the iPod in shuffle then plug in, 0 steps needed.

At least for the iPod on the iPhone with the Tech package.

Your mileage may vary.

This only works (sporadically) if I want to randomize all songs on the iPod. If I wish to listen to one of 30-something playlists on my iPod, then that "solution" doesn't work.

And it's silly that we have to find workarounds for something as fundamental as "random," a feature that they included on their base audio system but somehow broke on their deluxe Lexicon system and then couldn't fix for a couple of years.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

This only works (sporadically) if I want to randomize all songs on the iPod. If I wish to listen to one of 30-something playlists on my iPod, then that "solution" doesn't work.

And it's silly that we have to find workarounds for something as fundamental as "random," a feature that they included on their base audio system but somehow broke on their deluxe Lexicon system and then couldn't fix for a couple of years.

I know this is an important issue for you, so please understand that I'm not arguing here. But I'm much more impressed by what the Lexicon does right, namely, providing me a surround concert hall on wheels than I am disappointed by how it handles an iPod. In fact, the Lexicon is more of a selling point to me than the Tau or RWD.

Anyway, never having tried to shuffle a playlist before (I usually construct them in the order I wish to hear them), I gave it a go this morning.
Worked perfectly!

 

[cliffbig]

I know this is an important issue for you, so please understand that I'm not arguing here. But I'm much more impressed by what the Lexicon does right, namely, providing me a surround concert hall on wheels than I am disappointed by how it handles an iPod. In fact, the Lexicon is more of a selling point to me than the Tau or RWD.

Anyway, never having tried to shuffle a playlist before (I usually construct them in the order I wish to hear them), I gave it a go this morning.
Worked perfectly!

It works now that I have the software update if I go through the six steps necessary to randomize. However, if I start a playlist on the iPod, hit "shuffle," then connect it to the car, the Genesis defers to the full song list rather than the chosen playlist.

It's important to me because it demonstrates (a) short-sightedness, a real problem in a luxury car, (b) a remarkable lack of interest in correcting a problem--it took TWO YEARS or more to introduce a cumbersome remedy, and (c) a behind-the-curve approach to technology integration.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

It works now that I have the software update if I go through the six steps necessary to randomize. However, if I start a playlist on the iPod, hit "shuffle," then connect it to the car, the Genesis defers to the full song list rather than the chosen playlist.

It's important to me because it demonstrates (a) short-sightedness, a real problem in a luxury car, (b) a remarkable lack of interest in correcting a problem--it took TWO YEARS or more to introduce a cumbersome remedy, and (c) a behind-the-curve approach to technology integration.

Like I said, I understand and am not arguing.

As for reverting to the the songs list from a shuffled playlist, that didn't happen to me this morning; it played the playlist (shuffled) perfectly. But I'm using the iPhone/iPod... not a standalone iPod. Maybe it's different?