bilmat
Getting familiar with the group...
When I looked at the Equus-at-Hyundai-dealers schedule on this board and saw that my dealer was supposed to have received one on July 20th, I called my salesman and asked if he had one on the property. He said it was sitting on the showroom floor. Since my Genesis was in need of an oil change, I made an appointment to bring it in so I could also take a close look at the Equus. While my car was being serviced, my salesman spent twenty minutes showing me the features of the Equus. I was suitably impressed. He then he told me to stand by while he tried to locate the key. A few minutes later he was back and said this was my lucky day. He then opened the big double doors of the showroom, started the car and asked me to help guide him out since it was a tight fit with about 8 inches to spare on either side. The first thing I noticed was that he flicked a switch from the driver's seat which folded in both outside mirrors. After the mirrors cleared the showroom doors, he flicked the switch again and the mirrors folded back out to their normal position. Once the car was out of the showroom, he got out of the driver's seat, held the door open for me and said let's take a ride. Since I paid cash for my 4.6/Tech back in January he may have made an assumption I was a VIP. I didn't say or do anything to convince him otherwise; I was going to be one of a very small number of people to actually drive an Equus!
While there are similarities on the dash between the Equus and the Genesis, there are also several differences. Two round knobs, for example, control the heating and air conditioning for the driver and passenger. The center console was also similar, but different in several respects. I spent a few minutes looking over the controls and adjustments, specifically the control that can raise and lower the height of the car, and a separate control that can switch the ride from normal to sport mode.
The salesman had turned off the engine after he pulled it out of the showroom and asked me to restart it. It was the same process as my Genesis. Upon starting the car, it was apparent why he had me do so. It was to show me that the car was not made for the American market. As soon as the engine fired up, a warning/disclaimer in English appeared on the center information display, but a female voice speaking Korean accompanied the warning, presumably reading it in her foreign tongue. Furthermore, the speedometer was calibrated in kilometers only; there was no inner ring showing miles-per-hour as one might expect. Since the numerals were backlit LEDs, however, it's conceivable that they can be switched from kph to mph. The salesman didn't know. Very little was known about the Equus by the sales staff. For the most part it was simply dropped off. Most of what they knew about the car was based on playing with its various features.
One of the first things I noticed when we got underway was the rather large hood ornament, which was a little too ornate for my taste.
My immediate impression was that the ride was absolutely nothing like my Genesis. Upon checking the center display, I observed that the suspension was set to "Normal." In this mode the car felt like a Buick or Cadillac. Imperfections in the road surface were absorbed fully and virtually eliminated. Plush would be another way of describing the ride. With a push of the button on the center console I changed the suspension setting to "Sport" and could immediately feel the difference. While it was reminiscent of my Genesis, it was still much smoother. In this mode I could feel the imperfections in the road surface, but there was no tendency for the car to feel like it was bottoming out or bouncing over noticeable bumps like my Genesis does. Having the option of a truly luxurious ride or a sport mode that still is comfortable on a poorly surfaced road was pure heaven. I'd pay a couple of grand for a retrofit if one was available for my 4.6, especially since I'm willing to take a financial beating and trade my '09 in for a 2010 model if Hyundai softens the suspension to my liking.
The test drive lasted for about 30 minutes, half of which was on surface streets, the other half on a freeway. In the normal suspension mode, the car rode like a dream on both. With the setting in the sport mode it cornered like it was on rails, much like my 4.6. But again, without any jarring when we encountered an expansion joint on the freeway or a major imperfection on a surface street.
I would have needed a notepad to keep track of all the features the Equus has that my Genesis doesn't. Here are a few that I recall. Whereas my Genesis only has a heated and cooled driver's seat, that feature was built into both the front seats as well as the two outboard rear seats.
A control panel with numerous controls are built into the swing-down armrest for rear seat passengers. Some of these control the DVD screen that flips down from the back of the front console. The back of the driver's seat has a pocket like the Genesis, but built into the rear of the front passenger seat is an aircraft-type swing down table.
The headliner, unlike that in the Genesis, is very plush with built-in, flip-down lighted mirrors as well as reading lamps for the outboard rear seat passengers. In addition, there are privacy curtains on both rear door windows that can be raised or lowered by the rear seat passengers. One click of the window button in the door's armrest raises or lowers the curtain, a second click raises or lowers the window. And either curtain or window can be controlled by either rear seat passenger (the passenger on the left can raise or lower the curtain or window on the right, and vice versa).
I was told but didn't confirm that the rear window curtain can be set to automatically deploy under certain sunlit conditions.
The trunk lid automatically raises or lowers once the trunk release button in the driver's door or to the right of the license plate is pushed. When the trunk lid is in the open position, you simply push a red button at the bottom of the lid and it lowers and locks by itself.
Lightly push any of the four doors and they slowly close themselves. There appears to be more leg room for backseat passengers, and because the rear doors are wider than those of the Genesis, entry and exit from the rear is easier. Sitting in the back with the center armrest down is similar to sitting in a first-class airline seat.
I didn't have the opportunity to test the cruise control that automatically backs you off if you get too close to the car in front. Nor did I play with the parking assist feature that Lexus came out with a year or two ago. There are several other features I missed as well.
When I told my salesman I regretted not having brought my camera, he dug one up from another sales person and we snapped seven photos which he emailed me an hour later after I returned home. I'll post them along with this review.
Neither my salesman nor anyone else at the dealership has any idea when the Equus will be marketed here in the U.S. Like others have speculated, they are guessing that the MSRP will be around $60K if and when the Equus does make it to our shores. The car I drove had no window sticker.
So will the Equus be worth $20K more than a loaded Genesis? Hard to say. Sixty large will buy any one of several nice machines. I'm of the opinion Hyundai will determine its marketability based on how well the Genesis does. One thing seems sure. It would be easier to sell if the Genesis and the Equus had their own dealer networks like Lexus. And with lots of automotive dealerships going belly up and leaving their infrastructure in place, that might be something for Hyundai to consider.
Would I buy an Equus? Not without a thorough test drive of comparably priced machines from Lexus, BMW, Mercedes and perhaps a couple of other brands. But after my experience behind the wheel of the Equus I drove today, I'd give me eye teeth to have the adjustable suspension capability retrofitted to my Genesis!
Bill in Fremont, CA
Platinum/Black 4.6/Tech
While there are similarities on the dash between the Equus and the Genesis, there are also several differences. Two round knobs, for example, control the heating and air conditioning for the driver and passenger. The center console was also similar, but different in several respects. I spent a few minutes looking over the controls and adjustments, specifically the control that can raise and lower the height of the car, and a separate control that can switch the ride from normal to sport mode.
The salesman had turned off the engine after he pulled it out of the showroom and asked me to restart it. It was the same process as my Genesis. Upon starting the car, it was apparent why he had me do so. It was to show me that the car was not made for the American market. As soon as the engine fired up, a warning/disclaimer in English appeared on the center information display, but a female voice speaking Korean accompanied the warning, presumably reading it in her foreign tongue. Furthermore, the speedometer was calibrated in kilometers only; there was no inner ring showing miles-per-hour as one might expect. Since the numerals were backlit LEDs, however, it's conceivable that they can be switched from kph to mph. The salesman didn't know. Very little was known about the Equus by the sales staff. For the most part it was simply dropped off. Most of what they knew about the car was based on playing with its various features.
One of the first things I noticed when we got underway was the rather large hood ornament, which was a little too ornate for my taste.
My immediate impression was that the ride was absolutely nothing like my Genesis. Upon checking the center display, I observed that the suspension was set to "Normal." In this mode the car felt like a Buick or Cadillac. Imperfections in the road surface were absorbed fully and virtually eliminated. Plush would be another way of describing the ride. With a push of the button on the center console I changed the suspension setting to "Sport" and could immediately feel the difference. While it was reminiscent of my Genesis, it was still much smoother. In this mode I could feel the imperfections in the road surface, but there was no tendency for the car to feel like it was bottoming out or bouncing over noticeable bumps like my Genesis does. Having the option of a truly luxurious ride or a sport mode that still is comfortable on a poorly surfaced road was pure heaven. I'd pay a couple of grand for a retrofit if one was available for my 4.6, especially since I'm willing to take a financial beating and trade my '09 in for a 2010 model if Hyundai softens the suspension to my liking.
The test drive lasted for about 30 minutes, half of which was on surface streets, the other half on a freeway. In the normal suspension mode, the car rode like a dream on both. With the setting in the sport mode it cornered like it was on rails, much like my 4.6. But again, without any jarring when we encountered an expansion joint on the freeway or a major imperfection on a surface street.
I would have needed a notepad to keep track of all the features the Equus has that my Genesis doesn't. Here are a few that I recall. Whereas my Genesis only has a heated and cooled driver's seat, that feature was built into both the front seats as well as the two outboard rear seats.
A control panel with numerous controls are built into the swing-down armrest for rear seat passengers. Some of these control the DVD screen that flips down from the back of the front console. The back of the driver's seat has a pocket like the Genesis, but built into the rear of the front passenger seat is an aircraft-type swing down table.
The headliner, unlike that in the Genesis, is very plush with built-in, flip-down lighted mirrors as well as reading lamps for the outboard rear seat passengers. In addition, there are privacy curtains on both rear door windows that can be raised or lowered by the rear seat passengers. One click of the window button in the door's armrest raises or lowers the curtain, a second click raises or lowers the window. And either curtain or window can be controlled by either rear seat passenger (the passenger on the left can raise or lower the curtain or window on the right, and vice versa).
I was told but didn't confirm that the rear window curtain can be set to automatically deploy under certain sunlit conditions.
The trunk lid automatically raises or lowers once the trunk release button in the driver's door or to the right of the license plate is pushed. When the trunk lid is in the open position, you simply push a red button at the bottom of the lid and it lowers and locks by itself.
Lightly push any of the four doors and they slowly close themselves. There appears to be more leg room for backseat passengers, and because the rear doors are wider than those of the Genesis, entry and exit from the rear is easier. Sitting in the back with the center armrest down is similar to sitting in a first-class airline seat.
I didn't have the opportunity to test the cruise control that automatically backs you off if you get too close to the car in front. Nor did I play with the parking assist feature that Lexus came out with a year or two ago. There are several other features I missed as well.
When I told my salesman I regretted not having brought my camera, he dug one up from another sales person and we snapped seven photos which he emailed me an hour later after I returned home. I'll post them along with this review.
Neither my salesman nor anyone else at the dealership has any idea when the Equus will be marketed here in the U.S. Like others have speculated, they are guessing that the MSRP will be around $60K if and when the Equus does make it to our shores. The car I drove had no window sticker.
So will the Equus be worth $20K more than a loaded Genesis? Hard to say. Sixty large will buy any one of several nice machines. I'm of the opinion Hyundai will determine its marketability based on how well the Genesis does. One thing seems sure. It would be easier to sell if the Genesis and the Equus had their own dealer networks like Lexus. And with lots of automotive dealerships going belly up and leaving their infrastructure in place, that might be something for Hyundai to consider.
Would I buy an Equus? Not without a thorough test drive of comparably priced machines from Lexus, BMW, Mercedes and perhaps a couple of other brands. But after my experience behind the wheel of the Equus I drove today, I'd give me eye teeth to have the adjustable suspension capability retrofitted to my Genesis!
Bill in Fremont, CA
Platinum/Black 4.6/Tech
