Review: Hyundai Equus

Hyundai is going upscale. No, really.

The Korean automaker is building on the success of the Sonata and the (excellent) Genesis with the Equus, a 385-horsepower luxury barge injected with leather accents and enough gadgets to make Best Buy jealous. Having proven that it can match the best from Japan, Hyundai is challenging the best from Germany.

The Germans have cause to worry.

This car is supremely comfortable, it can cover vast distances quickly, and it's entertaining on a winding road provided the curves aren't too tight. But this is touted as a luxury car. It's all about the tchotchkes when you're in this segment, and Hyundai delivers with a list of standard features longer than a Russian novel. Name it, and the odds are this car's got it.

We spent the day in an Equus with the top-shelf Ultimate package and didn't want to get out of the heated and cooled massaging back seat to take our turn at the wheel. We could have happily spent all day back there listening to the excellent 17-speaker Lexicon audio system or watching movies on the 7.1 DTS surround-sound system while pulling cold ones from the shoebox-sized thermoelectric fridge between the seats.

Did we mention the Equus is supremely comfortable?

Our only complaint was we couldn't try out the reclining rear seat because the Hyundai exec sitting up front was in the way. Oh, and the 8-inch LCD video screen is too small for a car of this caliber. And it would have been nice to have a headphone jack, so we could crank up the 608-watt stereo without distracting the driver.

Beyond those quibbles, we loved the passenger experience, enjoying the smooth ride, completely insulated from road noise by thick acoustic glass, plush carpet and what must be a few hundred pounds of sound-deadening material. The Equus is almost meditatively quiet inside; there's only a subtle hint of tire noise.

But, alas, the Hyundai folks were pretty adamant that we should actually drive the Equus, so we reluctantly traded the back seat for the 12-way adjustable driver's seat. We were surprised. For a big, heavy car, the Equus proved surprisingly fun to pilot.

To show what the car can do, Hyundai mapped a route more suited to a motorcycle than 4,600-pound sedan almost 17 feet (!) long. All that mass rides on an electronically controlled air suspension and 19-inch wheels..

It's plush, but push the sport-mode button and the suspension tightens, the steering response improves and the six-speed automatic gearbox (with a manual mode) shifts more aggressively. It's no Audi or BMW, and even in sport mode the ride is a bit soft. But the Equus remains flat through turns, and we surprised ourselves with the speeds we could carry through the winding roads of California's Santa Cruz Mountains.

Of course, there are all kinds of electronic nannies to keep you out of trouble, including electronic stability control, cornering brake control, traction control and a host of others in Hyundai's Vehicle Stability Management system. The car also has adaptive cruise control, lane-departure warning, a backup camera and self-leveling headlights. If you somehow manage to overwhelm the nannies, electronic seat-belt pre-tensioning and nine airbags will minimize the damage to your body, if not the car.

Under the hood is an aluminum 4.6-liter V-8 good for 385 horsepower and 333 pound feet of torque. Of course it drives the rear wheels. Hyundai wouldn't mention acceleration specs but is confident the Equus will do zero to 60 "in the low sixes." We didn't measure it, but the car accelerated briskly and confidently when we stomped on it. Still, a car this big could use more power, and Hyundai reportedly has a 5.0-liter V-8 with 429 horsepower coming this spring.

The Equus gets 16 mpg in the city, 24 on the highway and 19 combined.

The roomy interior is slathered with butter-soft leather, with an Alcantara suede headliner, walnut (or birch) veneer and polished-aluminum accents. The infotainment and navi systems are intuitive and easy to navigate using the large knob on the center console. (Navi system is 2-D only, though.) And the steering wheel — heated, of course — feels absolutely fantastic. The front seats are heated and cooled, and the driver's seat offers a subtle massage that, frankly, feels great.

Hyundai doesn't offer any options on the Equus: Everything is included as standard equipment. The Ultimate package is meant for those important (and/or wealthy) enough to have a driver. Most of the 2,000 or so Equuses (Equui?) that Hyundai expects to sell in the United States will have the Signature package. It doesn't get the massaging and reclining rear seat, the fridge and a few other minor features.

Regardless of which package you choose, Hyundai includes an iPad, because that's where the owner's manual is. There's also a dead-tree manual in the glovebox if you want it, but flipping through pages is so 2008.

If the car has a shortcoming, it's the styling. The car closely resembles a Lexus but often feels bland. There's also way, way too much chrome. Still, the Equus is sleek and aerodynamic, with a drag coefficient almost as slick as the Toyota Prius.

Hyundai's keeping mum on the pricing for now, but figure on spending something in the $50,000 ballpark for the Signature package, and about 10 grand above that for the Ultimate when the car goes on sale in November.