Hyundai's '12 Equus narrows gap on the luxury car competition at a lower price

The 2012 Hyundai Equus is proof of the Korean automaker's ambitions and the long path it is willing to take to become a respected brand.

A luxury sedan with a 10-foot-long wheelbase might seem out of place for an automaker that entered the U.S. market 26 years ago with inexpensive, shoddy, little cars. But Hyundai has come a long way from its cut-rate beginnings. It has forged a reputation for producing popular, quality compact and mid-size cars.

The fact that Hyundai also builds a spacious, quiet and powerful luxury sedan shouldn't be all that surprising.

The two versions — Signature and Ultimate models — I drove were mistaken for Mercedes-Benz. A guy in a parking lot asked if one was a Lexus. This is exactly what Hyundai had in mind, even if Equus isn't as refined as the competition — yet.

Hyundai's flagship doesn't adhere to the striking design motif established by its recently introduced models. Instead, the Equus interprets luxury, at least in part, by looking back rather than forward. The Equus got an engine upgrade the old-fashioned way — to a larger V-8 — at a time when other carmakers are turbocharging V-6 engines.

The 5-liter engine produces 429 horsepower; that's 44 more than last year's 4.6-liter V-8 powertrain. Hyundai sells so many small cars that the automaker has plenty of room under government fleet fuel economy guidelines to build a vehicle for consumers who can afford to ignore EPA estimates of 15 mpg city and 23 highway.

This is about giving luxury buyers what they want. Equus has ashtrays. Last time I saw ashtrays they were in a 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S with a $194,000 price tag.

Drive a German luxury vehicle and there will be no questions asked. Arrive in anything else and you will be explaining your brand loyalty or how you are a value shopper or how you just prefer American cars. Certainly, the person who is willing to spend up to $65,750 on a Hyundai luxury sedan is also willing to argue with you about his choices.

Bargain luxury

The Equus comes with electronically controlled dampers and air suspension, meaning it can switch from a pillowy ride to something more aggressive by simply shifting past "D" to "S." The big car becomes pleasingly nimble. The automatic transmission shifts at higher rpm. Shock absorption, steering rates and compensation for under steer and over steer all are subject to predictive analysis of data from the car's electronic stability and traction controls. It helps you drive faster safely.

The overall performance is not as sophisticated as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 or Lexus LS, which Hyundai sees as competition, but it's getting closer. And for less money.

The Equus Signature costs $58,750. The leather and wood-trimmed interior is extremely quiet. The driver's seat is heated, cooled and has 12 power adjustments, plus a massager. The front passenger seat is heated and cooled and has 10 power adjustments. The steering wheel is wood and leather and heated. Rear seats are heated, and have power reclining adjustments.

A center control panel is logical and easy to operate. The standard 608-watt surround-sound audio system has 17 speakers. Equus even plays its own little theme song every time you get in the car. The standard navigation system is displayed on a large center screen that also controls the Bluetooth hands-free cell phone connectivity.

Equus comes with a power-operated sunroof and a lane keeping system that uses sensors and forward facing video analysis. Wander from your lane and your warning is a little tug on your seatbelt. That got my attention. The same data is used to run the smart cruise control that lets you set a speed and the car automatically brakes for slower traffic ahead. The car maintains a gap you set. Pull into an open lane and it accelerates to your previous speed. There is no blind spot warning system, but there is a backup camera and forward turning view cameras to help park the almost 17-foot-long vehicle.

Boss in the back

The top-of-the-line Equus Ultimate package is an extra $7,000 and was designed entirely around the right rear passenger seat. That's where the boss rides in this car.

Hyundai has been selling this version of Equus since 2009 in China, where government officials have a taste for chauffer-driven comfort. China's luxury market is big, and just like in the U.S., it's dominated by the German brands.

All of the Ultimate's climate and entertainment options can be controlled from its heated and cooled back seats. The car's center console extends rearward to separate the back seats, making the Ultimate a very large four passenger sedan.

There are plenty of amenities. The rear console is a refrigerator. A button on the console electronically collapses the front passenger seat against the dash, making room to recline and open the right rear seat's leg support like a La-Z-Boy chair. A hand-held remote control operates the rear seat chair massagers.

An 8-inch television monitor with a DVD mounted on the console sits between the front seatbacks. It's nice and low so people outside won't see what you're watching. Electric motors raise and lower the back side and rear windows sun-blocking screens.

Hyundai isn't marketing Equus under a separate luxury brand because its opulent features and classic looks are supposed to create a luxury halo to lift the entire Hyundai reputation. It's interesting that Equus has the likeness of a bird's wings on its grille and key fobs instead of a horse as suggested by its Latin name — and more importantly, instead of a Hyundai badge. But people will talk as you drive away and see the Hyundai insignia on the trunk.