The last generation Azera has been out of production for a while as they cleared inventories in anticipation for this new one. When I was shopping for a backup car last summer, used Azeras were on my list, but I didn’t find many. It was not a hot selling car. Like other Hyundai and Kia products of the last generation it was competent, good quality but not particularly inspiring. This new Azera, like its Korean stable mates, is changing all that. It remains competent with excellent quality, improved content and significantly more inspiring.
Hyundai continues its “fluidic sculpture” design language with Azera. They’ve now applied it to just about the entire line of cars and crossovers. Swoopy lines with bold, fluid shapes suggest movement and high style. Haunches thicken like LaCrosse without interfering with the sense of length and litheness. Wraparound LED headlights and squinty fog lights surround a distinctive grill under a sculpted hood to give the Azera that eye-catching style.
Under the hood only one powertrain is available, but it’s a good one. This new version of Hyundai’s Lambda 3.3-liter V6 features direct injection, but is normally aspirated. With 293 horsepower and 255 pound-feet of torque it is second only to LaCrosse in power, but the horsepower/liter number is best in class at 88.8. Putting that power to good use is a smooth 6-speed automatic transmission. Fuel economy matches the best in the segment at 20-mpg in the city, 29 on the highway and 23-mpg combined using regular fuel. This 3,600-pound Azera is lighter than LaCrosse and Taurus.
Suspension is of conventional design with McPherson struts in front, an independent, multi-link design in the rear and stabilizer bars at both ends. Our relatively limited experience on the smooth, uncomplicated roads of the Mojave shows the suspension tuning to be well-balanced, but we’ll reserve judgment on that until we get it on some of our dismal urban roads in Michigan. The cabin seemed exceptionally quiet at speed.
Safety features include nine, count ‘em, nine airbags. That’s more than most congressional committees. Chassis dynamics, like stability control, abs, brake assist and everything else the science guys could come up with, are included to keep the overzealous driver from getting in trouble, and to assist the average driver in bad conditions.
 |
Most impressive is the list of standard features on Azera: leather seats, navigation with 7-inch screen, heated 10-way power driver’s seat and 8-way power passenger seat, cooled glove box, dual climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, and Hyundai’s Blue Link telematics system with 90-day subscription.
We drove the new Azera out to the race track at Pahrump by way of the tiny desert town of Blue Diamond and famous Red Rock Park, just a few miles down the road. My co-driver had not experienced the desert back roads so we spent a good deal of the day exploring.
Driving dynamics are excellent. Without having them side-by-side I can say with some confidence that it feels as good as any of its competitors and better than some. Characteristically, this Hyundai sedan has raised the bar substantially, particularly in standard content.
Price is close to the same as a comparably equipped last generation Azera. Remember, it comes standard with a lot of stuff that was optional on the last gen car. The standard Azera now starts just over $32,000 and with the optional Technology Package (19-inch alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, HID Xenom headlights, power rear sunshade, Infinity audio system, power tilt and telescopic steering wheel, ambient lighting, rear parking assist sensors and ventilated front seat) adding another 2 grand.
As we expected the new Azera becomes a value leader in its class, as have the other new Hyundai products of this generation.
No comments:
Post a Comment