Reader Review of the Week: 2011 Hyundai Equus

A reader from Houston chose a pretty blunt username to express his feelings about his recently purchased 2011 Hyundai Equus: “Awesome car, but Hyundai needs to work on service.”

After trading in his BMW 7 Series, the reader found the Equus to be a great value but wished Hyundai could step up the dealer experience to feel more luxurious and less bargain bin. Continue reading below to find out more. If you want to share thoughts about your own car, you can write your own review here.

Hyundai Equus Buyers No Longer Get iPad Manual

Hyundai will stop including an iPad owner’s manual with its Equus luxury car, according to a report from USA Today. The free iPad won’t come with the Equus starting with the 2012 model year, which goes on sale next month.

The tablet will be replaced with a tried-and-true paperback manual, Hyundai spokesman Jim Trainor told USA Today. Trainor said the iPads were only meant to be a one-year promotion to help with the Equus’ U.S. launch.

The iPad owner’s manual is innovative, and if you’re already an owner of an iPad or other tablet, the application will still be available for download.

Exclusive: No more free iPads for Hyundai Equus (USA Today)

2011 Hyundai Equus Earns IIHS Top Safety Pick

The 2011 Hyundai Equus received the Top Safety Pick designation in the large luxury car category from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

To earn the award, a vehicle must receive the top rating of Good in front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. The vehicle also must have electronic stability control, which is standard on the Equus.

Measurements taken during the Equus’ testing show a low risk of significant injury in a 40-mph frontal-offset crash. During side-impact testing, the driver’s and rear passenger’s heads were protected from the 3,300-pound deformable barrier traveling at 31 mph (shown above).

To pass IIHS’ roof-strength test, a vehicle’s roof must be able to withstand the force of four times the vehicle’s weight. The Equus can withstand 4.87 times its own weight.

The Equus joins four other Top Safety Picks from Hyundai: the Genesis, Sonata, Santa Fe and Tucson.

Hybrids Surge on Cars.com, Trucks Suffer

Yesterday, we illustrated how higher gas prices can affect consumer preferences on Cars.com and ultimately real-world car purchases. After analyzing the last 30 days of search data, we see that hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles are the biggest beneficiaries of the sudden rise in gas prices, and heavy-duty trucks, large luxury cars and SUVs are the biggest losers.

Out of the 15 vehicles that have seen the most improved search traffic over the last 30 days, eight are hybrids.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid saw an 1,836% increase in traffic month-over-month on Cars.com. The Sonata Hybrid originally hit dealerships in January, according to Hyundai spokesman Miles Johnson, but the car was delayed soon thereafter over impending legislation requiring noisemakers in hybrids and electric vehicles. Miles says the Sonata Hybrid has a noisemaker, but owners have the option to turn it off, which is similar to the system in the Nissan Leaf. Hyundai modified the system in the hybrid so it doesn’t have an option to turn off the virtual engine sound anymore. The car went back on sale sometime this week.

Cars.com Reviews the 2011 Hyundai Equus

As Hyundai improves its entries in the mainstream market with the new Sonata and Tucson, the automaker has somewhat obsessively gone after the luxury market, too. First we got the Genesis sedan, and now there’s the Equus, a larger full-size sedan. Cars.com senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder found the Equus as refined as any sedan from Mercedes, Lexus or BMW, but will car buyers get past the fairly non-luxury heritage of the Hyundai marquee?

2011 Hyundai Equus Review

2011|Hyundai|Equus

2012 Hyundai Equus Gets Standard 429-hp V-8

Hyundai launched its Equus full-size sedan in the U.S. as a 2011 model with a 385-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8 as the sole engine. For 2012, the Equus gets a significant horsepower bump, thanks to a new 429-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 that becomes the standard engine. The 2012 Equus hits dealerships this summer.
 
With the new engine comes a new transmission. The 4.6-liter V-8 paired with a six-speed automatic, but the 5.0-liter V-8 works with an eight-speed automatic transmission developed by Hyundai. The 2011 Equus achieves an EPA-estimated 16/24 mpg city/highway, but gas mileage figures — as well as any change in pricing — haven't been announced for the new drivetrain.
 
It's not every day that an automaker launches a car one year and gives it a new engine the next, but with the Equus' little brother, the Genesis sedan, adding the 5.0-liter V-8 as an optional engine for 2012, Hyundai had to take care of its flagship car, too.

Hyundai's Holiday Deals Nothing to Write Home About

Hyundai has been one of the major success stories of 2010. Major product introductions such as the 2010 Tucson, 2011 Sonata and the recently unveiled 2011 Elantra have helped the automaker grow by 23% so far this year. But for consumers, Hyundai’s success means the automaker doesn’t have too many discounts to speak of.

Hyundai’s financing deals this holiday season are particularly dismal compared with its Japanese and American competitors. Typically, you’d see a few models with 0% financing, but the lowest from Hyundai is 0.9% for a 2010 Veracruz. Overall, most vehicles get financing deals ranging from 2.9% to 4.9% for 60 or 72 months.

Hyundai Announces November Incentives

Hyundai has been on a roll this year, with sales up 21.3% year-to-date. Because of its success, the company has said it would cut back on promotions, such as cash-back incentives. And for November, that seems to be the case.

Models like the 2011 Hyundai Accent, which has been on the market for five years, gets only a $500 cash-back incentive, compared with $2,500 cash back on the Chevrolet Aveo. The final model year of the current-generation Hyundai Elantra has $1,500 cash back, about the same amount that Honda is offering for its Civic. The popular-selling Hyundai Sonata has no cash back and a 2.9% financing deal for 60 months. Overall, the Korean automakers, which usually offer as generous of incentives as the profligate domestic automakers, are now pretty much in line with tightfisted Honda.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t deals to be had from Hyundai; it’s just that most offers are leasing promotions. The 2011 Sonata gets a $199-per-month leasing promotion for November, and so does the Elantra Touring.

Most of these incentives are good until Nov. 30. For detailed information, continue reading below.

2011 Hyundai Equus Priced at $58,000

Hyundai has slowly but surely rehabilitated the image of its brand over the past decade, and it seems to believe car shoppers will look at the 2011 Hyundai Equus and its just announced $58,000 starting price seriously.

The Equus will be offered in two trims: Signature and Ultimate. Each trim comes with a 385-horsepower, 4.6-liter V-8 with a six-speed automatic transmission and rear-wheel drive. Every Equus also comes with a free iPad with an interactive owner’s manual, VIP customer service and free maintenance for five years or 60,000 miles, which includes free at-home pickup and a loaner Equus or Genesis during the wait.

Hyundai Equus iPad, App Update

There was some confusion when Hyundai announced that its new flagship sedan — the upcoming Equus — would come with an iPad loaded with the owner's manual and more.

USA Today has provided an update about the app. Rather than being crammed into the glove box, the hefty owner's manual will be an iPad app that will include text, pictures and even how-to videos covering every aspect of the Equus. Hyundai is working with an independent developer to figure out how all this will work.

Another app called Valet Service will contact a dealer, who will then send a representative to your house to drop off a loaner, pick up your car and take it in for servicing. For Equus owners, the days of scheduling an oil change into your busy schedule are as extinct as those owner’s manuals made of “paper” that are so 2009.

Finally, Hyundai will develop some kind of fancy case for the iPad, which will be the 16-gigabyte Wi-Fi version.

We know what you’re saying. “Not the 3G model? Meh.”

Hyundai Putting Owners Manuals in Cars on Apple iPads (DriveOn)