The Auto Writer

The largest car produced by Hyundai is the Equus. This summer, Hyundai USA is allowing American dealers to test the car while gauging customer reaction, as 100 copies of the sedan have been imported to the US for those reasons.

The largest sedan produced by Hyundai isn’t the much heralded Genesis, the 2009 North American Car of the Year award recipient. Instead, that distinction belongs to the Equus, a BMW 7-Series sized vehicle that was recently updated for the Korean market.

Is There An Equus In Your Neighborhood?

Hyundai is giving serious consideration to adding the Equus to its US product offering and is going so far as to test one hundred copies of the big sedan in the US to gauge customer reaction as well as to stimulate critical social media buzz. Though I haven’t seen the Equus yet, I can tell you that the internet is heating up with talk about the biggest Hyundai model of them all.

US dealers are currently getting a look at the Equus and running it through its paces. According to Automotive News, dealer enthusiasm for the model is strong suggesting that we’ll know by the end of the summer when, not if, the big sedan will be imported to the US.

Priced Below The Lexus LS

Rumors that the Hyundai Equus would cost in the neighborhood of $96,000 seem to be unfounded. Likely, the Equus would be priced around $60,000 which would undercut the similar sized and equipped Lexus LS by about five thousand dollars. The Lexus LS is considered the standard bearer amongst large Asian sedans, thus a favorable price point would help the new Hyundai succeed.

Originally released in 1999 as a joint venture with Mitsubishi Motors, the Hyundai Equus was recently overhauled, the current iteration a project of Hyundai Motors solely. Powered by Hyundai’s all new Tau 4.6L V8 – a 375 hp engine that was recently named to Ward’s 10 Best Engines list — the dual overhead cam engine produces 333 lb.-ft of torque and is also the optional engine for the Hyundai Genesis. Hyundai had been reported to be building even larger versions of the V8, but no word on exactly what engine(s) will find its way into the US spec model. A six-speed automatic transmission work in tandem with the the Equus engine.

Korean press reports (i.e., Ohmy News) says that the Equus comes equipped with lane departure warning system, pre-safe seatbelt and VSM2, which oversees data communication between individual electronic components located at different parts of chassis. In addition, full leather and chrome interior plus everything that a fully loaded Genesis sedan carries will find its way into the Equus.

Photo Credit: Hyundai Motors, N.A.

See Also — First Drive: Hyundai Genesis Sedan