The Hyundai Equus and I spent nearly all of May and June together, and during that time, the big sedan began to felt like it was my personal car. The seats began to feel more lived in, technology became more intuitive and even the way the Equus handled different road surfaces became permanently mapped into my brain. But even after six weeks with it, I still never got used to the fact that the Equus was a Hyundai.
It's still a bit difficult for me to process the fact that Hyundai makes a full-blown luxury rig, and the behavior of others who encountered it tells me I'm not alone. I was continually amazed at the number of requests to sit in the vehicle by people I have never met before in my life. One elderly gentleman – who proved his love of automobiles by showing me a completely tricked-out Fiat 500 he had just purchased – went so far as to sit in the driver's seat. His wife smartly opted for the reclining rear passenger seat, where I showed her all the tricks that make the Equus a livery-ready passenger car. As a reward, I got to sit in the driver's seat of the 500. I can't say that I fit comfortably, so my new friends may have gotten the better end of the deal.
It's easy to be impressed with the dimensions of the Equus, but I didn't expect much driving excitement from this 4,600-pound Korean flagship. It's no canyon carver, but it's not a Lincoln Town Car, either. The 4.6-liter Tau V8 may soon be replaced with a more powerful 5.0-liter mill, but I'd add that the current powertrain has plenty of power to keep most anyone entertained. In fact, while I was waiting for my oldest daughter to finish up tennis practice one evening, I headed over to the empty parking lot at the local high school. My goal was to see if I could lay down a serviceable burnout in our two-ton Hyundai. It took a couple tries, but once traction control was dismissed and the sport mode was enabled, the deed was done. It probably wasn't that pretty, but it was still entertaining. After managing only 18 miles per gallon in the first fun-filled week, I was routinely between 19.5 and 20.5 mpg through 3,000 miles of travel. When I passed off the Equus to Fleet Manager Ewing, there were nearly 7,500 miles on the odometer.
Interestingly, my three daughters and their friends seemed to be most impressed with the Equus, even going so far as to tell me that they want a Hyundai as their first vehicle. If you were wondering why Hyundai might bother with a $65,000 luxury sedan, know that it's clearly making its impact, and not just on my kids or neighbors.
With June in the books, the largest and most-lux of all Hyundai models is gone from my driveway and off to the next Autoblogger. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it – even if I still have trouble processing the idea of a $65,000 Hyundai.
