New cars: 2011 Hyundai Equus

Los Angeles Times

The audacious new Equus is “a premium sedan that poses a challenge to the popular conception of Hyundai as a poor man’s Honda.” This well-executed knockoff of Mercedes and Lexus models “doesn’t pioneer new technologies,” but it is “outfitted with a surprisingly refined array of comfort, technology, and safety features for its price.” Upscale touches include, in the Ultimate edition, a backseat refrigerator.

Bloomberg.com

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No “elongated economy car,” it “drives like a titan.” Its minor style shortcomings include “bits of dull plastic that peekaboo from the door panels.” But the ride is “library-quiet most of the time,” and the 4.6-liter, 385-hp V8 engine “will awaken when the driver deems it necessary, especially when you’re at 50 mph and suddenly prefer to be going 80.”

TheDetroitBureau.com

Actually, the Equus’ “business-class-style” reclining rear seats suggest that the target audience prefers the “chauffeured lifestyle.” Either way, Hyundai expects to move only about 2,000 units in the U.S. this year. But if the Equus is not yet a vehicle that German carmakers should “fear and loathe,” it is “a shot over the bow that can’t be ignored.”