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The fact that Hyundai has placed its highest-positioned models at Genesis certainly does not mean that there is no longer room in the middle of Hyundai for a more than 5 meter long top sedan loaded with indulgence. We would like to introduce you to the brand new Hyundai Grandeur, a distant descendant of the car of the same name that you could previously buy in the Netherlands. The new Grandeur beautifully illustrates how the automotive industry has developed in a relatively short time.
We regularly launch new models on our digital stage that are not coming to the Netherlands, but which we, as enthusiasts of the car world in its broadest form, are happy to tell you about. This time the focus is on the new Hyundai Grandeur, a car with a well-known name. Between 2005 and 2010, Hyundai also sold a Grandeur in the Netherlands, which then functioned as Hyundai’s top model in Europe, but which still had to tolerate the Hyundai Genesis and Equus in its home country of South Korea and the United States. You may also know the predecessor of that Grandeur, which went through our automotive existence as XG. The descendants of the Hyundai Genesis and Equus are now known as G80 and G90 respectively at Genesis, making the Grandeur Hyundai’s highest-positioned sedan again.
The Grandeur as it was for sale in the Netherlands between 2005 and 2010 succeeded the XG.
The new Hyundai Grandeur is already the seventh generation and is therefore the third successive Grandeur that has passed us by. The fact that Hyundai is now coming up with a successor is quite striking. After all, the previous model was only presented in 2016 and went under the knife very radically in 2019. That facelift not only brought a new front and rear. The sedan grew six centimeters in length while the wheelbase increased by 4 centimeters, thanks to a real platform change. Just like the Santa Fe back then. That extensive update round appears to be insufficient for Hyundai’s ambitions with the new Grandeur, with the result that after just six years there is a brand new model on your screen.
Just like this Staria, the Grandeur also has a stubborn new Hyundai front.
Hyundai’s new star player grows in length by 4.5 centimeters to 5.04 meters compared to its predecessor, while the wheelbase increases by 1 centimeter. The new Grandeur is the Hyundai equivalent of the Kia K8 and therefore shares its N3 platform with that previously called Cadenza car. We have already extensively covered the appearance of the Grandeur, but it is still worth a bird’s-eye view. The model is complete Hyundai new style, with a stubborn front containing a strip of LED daytime running lights running over the entire width. A floor lower in the grille are the actual headlights on either side of the grille. You may already know such a design from the Staria and will probably also appear on the upcoming Hyundai Ioniq 7. Perhaps even more striking is the profile of the Grandeur. The sedan has a relatively high window section that dips down at the height of the rear doors to end in a remarkably short sedan butt. The C-pillar has been split into two parts due to the addition of a stubborn extra side window.
Striking: the extra side window.
Furthermore, the interior deserves a description. In the shape of the dashboard we see influences from American cars from the past. The whole to a certain extent consists of a fairly flat ‘shelf’ in which all instruments, screens and panels are incorporated. Behind the wheel is a digital instrument panel that has been merged with the 12.3-inch infotainment display that runs completely new software. Between the center console and center tunnel is a 10.25-inch screen that you can use to control the climate control, among other things. Striking detail: the column shifter returns. The selector lever of the automatic transmission is in fact on the steering column! Talk about American.
The interior of the Hyundai Grandeur somewhat exudes the atmosphere of old American cars.
Striking is the relatively low placement of the strip in which the outflow opening of the ventilation system is incorporated. Hyundai gives the plastic parts that the occupants touch most often an antibacterial treatment. Elements such as extra soundproof glass, electrically adjustable backrests of the rear seats and electrically operated curtains in the rear indicate that Hyundai mainly wants to overload the occupants in the Grandeur with comfort.
Although Hyundai’s flagship is more than 5 meters long, it is simply available with a relatively modest 1.6, although the blown four-cylinder is combined with hybrid hardware. The system power of that hybrid Grandeur is 180 hp. Those who want more power and flexibility can turn to Hyundai for a 3.5 GDi V6, which generates 300 hp and 360 Nm.
The new Grandeur is not only available in Hyundai’s home country. Various car markets outside South Korea can welcome it, although it will be called Azera again in those markets – just like before.
No exposé on an automotive forbidden fruit without polling your opinion. Is it a loss that the Hyundai Grandeur is not coming to the Netherlands? Can you see yourself driving around in it? Why or why not?
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl