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Automotive News & Views Is There Room in the Luxury Market for Hyundai?
4250 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 6:46 AM
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If the Veracruz I have is any indication of Hyundai's commitment to quality and design, I say they can compete in the Luxury market. I bought a VC, Limited with Ultimate package and am more than satisfied with what I got for $35,000. I had an RX300 before. It has 2200 miles and gets 19 city and 23.5 highway MPG. It is far easier to drive than my Lexus and I don't tire as much on long trips. It seems to "know" where it is going and tracks the road beautifully. Those of you that have VCs know what I am saying. If you read all the VC comments, you will see that consumers who purchased are very happy. Oh, you do see an occasional set of nutzo comments, but, we all know where those may be coming from. The biggest obstacle might be getting out the message that Hyundai has "grown up" and is a serious contender for $30000+ vehicles. Some people may still want that "L" in the front of their cars. I suspect that Hyundai was making a quiet introduction of the Veracruz and will be carefully watching their new addition. Third party reviews and customer comments may help to move the brand forward. No, they will not put Lexus/Toyota out of business, but, I am sure as we speak their engineers are taking apart a Veracruz and wondering how Hyundai can produce such and excellent product and sell it at the price they do. I love my Veracruz and recommend it highly. The fact that Motor Trend report compared the Veracruz to the Lexus shows that they are in that luxury market. Though, perhaps in a quiet way for now. |
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FYI, the Anderson (near Greenville) SC Hyundai dealer is in a stand alone facility right next door to the Nissan dealership. The "senior" sales manager at Nissan also sort of, kind of supervises Hyundai if you have a complaint. Both are owned by the dealer who has the franchise for all GMC products in Anderson and that facility is about two miles away. I looked real hard at Lexus ES 350, Infiniti G35 and Acura TL before I purchased a 2007 Azera Limited w/ Ultimate pkg. Did not consider price and still came back to Azera. To me it is in same category as ES 350, G35 and TL - Upscale sedans. The price is what keeps it from being considered in that group. I considered BMW, MB and Audi, but the reliability records are not real good. Then you have to buy so many options to get a comparable car that the price really skyrockets. In looking at Lexus/Avalon products, I found the dealers to be arrogant and the prices really inflated compared to Consumer Reports' Bottom Line figures, Lexus in particular. At one time,nobody thought of Toyota as being capable of producing more than an econobox, much less a luxury car. Of course, the ES350 is really a Camry with a few more bells and whistles and a much higher price tag. Anxiously awaiting the Genesis. 
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I've been reading this discussion with great interest on t whether Hyundai can succeed with a true luxury car. I'd like to throw in my .02 worth on what a luxury car is. I currently drive a Mercedes E320 that has 99K miles and I had previously owned another that I sold when it had 140K miles. I bought both as certified used from the same dealer and they each had mileage on them in the mid-30K range. The first was fairly reliable, not too many things went wrong; but the current one has had a lot of problems in the last two years. Fortunately, it has cost me nothing because of the MB Starmark warranty program, else I would spent over $4K in the last two years. So I am looking ahead to next year when I can hopefully afford to buy another luxury car. It won't be a Mercedes. For approx. the same price as a 2 year old E-class I can buy a brand new Azera that has virtually the same features and equipment as the my E-class. And the Azera will be more economical to operate (reg. gas) and more reliable. To my mind, price is not the determinant of luxury status, but the features and performance. I have yet to test drive the Azera so I cannot say whether I would class it as a luxury car until I see if it rides and handles similar to the MB. I have thought about and looked at the Infiniti M35, the Mercury Milan, and a few other nice cars too. But I have time yet before I need to make a decision. I hope the new Hyundai Genesis is available by the time I need a new car; I'll certainly throw that into the pool of choices. I don't see a problem with a new upscale car being labeled as a Hyundai as they have improved and made a terrific reputation for themselves in the lsat few years.
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Replying to: microrepair (Sep 21, 2007 2:32 pm) |
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Replying to: microrepair (Sep 21, 2007 2:32 pm) |
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Luxury car prices are getting crazy, and prospective luxo buyers must wait. Current luxo owners are often forced to drive their cars an extra year or 2. Hyundai has created the solution for that problem. The Veracruz and Azera are the real deal. There's no downside to owning and driving them. I don't have a doubt in my mind that Genesis will equal or even improve upon the fine reputation those cars are building.
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Replying to: bobad (Oct 08, 2007 9:11 am) However, if you look at the current luxury cars, they are actually getting smaller, esp. the back seats and trunks. Lexus is just one example. Also, in order to appeal to the "sport" crowd, they are sport tuning the suspensions which lessens the true luxury ride. This could leave a big market for Hyundai. Perhaps, the Azera as a sport tuned, performance model and the Genesis as a large comfortable, luxury model- or vice versa would be a good scheme. |
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Replying to: bobad (Oct 08, 2007 9:11 am) Most luxury car drivers lease their cars,so they only have them for 2-4 years. Lux cars are really the only cars whose sales are increasing. BMW, M-B,Audi and Land Rover are having record years. no real lux car buyer would be caught dead driving a Hyundai,unless its a rental car.
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Replying to: bobad (Oct 08, 2007 9:11 am) They have also had worldwide record sales. the best performance in 714 months of business.
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When is the Genesis, going to debut ???? -Rocky
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