Ever since the Azera was first launched in 2006, I've been itching to get behind the wheel of one, but you know how things go, there's always something else to do.
Of course, I've had opportunities to drive it at various events, but I thought that in order to give it a fair evaluation, I'd wait until I could book one for a whole week! After all, as I see it, the Azera was the model which first heralded in the idea of luxury products from Hyundai. That's something quite rare in the car business these days, a company moving its product line upscale!
Oh yes, it's easy enough for manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW to start offering cheaper models, but to head in the other direction takes some doing. Just ask any product branding specialist.
As most of you know, Hyundai started out in North America by offering budget priced vehicles, such as the famous Hyundai Pony. In my opinion, that's a vehicle which has been unfairly treated, the brunt of many cruel jokes it didn't deserve, and it's now something which Hyundai seems to want to push back in the history books as far as possible.
However, if you talk to people who actually owned one, they'll paint an entirely different picture. Ok, the Pony was rather crudely built and didn't offer much in the way of creature comforts, let alone luxury, but it was priced right and many owners piled hundreds of thousands of miles on them. They also sold in large numbers and outlasted many of its competitors' products
In a lot of ways, the Pony reminds me of that other great people's car, the original Volkswagen Bug, because that little car had it fair share of problems also, but owners simply adored them!
Now there's a perfect comparison company for Hyundai, as VW also started out building cars for the masses and then slowly moved more upscale until it finally created the VW Phaeton.
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| The Hyundai Azera offers buyers lots of features, space, and luxury. |
Of course, I've had opportunities to drive it at various events, but I thought that in order to give it a fair evaluation, I'd wait until I could book one for a whole week! After all, as I see it, the Azera was the model which first heralded in the idea of luxury products from Hyundai. That's something quite rare in the car business these days, a company moving its product line upscale!
Oh yes, it's easy enough for manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW to start offering cheaper models, but to head in the other direction takes some doing. Just ask any product branding specialist.
As most of you know, Hyundai started out in North America by offering budget priced vehicles, such as the famous Hyundai Pony. In my opinion, that's a vehicle which has been unfairly treated, the brunt of many cruel jokes it didn't deserve, and it's now something which Hyundai seems to want to push back in the history books as far as possible.
However, if you talk to people who actually owned one, they'll paint an entirely different picture. Ok, the Pony was rather crudely built and didn't offer much in the way of creature comforts, let alone luxury, but it was priced right and many owners piled hundreds of thousands of miles on them. They also sold in large numbers and outlasted many of its competitors' products
In a lot of ways, the Pony reminds me of that other great people's car, the original Volkswagen Bug, because that little car had it fair share of problems also, but owners simply adored them!
Now there's a perfect comparison company for Hyundai, as VW also started out building cars for the masses and then slowly moved more upscale until it finally created the VW Phaeton.
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| The Azera has a nice soft-touch dashboard whilst some of its competition is still utilizing hard plastics. |