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• Totally new design, Euro-internationalist styling
• Euro-Australian calibrated dynamics
• All-new, all-alloy 3.8 litre V6 engine, 194 kW
• Most powerful prestige car under $50,000 with standard engine
• Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Traction Control standard
• Rear side thorax airbags ups airbag count to eight
• Standard safety: ABS+EBD+BAS, eight airbags, active front head restraints
• Widest prestige car under $50k
• Class-leading front leg & head room
• Rolls out on 17” alloys
• Grandeur V6 $42,990, Grandeur Limited $46,990 rrps

Hyundai is marking its 20th year in Australia by accelerating its march upmarket with the launch of its new-generation Grandeur large luxury sedan.

Grandeur’s sleek, Euro-internationalist styling cloaks remarkable refinement, mostly class-leading room and surging performance to present a new prestige car with real presence, one completely equipped for comfort, safety and premium quality niche exclusivity.

As with the recently launched NF Sonata, Grandeur exudes a fresh, crisp and confident new European-influenced look and dynamism. The result is a full-size prestige saloon of sophisticated style and interior ambience, successfully melding elegance with a full suite of luxury appointments, true spaciousness and surprisingly strong and satisfying performance.

Class-leading power

Sporting a new, class-leading 194 kW 3.8 litre, all-alloy, quad-cam, 24-valve HVVT V6 engine linked to an uprated five-speed Selectronic automatic transmission with manual mode, Grandeur is the most powerful prestige car under $50,000 with a standard engine and is the highest performance Hyundai ever.

Grandeur accelerates from 0 to 100kph in just 7.2 seconds and covers 0 to 400m in 15.1 seconds, yet stops from 50kph in just 11.5 metres or 100kph in 42.3 metres.

A larger version of Hyundai’s new Lambda V6 engine series first seen in NF Sonata, Grandeur’s 3.8 variant peaks at 194 kW at 6000rpm with top torque of 348 Nm at 4500rpm.

Grandeur’s comparative peak power advantage over class and beyond competitors includes:

53 kW over Camry Grande	69 Nm over Camry Grande
39 kW over Peugeot 607, 407 SV	61 Nm over Accord V6 Luxury
39 kW over Citroen C5 3.0 V6	58 Nm over Citroen C5 3.0 V6
24 kW over Maxima	58 Nm over Peugeot 607 / 407 SV
22 kW over Berlina	28 Nm over Berlina
19 kW over Mitsubishi 380 LX	15 Nm over Maxima
18 kW over Accord V6 Luxury	8 Nm over Chrysler 300
11 kW over Chrysler 300	5 Nm over Mitsubishi 380 LX
4 kW over Fairmont

Fuel economy according to the ADR 81/01 city-biased combined urban/highway comparative lab test is 10.8 litres / 100km, competitive considering the size and 1636kg mass of the very substantially-built Grandeur.

Full enjoyment of the engine’s performance is afforded via Grandeur’s taut handling as delivered by a sportier-calibrated double wishbone all-independent suspension specified for Australian drivers.

New Grandeur builds on Hyundai’s established quality credentials and offers the latest safety technologies and comfort features as well as debuting a new, sportier dynamic agility and performance set to challenge the best in its class.

‘New Luxury’ flagship

“Grandeur is a fitting flagship for Hyundai Motor Company and brings a level of sophisticated style, space, luxury and performance in a premium quality car that more and more people are beginning to associate with the Hyundai brand,” said Steve Yeo, CEO of Hyundai Motor Co Australia.

“Grandeur is further indication of the maturity of the Hyundai brand, its independent technical excellence and the success of Hyundai Motor Company’s intense focus on absolute quality and resultant customer satisfaction, as attested to in various independent surveys of owners, particularly in the US and Europe.

“As with Sonata, if Australian car buyers seriously and without bias compare Grandeur with other contenders in its segment, I think they will see its excellence and competitiveness, even aside from its exceptional value for money. For those still holding outmoded perceptions of Hyundai,

new Grandeur will change their mind and should place the brand firmly in their consideration set as at least the equal of the best in class,” Mr Yeo said.

Hyundai’s general manager—marketing, Oliver Mann, said that although traditional luxury car brand buyers probably wouldn’t be so attuned to the idea of such a competitive luxury car from Hyundai, so-called New Luxury adherents, those more typically identified among confident, creative and self-made people more interested in performance than tradition, would definitely be interested in Grandeur, if given the opportunity to sample it.

Design

Grandeur’s exterior styling is a subtly sleek, crouching feline execution with sculpturing that bestows a prestigious presence with elegant proportions and tasteful detailing, evoking a hint of sporty athleticism. A low 0.29 coefficient of drag attests to its aerodynamic efficiency. Sporting striking 17”, 10-spoke alloy wheels widely spaced front and rear, new Grandeur has an imposing stance on the road. Dual chrome-tipped oval tailpipes add a performance element to the rear.

Dimensionally, Grandeur is identical in length to Berlina at just under 4.9 metres. Grandeur provides class-best front legroom and headroom thanks to its roof gracefully arching highest in class. It has the widest front track and its driven wheels are spaced wider apart for extra stability than any others in the class.

Opening the chrome-inset door handles and stepping over the etched stainless steel door sill plates, Grandeur’s spacious new cabin is an upscale ergonomic environment which beckons with high grade materials, attractively restrained feature design and an appealing and practical dark over light dash and door trim treatment, with sparing redwood trim inlays.

The audio system fascia integrates with the curvature of the dash centre panel, controls are large and simple enough for instant and safe use on the move and the very high level of insulation from various noise sources ensures its full enjoyment. Aside from the extra room, seat comfort is sumptuous with both front seats electrically multi-adjustable, generously padded and well contoured.

Safety

A full suite of active and passive features combine with Grandeur’s strong and very substantial body construction and engineering to protect occupants.

Active help in crash avoidance comes with standard Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) and BAS (Braking Assist System) on big disc brakes and the instant responsiveness and manoeuvrability that come with taut suspension calibration.

Heading up Grandeur’s passive safety is the inclusion of rear side thorax airbags—a rarity in this class—bringing the total number of airbags to eight, also comprising dual frontal, front-side thorax and full cabin side curtains.

Augmenting the airbags are active four-way-adjusting front head restraints, dual front seat belt pretensioners on each front seat floor runner (ie two per seat) and load-limiters, near-flush design front belt upper pillar height-adjusters, anti-submarining front seat steel pans and rear seat ramps, side impact beams inside all doors, reversing sensors and the extra survival space afforded by one of the widest cabins in the class and front seats thereby spaced further inboard of the doors.

Grandeur’s three child seat top tether strap anchor positions all have the brackets already fitted and are nicely finished with flush flip-up covers.

In internal crash-testing, Grandeur achieved the equivalent of a five-star rating in all the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) frontal and side-impact test regimes for both front and rear occupants.

Model range

Grandeur V6 at $42,990 and Grandeur Limited at $46,990 recommended retail are the two models in the range. The only extra is metallic or mica exterior paint finish which adds $350.

This includes a full 24/7 Roadside Assistance package for five years as well as the quality assurance implicit in Hyundai’s long-time-offered five-year / 130,000km new car warranty.

On top of Grandeur V6’s full feature list, Grandeur Limited adds:

• a power tilt-slide sunroof,
• reactive solar glass
• an electric rear window sunshade blind which retracts when reversing
• heated front seats and door mirrors
• electric operation of the steering wheel four-way adjustment
• auto-on/off xenon headlights with washers and self-levelling
• rain-and-road speed-sensitive wipers
• two-setting IMS (Integrated Memory System) for driver seat, door mirrors and steering wheel adjustment positions, and an
• automatic day/night interior rear-view mirror.

Comfort and convenience

Elevated comfort greets Grandeur travellers with generous room in all areas including class-leading front leg and head room and a welcoming cabin ambience borne of tastefully restrained and ergonomic design.

Many thoughtful features are beyond the class norm, such as 10-way power-adjustment of the driver seat including lumbar support, dual-zone climate control with AQS (Air Quality System) and pollen filter, remote folding-in/out of the door mirrors, anti-rattle flock lining and matting of all storage compartments and recesses, auto-dipping door mirrors when reversing, reach as well as rake-adjustable steering wheel, windscreen de-icer and most of the unique features in the Limited.

Seats are faced in quality-feel leather and offer generous anatomical support with the front chairs offering full backrest rake, cushion height and tilt and long fore-aft travel. Front seat frames are constructed in light but extremely strong magnesium. The contoured rear bench seat sports a pull-down central armrest and three low-profile pull-up head restraints.

Grandeur standard equipment is comprehensive and includes cruise control via steering wheel tabs, five-function trip computer, remote entry with alarm and power mirrors and windows—with one-touch down/up driver’s window and jam-sensing override lowering and climate control face venting to rear occupants plus heater ducting to the rear footwells.

Sun visors have slide-out extensions and vanity mirrors which switch on roof make-up lights when their covers are lifted.

Two in-cabin 12 volt power outlets are provided, one each for front and rear occupants.

A full set of subtly monogrammed custom carpet floor mats is also supplied standard.

Instrumentation features special Super Vision LED blue-ish white lighting of exceptional clarity.

Grandeur serenades with music and chat via its dashboard contour-integrated Infinity audio with MP3-capable six-disc in-dash CD/FM/AM augmented with a cassette player for all those boomers’ tragic tape collections, eight high-output Infinity speakers including a sub-woofer and external amplifier, steering wheel auxiliary controls and an antenna set into the rear glass.

Stowage

Grandeur in-cabin storage solutions include a centre console integrating lidded bi-level bins, twin cup holders with grips and a further oddments recess with touch-opening lid. The dash incorporates a lit and lockable flock-lined glovebox with elastic book-retaining strap and a central recess with flip-down door.

Overhead is a console with a sunglasses bin and map lights while the door trims include map pockets—those on the front doors with a pull-out feature. Rear passengers also have front seatback pockets and twin cup holders in the centre pull-down armrest and individual reading lights.

Grandeur’s capacious and fully-lined 469 litre boot—which comes with an elastic luggage net/hammock—is fully securable via locks on the rear seat’s 60/40 split/fold backrests and boot lid catch and the provision of a separate valet key accessing only doors and ignition.

Capable of stowing four golf bags with space to spare, the boot’s generous space derives mostly from the low floor afforded by the front-wheel-drive’s absence of a diff-housing underneath plus a rear suspension design requiring minimal wheelhouse intrusion, yet it still stows a full size 17” alloy spare wheel and tyre. Testifying to Grandeur’s body torsional rigidity, its load-through aperture afforded by folding the rear seat backs forward is big—nearly full wheelhouse-spacing width and undershelf height, unlike in other competitors where it is either much smaller, just a ski port or not provided.

Grandeur has a towing capacity of 1800kg for a braked trailer or 750 kg for an unbraked trailer. Hyundai’s Astrel accessory brand has developed a tow kit for the car.

Braking

New Grandeur’s braking augers well with its tyre footprints bigger than most of its competition, thanks to its standard 17” wheels shod with wide 235/55 series tyres.

ABS with EBD (electronic brakeforce distribution) and BAS is standard on new Grandeur which is equipped with large 303mm front and 284mm rear disc brakes.

During abrupt and hard braking, the EBD system optimises the brake pressure applied to each wheel, while ABS automatically applies and releases the pads several times a second to prevent the wheels locking and preserving tyre grip during simultaneous hard braking and evasive cornering.

Noise, Vibration and Harshness

Refinement and quality are key attributes of the all-new Grandeur and are at the core of its design direction.

Key features dramatically reducing NVH in new Grandeur and enhancing its all round refinement include thicker glass in the side windows, polyurethane sealing pads in the ceiling and floor, foam pads on the firewall and inside the pillar cavities and sound insulation panels lining the engine hood and boot lid.

The bodyshell’s cowl assembly ties the behind-dash crossbar with the lower firewall with a vertical brace, the front floor is multi-ribbed and strengthened underneath by longitudinal and cross-car subframes and the firewall itself is free of multiple, rubber-plugged apertures for wiring loom arteries, known noise paths into the cabin.

Torsional creaks and groans are addressed by the extra stiff engine bay perimeter frame’s better resistance to bending and twisting, which helps to isolate noise and vibration from the engine and transaxle assembly which it supports on hydraulic mounts.

A larger single fan provides ample cooling airflow while producing less noise than previous twin fan designs. New low noise valves on the power steering make it quieter at idle and on the move while a pressure sensor keeps engine revs steady during high-load, low-rev modes such as when reverse parking.

Special designs for the door mirror housings and door weather strips further aid noise reduction.

Powerplant

Grandeur’s engine is a 3.8 litre variant of the all-new, all-alloy, ‘Lambda’ series 60-degree V6 first seen as a 3.3 in Sonata. It has dual overhead camshafts (DOHC) per bank, four valves per cylinder with CVVT (continuously variable valve timing) on the intake valves and pent-roof combustion chambers. High silicone alloy pistons reduce reciprocating mass and offer long service life, aided by a special anti-friction coating and thin, low-friction piston rings.

The Lambda V6 also features a polymer intake manifold for noise suppression and less mass and which has a variable intake tract, boosting low rpm torque and power at high rpm. A stainless steel, silent-running timing chain also cuts noise and obviates belt replacement at the 90,000km service required of polymer belts. Hollow camshafts also reduce mass and facilitate more accurate manufacture, with performance and emission benefits. An electronic ‘fly-by-wire’ throttle aids driveability and seamlessly integrates with Grandeur’s cruise control and the ESP and TCS. Iridium-tipped spark plugs improve ignition, give long service life and help reduce emissions and fuel use. Each plug is serviced by its own coil which permits the PCU (power control module) to more precisely effect ignition. The PCU combines electronic control of both engine and automatic transmission in a single unit and is located in the engine bay rather than the cabin, thus removing a noise path.

The V6 is mated to a newly developed five-speed Selectronic transmission which works through a new gate-type shifter, removing the fiddly push button on the shift lever. A new, rpm-variable hydraulic pressure unit smooths shifting and reduces engine power loss.

Australia’s Grandeurs are built in HMC’s prestige car plant at Asan in Korea, which itself is still relatively new yet had a new engine manufacturing facility installed for Grandeur and Sonata’s two new engine series.

HMC built a $69 million pilot plant at its Namyang R&D complex in 2002 where R&D specialists work with production engineers to pinpoint any potential glitches in production.

This relentless focus on quality has seen HMC boost its quality team eightfold to 865 people in the last five years. This team has the power to halt manufacturing or assembly if at any stage it detects a problem.