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Sunday, May 15, 2011
Bargain prices are great, but they tend to come with compromises. Shop at a 99 Cent store and you'll find amazing deals, but you'll also find limited sales assistance and harsh fluorescent lighting. This is why the 2011 Hyundai Azera is such a standout. With a starting price of just over 25 grand, it's a low-price leader in the full-size sedan segment, but no corners have been cut to achieve its very accessible price tag.
Feature content is one area in which the Azera exceeds expectations. Even base models come generously equipped with amenities such as steering-wheel-mounted audio controls and heated side mirrors. The range-topping Limited model adds luxury-car mainstays like heated leather seats and a sunroof without an exorbitant increase in price; an Azera Limited starts at just over 30 grand, making it less expensive than a base-model Toyota Avalon. The Azera also impresses with its fit and finish and its materials quality, which are superb throughout. However, we should note that the Azera was a bit squeak-prone in its first year of production, but we're unsure if Hyundai has tightened things up since then.
Inside, Hyundai Azera's spacious cabin provides not only roomy comfort, but a luxurious look with a new attention to detail that makes both driver and passengers feel like they are riding in a luxury sedan. These details include a new brushed metalgrain finish applied to the gear shift indicator area, cup holder cover, ashtray cover and center console cover and "EZ Lane Change Assist" (one-touch triple turn signal stalks). Slight movement of this new turn signal stalk will cause the turn signals to blink three times and then automatically go off - an ideal feature for highway passing.
The 2011 Hyundai Azera offers luxurious appointments and spaciousness that rivals the finest premium competitor brands. It offers a roomy cabin with nearly 44 inches of legroom up front and more than 38 inches of legroom for rear-seat passengers. Hyundai engineers have created efficient packaging to maximize interior volume with the 2011 Azera offering more interior volume (123.5 cu.-ft.) than the Toyota Avalon and Nissan Maxima.
Special attention has also been paid to other interior details, such as the electroluminescent cluster display and steering wheel audio control functions. The blue backlighting for interior gauges, switches and buttons along with ion-plated accents highlight the vehicle's modern appearance. Other unexpected luxury appointments include a power rear sunshade, integrated memory system and power-folding side mirrors with turn signal indicators and puddle lamps on the Limited version. Hyundai Azera Limited also has a power tilt and telescopic steering wheel, an integrated memory system, electrochromic auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink® premium door sill scuff plates and a woodgrain steering wheel and door pulls to its long list of standard equipment.
The Hyundai Azera comes standard with dual front automatic climate controls, solar control glass, power seats for driver and front passenger, as well as woodgrain and metalgrain interior accents.
An AM/FM/XM/CD/MP3 audio system that includes a four-channel, 172-watt internal amplifier and six speakers comes standard in the Hyundai Azera GLS. Audiophiles with even more demanding tastes will be impressed by the available Infinity audio system that includes a seven-channel, 315-watt amplifier with an in-dash six-disc CD changer and 10 speakers, standard in Limited trim levels.
Music lovers will also welcome the 2011 Azera's inclusion of standard iPod/USB and auxiliary input jacks to accommodate and charge audio devices such as iPods.
For drivers looking for the ultimate luxury options, Hyundai Azera offers the Limited Trim with Navigation Package which receives a powerful Infinity 605-watt Logic 7 audio system as standard equipment in addition to its LG DVD navigation system.
Hyundai Azera is reborn with a more handsome exterior design. The most noticeable exterior upgrade is a new sleeker front bumper fascia, with a number of subtle design tweaks. Design updates up-front also include redesigned headlamps with LED surround accent lighting, new chrome grille and round foglights. A high-gloss window trim treatment enhances Hyundai Azera's profile. The rear of the 2011 Azera features redesigned signature LED taillights, redesigned bumper with integrated chrome tailpipes and a matching decklid. Modernized 17-inch alloy wheels and revised side repeater mirrors with all-new bright puddle lamps light the way to Hyundai's refined premium large car with near-luxury attributes. Overall, Hyundai Azera's proportions remain elegant, purposeful and aerodynamically efficient, reducing wind noise while adding maximum stability on the highway.
The Azera GLS is equipped with a refreshed and improved 3.3-liter V6 engine that produces 260 horsepower and 233 pound-feet of torque. As the first member of Hyundai's 'Lambda' engine family, this engine has all-aluminum construction, dual overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder and Continuously Variable Valve Timing (CVVT) for a broad power band. It also features a Variable Intake System (VIS) that further broadens its power curve to improve off-the-line acceleration and passing performance. Despite the increase in power, new EPA fuel economy estimates for the Azera GLS are improved to 20 mpg city / 28 mpg highway.
The Azera Limited delivers more performance due to its 3.8-liter DOHC V6 engine, which was also improved and delivers 283 horsepower and 263lb-ft of torque. To maximize the power band, this engine also utilizes CVVT and a VIS to help cylinders breathe efficiently at both low and high rpms. Like the 3.3-liter V6, the new EPA mileage figures for the Azera Limited with a 3.8-liter V6 have improved to 19 mpg city / 27 mpg highway.
Both V6 engines are matched with Hyundai's new six-speed automatic transmission with manual-style shift gate control. This new transmission is 26.4 lbs lighter than the five-speed it replaces, but also features 62 fewer parts and increased durability. Hyundai also added an "Eco Indicator" that displays a green light when current driving inputs reflect optimal fuel economy.
Maintaining Hyundai's emphasis on class-leading safety technology, the 2011 Azera boasts impressive active and passive safety features to protect its occupants in the event of a collision, earning the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) top crash test ratings for frontal offset impacts. The Hyundai Azera continues to set standards by making key life-saving active safety technology standard, such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC) with a Traction Control System (TCS).
Also standard are independent double-wishbone front- and multi-link rear suspension, large four-wheel disc brakes and an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) that includes Brake Assist, which provides maximum braking force when a panic stop is detected, and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), which automatically adjusts the amount of force applied to each of a vehicle's brakes for optimal performance under poor road conditions, speeding, loading and other potentially hazardous situations.
Additionally, Hyundai Azera offers impressive passive safety features including eight standard airbags, active front head restraints to help prevent whiplash, a Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system for children's seats and three-point seatbelts for all positions while shingle-style rear-seat head restraints provide drivers with improved visibility. Security is further advanced with an anti-theft engine immobilizer and remote keyless entry with alarm.
reference:www.edmunds.com,www.leftlanenews.com,www.netcarshow.com
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