Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Sixth-Generation Hyundai Grandeur (IG)

The first-generation Grandeur came out in South Korea since July 1986 and now, Hyundai celebrates 30 years of Hyundai Grandeur with a brand new sixth-generation Grandeur luxury saloon. With evolution, thirty years in the making, this new Grandeur keeps one of Korea's oldest nameplate strong and alive while demanding the trends of tomorrow's world. So, how will the new model serve as the icing on top of its 30th birthday cake?

2017 Hyundai Grandeur

The Grandeur has been the hallmark of Hyundai Motor Company for three decades and for the new version, it's innovation infused with heritage from its predecessors. Reading through thirty years of the Grandeur will have further understanding why this car was made and by getting to know more about the sixth-generation Grandeur is just the half of the story because there are some things you didn't know about.

Starting with the design. At first glance, it looks vaguely similar to the fourth-generation Grandeur if you squint your view into it but on the back, you will notice that the rear lamps look vaguely similar to the Dodge Charger as well, so it's like East meets West in a culinary kind of way.

2017 Hyundai Grandeur interior

Step inside and the new Grandeur equates is creature comforts to the European luxury saloons. Connoisseurs of all kinds can spend their time getting to know about its interior but for speedo boys, its a complete nightmare because like all cars of today and tomorrow, the sat-nav's now totally irreplaceable, the CD player is now hidden under the armrest, and that's it. You can't replace every bit and bob on the dashboard because the designers are very serious about dashboards getting fiddled by speedo boys so they're taking serious measures to keep the dashboard virtually speedo boy-proof.

Speaking of which, the sat-nav can be integrated with different kinds of smartphones. For iPhone users, they can use its Apple CarPlay connectivity but for Android users, they need to download the new mappyAUTO app on Google Play and then use MirrorLink to get the mappyAUTO app as well. With the mappyAUTO, Android users can keep track with their navigation purposes as well as using Street View before heading through it.

2017 Hyundai Grandeur

What's under the hood is what matters for the customers and for the brand new Grandeur, customers can choose either a 3.0 GDi or 2.4 GDi petrol engines, or a 2.2 diesel engine. The most powerful version is the 3.0L GDi engine producing 266PS of power and 31.4kg-m but the most torquiest is the 2.2 diesel engine with 45kg-m of torque. While the 2.4L petrol only has a 6-speed, both the 3.0L GDi and the 2.2 CRDi-VGT engine are mated with an 8-speed gearbox, a first for the Grandeur.

Although the engines served just another half of the story, there's one thing you will notice. Now, have you ever saw a web movie called "Teuggeun (특근)"? The new Grandeur made is special appearance in the said web movie and some saw the part where the Grandeur chasing down a monster machine in the woods. Sounds cool, right? But the way it behaves is nothing as seen in the web film because in reality, it's just basically a typical normal saloon behaving in a Hyundai Sonata kind of way. It maybe subtle to drive but its sporty character is almost never and it cannot be taken very seriously to do any attempt in any movie stunt behavior, which is very ill-advised.

2017 Hyundai Grandeur

Anyway, skipping to that matter, the sixth-generation Hyundai Grandeur marks the debut of the new suite of safety tech called Hyundai SmartSense. It comprises of Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keeping Assist, Active Blind Spot Detection, Driver Attention Alert, Advanced Smart Cruise Control and Around View Monitor. These features show undeniable proof that the new model combines tradition with innovation for over thirty years.

Should you buy it? The new Hyundai Grandeur starts at 30,550,000 up to 38,700,000 Korean Won, which is less expensive than its compatriot, the latest Kia K7, of course. It's also less expensive to its Korea-only relative, the Aslan, as well. So, for thirty years of progress, has the sixth-generation Grandeur worthy enough to blow its thirty candles? Don't be hasty but it's a good fun finding out. Still, this is more than enough to celebrate 30 years of Hyundai Grandeur and for this new model, it blends its 30-year history with a vision for the future and what you're looking at here is a car that keeps writing down through the pages of history.

Available colors: White Cream, Ion Silver, Luna Grey, Pantera Grey, Midnight Black, Valentine Red, Grand Blue, Suede Bronze, and Khaki Metal.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company  

No comments: