2012 Hyundai Azera Review

It is clear that Hyundai wants the word “easy” to come up quite often when the Azera is described.  In order to accomplish this, the car is offered with just two trims and two prices: base and Technology.  Like the last Azera we drove in New Orleans, our tester came equipped as the loaded-out Technology, which goes for $36,875 with destination charge.  That price is $4,000 more than the base car which means that compared to the 2011, the $32,000 2012 is a bit more expensive.  There just so happens to be a “but” as for that MSRP, a buyer gets a substantial amount of stuff including leather seats, heating for the front and rear, rear backup camera, dual zone climate control, satellite radio, Hyundai’s BlueLink telematics system with hands-free control as well as navigation.  This feature might be justification alone as the Azera is the only segment offering to have such a system as standard.  To accompany our tester’s wealth of no-charge items, the Technology package adds things like HID headlamps, a panoramic sunroof, 19 inch wheels, cooling feature for the front seats as well as lower extension for the driver’s side, a tilt and telescoping steering wheel, power rear sunshade, an Infinity supplied stereo and ambient lighting.

Rarely seen in the media spotlight is a selection of cars that cater to a very select demographic.  These sedans go about their business in a very quiet manner and do so without complaint or concern.  Because they were created for a small section of the buying public, the competition between the segment’s offerings has become rather heated.  The philosophies that embody the large, ”aspirational” luxury sedans are so similar that each vehicle available seems to model each other perfectly.  It is only when you begin to dig deeper that each one starts to show their separation with certain unique traits and talents.  It may seem oddly similar to its rivals from America and Japan, but Hyundai’s latest quiet heavy hitter is much more than just a Korean Toyota Avalon.  The 2012 Hyundai Azera truly is, luxury the way luxury used to be.

The Azera has a rather interesting place in the Hyundai lineup.  Before 2008, the big bodied sedan was the automaker’s flagship and had been since the first version of it – the XG350 - bowed in the late 1990s.  But once the Genesis Sedan debuted, the Azera became an “aspirational” luxury sedan; the kind of which former Sonata owners would purchase.  It wasn’t as technology filled and racy as the rear drive Genesis but in all honesty, the car hasn’t been so significant that it’s outshined the Sonata.  This became especially true when the current generation Sonata was born in 2011 as that car became so popular and successful, that the fourth generation Azera went practically unnoticed.  For the 2012 model year, Hyundai has decided to change that by giving their Azera a new lease on life as pretty much everything about the new car is, well, new.