The 2011 Hyundai Equus made its U.S. debut at last year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but it was a Korean-spec car, and Hyundai hadn't finalized the full set of American packages and options. Today, the details are out.
Starting with the 385-horsepower, 4.6-liter Tau V-8 engine (the 429-horsepower 5.0-liter Tau V-8 is also coming soon), the 2011 Equus offers competitive power in the full-size luxury sedan segment, and goes all-out to meet the wants and needs of buyers with a strong standard equipment package. The base stereo system is a 608-watt Lexicon 17-speaker unit, the suspension features electronically-controlled continuously adjusted air-ride dampers and the interior gets the full monty: leather everywhere, wood trim, Alcantara suede headliner, massaging driver seat, adaptive cruise control...the list goes on. See the link below for the official release and spec sheet.
The Equus Ultimate trim level adds to the strong base package with 50/50 split rear seats with reclining function, leg support and massage system for the front-seat passenger, cooled rear seats, rear-seat entertainment system with 8-inch monitors, a rear-seat center-console thermoelectric refrigerator, a forward-view cornering camera, power trunk lid, and rear-seat visors and power adjustable head rests.
Perhaps most interesting is the inclusion of a competitive spec sheet in the Hyundai press release. Pitting the Equus against the Lexus LS460, Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series and Audi A8, the comparison shows that while all of these cars can be outfitted just about equally, the Equus includes many optional features on the other brands as standard.
All models ride on 19-inch chrome alloy wheels wrapped in 245/45 front and 275/40 rear tires. Other standard features include electro-hydraulic power steering, a ZF six-speed automatic transmission with manual mode, and Hyundai's vehicle stability management (VSM) system with pre-collision warning.
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