I have to say, the Kia-Hyundai-Genesis family is really bringing it design-wise, lately. Over the past couple of years the designs coming out of these companies has been consistently striking and distinctive, with a strong visual identity and cars that just look, well, great. The Hyundai Ionic 5 and Kia EV 6 come to mind. Hyundai’s design team has focused their collective moist designers’ eyes onto Hyundai’s traditional flagship, the Grandeur, and come up with something dramatic and yet restrained, with a bit of 1980s sensibilities we’ve seen in other recent Hyundais.
Here in America, we never got the Grandeur under that name, which is pretty much restricted to Korean markets. Most of the world knows it as an Azera, which I thought was a flowering plant until that person at Lowe’s spit on me. In fin-de-siecle 20th century America, we had it as the Hyundai XG, for those late ’90s Hyundai fans. For most of its life, the Grandeur/Azera/XG was a pretty anonymous-looking full-sized sedan.
Look, here’s a 2011 Azera commercial:
You could slap almost any badge on that thing, from Toyota to Chevy and nobody would bat an eye. It’s fine, but good luck trying to find something interesting about the way it looks.
This new Grandeur, though, is a very different story.
It’s a design that is a bit more upright and less aero-eroded than what’s become the norm recently; while hardly rectilinear, it adapts greenhouse and body proportions from a 1980s car, which I think provides a certain stateliness to it all. It’s a mild fastback design, which is well-punctuated by that triangular rear quarter window.
I actually think that the rear quarter design is perhaps the strongest angle, with some very effective use of body cutlines, like the dramatic diagonal from the rear wheelarch that flows up and into the crease that forms the slight rear spoiler.It’s nice when designers accept that body panel lines exist and work with them, instead of fighting against them or trying to pretend they don’t exist.
That black stripe that runs along the lower body and kicks up as it wraps around the rear is a sort of almost-retro touch, but, again, it works. That lower red reflector? foglamp? at the base of the bumper does feel a bit tacked-on, though.
From the front, we can see the design language that Hyundai calls, with typical PR drama, “Seamless Horizon,” and have even named that full width-DRL after it:
One of the model’s most prominent aspects is its pure volume and excellent sense of proportions that balance premium and dynamic styling attributes. The All-New Grandeur is defined by a Seamless Horizon Lamp inspired by the first light of dawn, accentuating the model’s wide stance and harmonizing with its parametric jewel grill. The Seamless Horizon Lamp is a perfect fusion of technology and art and characterizes Grandeur’s future-focused design sensibility.
I wonder if anyone is actually going to call that a Seamless Horizon Lamp? If called your dealer and tell them you need a strip of LEDs replaced in your Seamless Horizon Lamp, would they know what the hell you were talking about, or would they think you were proselytizing for a cult?
As has been Hyundai’s practice on many recent models, the actual headlamps are in lower-set pods, here integrated into the sides of the grille, which is a full-width crosshatch pattern.
It’s possible this image is hinting at a bold, one-side-totally-open design, but I suspect it’s actually just to show the interior, which is fairly conventional luxury sedan stuff.
The headrests are interesting, though, and like so many other modern designs, the dash is a long, unbroken LCD display, and Hyundai says the steering wheel is “inspired by the single-spoke design of the first-generation Grandeur” for you first-gen Grandeur-heads.
There also seems to be some sort of linear light-effects going on he passenger side of the dash as well, emphasizing the bit of a twist happening on that panel. Also, I’d like to note a nice, simple, mechanical glove box release. See that, GM?
There’s no mention of cost or powertrain details yet, and it’s not clear if this will make it to America, even as an Azera, but who knows? It’s another nice reminder that Hyundai has been killing it design-wise, regardless.
Hyundai’s designs have been hit-or-miss lately. This one? This one is a hit. Nice work Hyundai, I hope to see this thing beautifying my local highways soon.
I think this looks absolutely baller. I’m getting old-school Toyota Century vibes, which is a good target to aim for when your goal is understated luxury.
No doubt it’ll be priced out of my range, but I’ll still give it an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
I like everything except for that odd flip in the rear. But time might smooth it out.
I love the looks of this, home run out of the park. The interior looks great as well. The shape of the dash and the screen, the almost break from the dash to the console, are giving me some serious 1990 Bonneville SSE vibes.
https://topclassiccarsforsale.com/uploads/photoalbum/1990-pontiac-bonneville-sse-5.jpg
Generally I really like Hyundai, Kia and Genesis styling but this looks awful. The rear quarter window and roofline is a direct copy of a XR4 Ford Sierra and the front looks like the hideous Staria van. 2/10
I had the opportunity to ride in the 4th Gen Grandeur in it’s home country at its introduction around 2005. I was working there and taking taxis to work from the hotel everyday. Mostly they were earlier boxy generation versions, such as the XG350. The Grandeur stood out and I thought I was in some unusual Euro sedan based on the quality of the interior and exterior design. I told my colleagues that if I were a Japanese automaker, I would be very worried about my new competition. When they asked about US automakers, I said it was already too late.
Years later, when I lived there for 3 years (2010-2013), I met a top-flight German designer, who decided to work for Hyundai. He’s back in Germany now and I think he is responsible for several vehicle interiors and exteriors, if not whole cars.
I love this. It kind of feels this is what BMW we’re aiming for with their new 7series, stately, horizontal lines, hidden headlights, thick set rear end, but failed spectacularly.
Coincidentally, I saw one of the similarly styled Hyundai MPVs today, which isn’t on sale here, and thought that was similarly spectacular.
I don’t think any manufacturer is getting close to Hyundai for styling at the moment.
Not a design comment, but my wife rented an Ioniq 5 to take the PA Turnpike from Pittsburgh to Harrisburg and back last week, and she liked it a LOT. Like, her favorite rental in years and years. Said she could see owning one.
So fastbacks are cool again?
it brings to mind the Olds Toronado Trofeo of the early 90s (and thats a good thing)
https://www.google.com/search?q=8olds+toronado+trofeo&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwj1gaCg–z6AhVQ6VMKHeyACbYQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=8olds+toronado+trofeo&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzoECAAQQzoICAAQgAQQsQM6BQgAEIAEOgcIABCABBAYOgkIABCABBAKEBhQ8AlYzDNg3zVoAHAAeACAAYsBiAG6CpIBBDIwLjGYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=TkdQY_WiCNDSzwLsgaawCw&bih=722&biw=1536&rlz=1C1CHZL_enUS979US980#imgrc=a8AItBAL582VsM
Ok, but why? Isn’t Hyundai trying to build Genesis as their luxury brand? From the rear it even looks like a Genesis with one of its LED stripes missing. It seems the Grandeur only makes sense if it doesn’t overlap markets with Genesis, so I wouldn’t expect it in America.
I wondered that too. My only thought is that while Hyundai does now have the Genesis brand, they’re not exactly going out of their way to associate it with their more mass-market marques. Meanwhile, Hyundai itself is still trying to cement its credibility in some markets. A classy, full-sized luxury sedan can help do that, even if it isn’t going to be a big seller in and of itself.
Meanwhile, it may turn out to be a bit of a luxury bargain, kind of like the Avalon used to be. As someone who thinks brand snobbery is hardly worth paying extra for, I’m all in favor of that.
This is for South Korea, the Genesis brand was created primarily for export markets where selling luxury priced Hyundais has been difficult, but they haven’t had quite the same issue domestically – the current Grandeur is like the #2 or #3 selling car in South Korea, Hyundai would be foolish not to follow it up with a new generation. Koreans are buying a lot of them
We had a 2012 Azera when we lived in Qatar. It was the first luxury car my parents had ever owned, and it served us well for 7 years before they sold it when we left the country. We actually wanted to import it to the UK, but Dad decided the process was too much of a hassle. At night, some drivers would move out of the way because the design of the DRLs seemingly made them think it was some sort of Merc.
Not liking the Robocop look to the front and rear lighting, even though I know it’s trendy as all get out. May just be my old-fartiness, but I like headlights and tail lights that are actual shapes, rather than illuminated tank-slits.
The overall shape? Yeah, I dig it. Leaving off the Visual Excitement of excessive random creases, ducts, indentations and other gewgaws is definitely a Good Thing. The front air inlet too large and too dressed-up for my taste, but compared to, say, BMW’s current nosepieces, it’s classy.
The interior shows one major failing of modern design: how do you make YOUR screens look different from OTHER companies’ screens. Answer: it apparently can’t be done.
It says something when a design is considered bold because it doesn’t have a ton of completely unnecessary creases and lines like…..well, like other recent Hyundais.
” It’s another nice reminder that Hyundai has been killing it design-wise, regardless. ”
Now only if they could do better in every other facet of being a car manufacturer.
Hey man….
*checks recall database to reconfirm that Kona N still hasn’t been recalled*
….I enjoy mine
My simple observation would be, that Cadillac could take a lesson from this design.
Because their latest $300K model has delusions of Grandeur.
Funny
TBF – Cadillac has taken lessons from everyone and pasted them on/in the came car.
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I actually think that the rear quarter design is perhaps the strongest angle”
I think it looks like someone learning photoshop.
I was gonna go with one of those AI image generators because it looks like they randomly stole the lines from about six different cars and jammed them together.
“Oh, my, god, Becky, look at her butt. It is so big.” What’s not to love about that?
I can’t think of a single competing model to this that looks as classy. Even with those trendy split lights that are generally starting to annoy me. Well done.
But…
“Seamless Horizon” Come on. What happens if you hit something? Broken Continuity?
I hope the one spoke look steering wheel makes it across the Hyundai line. Steering wheels lately have been fairly similar so to have something legitimately interesting is unexpected and delightful.
I like it… Sort of a Lucid in the front, Lincoln in the back. Does that make it a mullet?
Malibu Maxx in the back ,and that’s not a good thing.
Yeah, that rear quarter window doesn’t do it for me. I like everything else, though.
I’d love to see a larger picture on the interior to figure out what controls were kept as actual buttons. Digging the clean look but am very passionate about having tactile controls for certain features.
it feels like a Trump Hotel.
Really? I’m not seeing it. It’s got fairly simple, clean lines and the materials look nice but not particularly gaudy. The only thing that might be considered over the top is the door panel lighting, hopefully that can be turned off.
No: lacks marble and especially gold leaf.
This looks relatively tasteful—far from dictator-chic
Also pink granite, smoked mirrors, brass, and white leather
its definitely bold, and i think that’s generally something to be celebrated, but this thing gives me Ugly neuveau riche 70’s vibes in the worst possible way.
I think this is pretty tasteful compared to the actual neuveau riche choices currently out there.