Hyundai Grandeur 2006

Despite what we were told by a salesman at our local Hyundai dealer several weeks ago the new Grandeur is here and it is being advertised by the local dealer. So what do we have and is it really going to be worth the money.

Sadly if you go to the Hyundai website you’re not going to see much more of the car this this:

and just for a comparison here was the last model Grandeur that was sold in Australia:

Call me old-fashioned if you like but the new body shape does not have me rushing off to the dealer with my cheque book in hand. But then beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you might think that the new body style is wonderful.

There are two models in the range – the V6 and the Limited with prices of $42,990 and $46,990. Equipment levels in both models are good and, unlike the previous Grandeur, both models have leather trim as standard.

One thing that I certainly appreciated in the old Grandeur was the leg-room for both front and rear passengers and that seems to have been carried over to the new Grandeur too. Boot space is good and you would be surprised what you can pack into the boot of one of these cars. The security officer at the Bass Straight ferry terminal at Deveonport couldn’t believe it either when he looked in our boot when we were moving from Tasmania to Queensland.

Everything seems to look rather good in the new car until you get it out onto the road where several journalists have noted that it’s handling and acceleration leave something to be desired. I’ve yet to drive one but my old Grandeur is not the fastest off the mark but still accelerates well at speed and apparently handles much better than the new version.

I guess the one unanswered question about the new Grandeur is what Hyundai will do if sales don’t reach the target. I can remember reading a report in 2000 where the head of the company that was importing them at the time assured potential purchases that they would do nothing to undermine the value of the car.

A month or so after we bought ours the importers started selling Grandeurs to car hire companies and today our $41,000 Grandeur XG is worth less than $9,000 (and that is with lower than average kilometres on the clock).