LA MOTOR SHOW: Hyundai's Commodore off the table

Azera... We're not sure what it means but there's no real point in finding out. For even though the badge might have replaced Grandeur Down Under, the official word is the Large Car front-driver is not coming to Australia.

Hyundai Australia spokesman, Ben Hershman had previously poured cold water on the probability of the handsome new five-seater coming to Oz and reiterated the company line via email just minutes after new Azera was unveiled today at the Los Angeles Motor Show.

"HMC has recently released/is releasing the latest Grandeur (Azera in some markets). Australia is not taking the new Grandeur," he said. Short and sweet...

But we'll tell you a little about the car anyway – because you never know!

Powered by a 218kW transverse 3.3-litre petrol direct-injected V6 matched to a six-speed auto, Azera is the fifth vehicle to adopt the company’s signature Fluidic Sculpture design language. It sits above Sonata (i45 here) in the US line-up and with a 2845mm wheelbase and at around 4900mmm long it's the same length as a Commodore.

Hyundai claims better cabin space and combined fuel efficiency than key US market rivals such as Nissan Maxima, Ford Taurus and Lexus ES350 and safety features include nine airbags and HID Xenon headlights as standard. It rolls on 18-inch wheels and 19s are optional.

The burgeoning Korean carmaker claims special attention has been paid to the Azera's new cabin – and our firsthand 'look, touch and feel' session backs this up. It's an impressive offer.

Ambient lighting, panorama sunroof, power rear and manual side rear sunshades are standard on higher-spec models and climate and seat temperature controls are automated. Front seats get memory and ventilation like high-priced Europeans.

In fact, one of the standout features of the Azera is its newly designed front seats. Says Hyundai: "Hyundai engineers have developed an impact-reducing seat system for the Azera. This seat system eliminates the need for active front head restraints and is expected to reduce head and neck injuries by 17 per cent over the front seats in the previous generation Azera, which had active front head restraints. This result is achieved through optimization of seat back structure to further absorb impacts."

Like the new i40, the Azera also gets Hyundai's latest Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) system. This provides active steering assistance when the system detects a situation that warrants it, ie: when a driver accelerates or brakes on a split-traction surface and the vehicle wants to pull in one direction.

Connectivity is also enhanced on what we'd normally expect. Bluetooth's standard but so too, in some cases, is a phone and navigation interaction.

Hyundai Blue Link telematics is also standard on the Azera.

“Blue Link combines safety, service and infotainment into a complete package that works to both help simplify Hyundai owners’ lives and reduce distracted driving,” said Barry Ratzlaff, director of customer satisfaction and service business development, Hyundai Motor America.

“We’ve carefully studied how drivers rely on smart phones and navigation systems as an innovative link to the outside world. Blue Link brings that seamless connectivity directly into the car with technology like voice text messaging, POI web search download, turn-by-turn navigation, and monthly vehicle reporting.

"Our agent-assisted advanced voice recognition system offers a 21st century solution to performing POI searches in the vehicle. This unique and innovative approach enables Hyundai to deliver fast, accurate searches and downloads of POIs to vehicles without the unnecessary costs of traditional operator-only type systems of our competitors.”

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