Auto Show

[djminfll]

I just got back from the Miami International Auto Show in Miami Beach where I had a chance to look at and sit in all of the new cars for 2014.

 

In brief, I was particularly impressed with:

1. Mazda 6 - although the materials on the interior were kind of cheap.

2. Chevy Impala STZ - believe it or not, probably my favorite new model - I can't believe this is a Chevy! No wonder it is the top-rated sedan in Consumer Reports.

3. Hyundai Equus - unless you are totally into labels, why would anyone spend $20-40K more for a Mercedes S or Audi A7 when this car is in the mid $60K range and has technology that is comparable to the more expensive luxury names.

 

I was not impressed with:

1. VW Beetle convertible - I can't believe how tinny the doors sounded when they closed.

2. Nissan Maxima - desperately needs an update; it was nice when it came out but it is way behind the rest of the pack.

3. Mercedes Benz CLA250 - it would be OK if it was around $30K, but they had one on display that had an MSRP of $42K and it looked like a dressed up economy car - jumbo air vents, pretty sparse interior with lower quality materials than you'd expect from M-B.

 

Probably the best part of the show was when we left and I got out to my FFH in the parking lot, slid in behind the wheel and said A-H-H-H-H-H! Definitely my favorite car, I know I made the right choice! FYI, they had a Sunset Ecoboost and a Silver Titanium Hybrid.

[acdii]

Hyundai is one heck of a car company now, who would have thought back in the 90's that they would have cars equal to or better than luxury brands. I loved the Genesis, but not practical for us. We had a hyundai Veracruz, and had it been all wheel drive(my mistake, didnt think we needed it), we would still have it.

[djminfll]

I had a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon V-6, it had a 6-speed manual, black leather interior with brushed aluminum trim. I kept it for 3 years, 40K miles, and the car was never in the shop for anything but scheduled maintenance. And I ended up selling it for about 70% of the original price.

[kuzzi]

I find the Equus to be a car that I would enjoy being driven around in. Unfortunately I'm not that important so I have to drive myself.

[acdii]

I find the Equus to be a car that I would enjoy being driven around in. Unfortunately I'm not that important so I have to drive myself.

My mom got an MKS on that premise, but she likes driving it more than being a passenger in it. :)

[hybridbear]

My brother-in-law has a 2013 Sonata that's loaded and it's really nice. It has some features that I wish we had in the FFH (but were unavailable when we bought ours) such as a panoramic glass roof, cooled seats and push button start. But it's also missing features that we have in the FFH such as memory seats, auto-dimming side mirror and a power passenger seat. Even their fully loaded Sonata has a manual passenger seat! And no memory seats!

 

But, overall, I agree that I'm impressed by Hyundai and the new Sonata. If we hadn't been looking for hybrids the Sonata would have been near the top of my list for a new mid-size sedan.

[acdii]

I dont know how it is now, but the Hyundai service was the only bad thing about having the Veracruz. I had the radio go bad in it, and it took 3 visits to get it working, and they damaged the steering wheel in the process. This is the only thing about hyundai that will keep it from being a Luxury brand.

 

Funny thing, they still have my email address for service surveys.

[aaronj1159]

Like my dad was saying when he was looking at new cars... Hyundai has improved their quality significantly, but the service departments probably haven't yet gotten used to working on a quality car. That's what pushed him away from them (among a few other things). It'll take a little time for the trust to build up still.