djminfll Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acdii Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
djminfll Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kuzzi Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. 1 hybridbear reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acdii Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. :) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybridbear Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acdii Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aaronj1159 Report post Posted November 15, 2013 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. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites