Key Takeaways
- The Hyundai Grandeur is updated for 2025, making it a top choice in South Korea.
- It showcases premium features like frameless doors, reclining seats, and a sophisticated design.
- Genesis luxury brand offers similar luxury, hinting at upcoming powertrain options and increasing competitiveness.
Hyundai has just announced 2025 updates to the Grandeur in South Korea that make the attractive full-size sedan an even more enticing option. This model was first unveiled in 2022, and it was one of the first Hyundai vehicles to debut the sleek futuristic styling that can be found on other products like the Sonata.
Hyundai
Hyundai is a Korean automaker that currently exports its vehicles to over 200 countries. It builds gas, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, and even hydrogen vehicles. It also launched Genesis as a spinoff luxury brand with a separate vehicle lineup.
The Grandeur was once sold here in the US as the Hyundai Azera, but due to slow sales and the introduction of the Genesis sedan, it was dropped in the mid-2010s. Our version was nowhere near as attractive as this model, and now we’re a bit jealous Hyundai is keeping something as nice as this away from us. So let’s take a look at what we’re missing.
Hyundai Luxury At Its Finest
Taking a look at the model, it’s pretty obvious this is the most luxurious product we’ve seen with the Hyundai badge, and many of its features can now be found on Genesis brand vehicles. It offers frameless doors, opera glass, auto-flush door handles, and gorgeous design cues that draw you to the vehicle from the outside, and premium comfort that focuses on the utmost passenger luxury on the inside.
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Available in Premium, Exclusive, and Calligraphy trims for 2025, all three offer different levels of luxury and comfort, like reclining seats and electronically controlled window curtains. Mood lighting is available that changes its appearance depending on the drive mode and voice recognition, adding an entirely new depth to the feel of piloting your vehicle. Updates to the model for 2025 include a new Black exterior package and a range of over-the-air (OTA) updates for climate control and safety systems, in addition to lane following assist, steering wheel grip detection, interior fire extinguisher, and electronic gear column vibration warning.
The Genesis Brand Carries The Hyundai Luxury Torch
Once you’ve spent a few minutes looking at the Grandeur, it’s obvious the reason the brand hasn’t brought it to the US is because it already offers luxury with Genesis. The Korean luxury marque has exploded in popularity over the last decade, offering nearly 10 models and expanding its independent dealer network substantially to accommodate a growing customer base.
How Genesis Is Doing What Every Other Luxury Brand Since Lexus Has Struggled To Do
The luxury space is incredibly tough to break into, but Genesis has managed while other luxury sub-brands stagnate.
The one thing we’re missing is powertrain options, as the Grandeur offers both turbocharged combustion and hybrid powertrains that complement its luxury nature. Genesis is planning on changing this very soon with the introduction of range-extending hybrid powertrains to nearly every vehicle in the lineup, offering customers their choice from combustion to full-electric vehicles. This diversification is exactly what the company needs to compete with other luxury brands. It’s just too bad Genesis’ success means we won’t always get the coolest Hyundai models.
