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Although it’s not expected in showrooms til sometime next year, I will have the opportunity to spend the next few days with the developmental mules of one of the most interesting and significant cars in years. Although it is unlikely I’ll be able to tell you much beyond that, I can assure you that those involved are very serious about delivering on their claim of making a competitor to the established brands.

Skeptical? Dust off you magazines circa the late 80s and early 90s when people doubted the Japanese could compete with the Europeans.

Having helped someone shop for “an Acura, Lexus or Infiniti” last week solely because they didn’t want to be seen in a Mercedes, BMW or Audi, you have to wonder if this isn’t exactly the right car at exactly the right time… (This car can teach VW’s ad agency what ‘low ego emissions’ really means).

I posted some time ago that I’m expecting huge things from Hyundai’s upcoming rear-drive flagship. This could be the most obsessively engineered, biggest bang-for-the-buck sport sedan since one of my all-time favorites, the ‘91 Infiniti Q45 (you know, the one that was the purest expression of the engineers’ art – before the marketers softened it up and slapped a grill on it).

Here is an excerpt from an update by MT’s unimpeachable imported editor, Angus Mackenzie :

For a company with a reputation for fast-tracking new models at a pace that makes even the Japanese dizzy, the BH has been a long time coming-more than five years, in fact. But that doesn’t mean Hyundai has been slacking; Concept Genesis is on its second exterior (the previous design was scrapped, after the hugely expensive tooling process had been started) and third chassis setup (the rear axle was upgraded from a four-link configuration to five-link only last year)...The lower control arm is pressed steel, but all the other links are forgings. The compact coil springs are mounted separate from the shocks, which are located to the body by way of aluminum castings. The front suspension features a short/long-arm setup executed entirely in forged aluminum, with large cast-aluminum top mounts for improved precision and rigidity...Insiders claim the car’s body-in-white, rich in ultra-high-tensile steel, isn’t only lighter than that of a 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, and Lexus LS, but also has 12- to 14-percent-higher dynamic torsional rigidity... The V-8 drives the rear wheels via ZF’s smooth 6HP26 six-seed automatic transmission.

I’ve always been more critical of steering than of any other control because you’re using it every moment the car’s in motion, but it wasn’t until I injured my back a few years back that I became more sensitive to seat support and ingress/egress.

It astounds me that given how integral the comfort of the driving position is to the connectedness and relaxation you feel behind the wheel that its so rarely mentioned in the media. Perhaps that’s why so many of today’s cars have inexcusably poor seats, visibility or ways of entry and exit.

Last month I spent time behind the wheel of three cars on extended road trips – the $16K Suzuki SX4, a $30K Pontiac Grand Prix and a $20K Hyundai Sonata and of all the things that made an impression it was the seat comfort. Read the rest of this entry »

The new Hyundai Sonata is the first in a series of heavy hitting products from the company. Filled with thoughtful touches and engineering excess, it makes the Honda and Toyota offerings seem like overgrown economy cars. The car’s few flaws can be traced to its front drive layout.

It seems Hyundai recognizes what most companies are trying to deny – that with the advent of traction and stability control a swing back to rear wheel drive is desirable and inevitable. Two new rear wheel drive sedans are being readied for introductions sometime between the 2007 and 2009 model years – one to compete with the 5 series and another the 7 series. Motor Trend reports that cars will have a large 3.8L V6 and possibly a 4.5L V8 co-developed with Mitsubishi.

(Yes. We’re serious.)