Are you a current Michigan-based car shopper? A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/2 for details.
Appreciate the in depth report on this from the manual. I'll probably take possession of the Azera should it come in before my trip. I guess I am kind of cautious from the cars that I have bought in the past. My 30 years of driving lincolns has come to an end. The Azera appears to have it all over the American cars from what I have seen. Thank You.
I wish I could go "70" on our roads in Boston. The "big Dig" has been ongoing for 14 years now and it is a complete diaster. But I will take your advice and take my Azera to New Hamp. (should it come in). I appreciate the input. Thank You.
Pretty cool ad! Where is the Tiburon - no mention of the car. Funny how Hyundai seems to have dropped the advertising on Tibs. But they got all the new ones in. Guess that is the idea. I think some owners of other FWD upper line imports are getting worried about the Azera getting reconigiton. They get a bit hostile in forums. It is like the old, how dare you compare your car to mine! If they are huffy, they surely are not sure of their own choice, no doubt. And a base Azera is around the price of an Impala with less safety features on the Impala. The crash test score being less than the Sonata is the one thing they need to work on. -Loren
I am quite sure I would want my new Azera for vacation. I bought a Sonata a # of years ago and took it from the lot on vacation. It has always been nearly impossible for me to drive a new car as stated in the owners manual. My wife recently bought a Honda Pilot and it was impossible to drive it 55mph. We get mileage equal to the mpg ratings and have had no issues with the engine. Whether or not we will...well, who knows but I am not going to worry about it. Personally, I would take my Azera to NH, if I bought one. Far too nice a car to leave on the lot because you're scared you might hurt it. I don't think you are going to hurt the engine.
I have been notified by gostudie.com that the only non "H" grille that the have available is in silver/chrome. They do not have the color matched Sage Green/Chrome grille as is in my present US delivered Sage Green exterior color car. In any event, thanks for the contact.
I guess it is all personal opinion ... but that spoiler does a great job of spoiling the look of a classy car. I suppose there are people out there who think that attaching a $50 piece of plastic to their car will make it more aerodynamic and get better gas mileage and performance. If this were true it would be standard equipment.
Why does the column on the right side of the forum block the comments of the forum? Can this be corrected? :confuse:
Well, guess it can... looks like you beat me to it, it now looks corrected. Thanks OOOPs no it didn't, the page changed on me.. so back to the original question then..
Are the pictures in message 2814 wider than the text area? Those pictures are not displaying for me so I can't tell, but that's my guess.
If a picture or a long link is wider than the text area, the text area of the entire page gets pushed out to the right in order to accommodate the width of that one post. That right bar doesn't "float" so it ends up blocking the text of the first several messages on the page.
People should use the URL buttons to avoid the long link issue and they should post wide pictures on their CarSpace page.
To read blocked messages you can back up a few messages to shift the blocked ones down the page.
Pat - not trying to be smart here, but why don't you suggest that they make that bar "Float Right" - it's only a single HTML tag. I know - it's traditional that we keep things within a certain width, but - times change, and the software should keep up!
An option (but more difficult to implement) would be to auto-size pictures so they were resized to fit... Either would produce the desired effect and you wouldn't have to keep "policing" for people that do things that come naturally but make things display 'funny'.
I really don't like the look of it, either! It could be designed differently so that it actually took on the lines of the vehicle instead of disrupted the flow of the design...
No, I don't think you are being "smart" at all. I agree, it would be far better if the right bar did float. But there is some kind of issue with it - when it was first implemented a while back we were told that having it float can't/won't be done - I don't remember why (maybe I never knew why).
Your other idea is intriguing. The web people around here are cracker-jack and I'm suspicious that there's some reason they can't do that as well ... but feel free to go to the Forums Software - Your Questions Answered discussion and post your suggestion.
Just an "oh, by the way", Pat: when I asked why they didn't either use a "Float right" HTML tag on the top-right toolbar or auto-resize pictures to keep the pages from going wacky, the response was "the issue will be resolved on July 12th", so I guess we're only about 10 days from never seeing that again!
I do not know if this is an option, but I am not a fan of the red/orange color of the information screen in the gauge cluster. Does anyone out there know if it is possible to change these screens or color?
The irony is that the reddish light least disturbs low light sensitivity of the human retina. Bluish light most disturbs retinal sensitivity. There's a reason naval aviators are confined below decks under red light for 24 hours preceeding night missions.
Hey I have a plan to change my car. I like Azera. But after reading some posting regarding safty issue, I feel to need to think one more time to change to Azera. I do not want to spend over 30K, though. Under 30K, I still have a mind that Azera is the best sedan for my family. Do You think waiting for expecting to improve the safty on the car is worthy? If so, how long do I need to wait?
I felt there was a reason for that color choice on the screen. I did not know 'bout the effects on the human retina, but I guess it does make sense. Just not my favorite look
Do You think waiting for expecting to improve the safty on the car is worthy? If so, how long do I need to wait?
I'm very confident that Hyundai is addressing safety shortcomings. They take a lot of pride in having their cars the best in all areas.
As was mentioned earlier, the IIHS (safety testers) reported that Azeras manufactured May 1, 2006 or later have had some safety modifications made to the side area. Frankly, I believe this was done as a last ditch attempt to shore up the safety scores right before side impact testing.
Regardless, I'm sure they will make modifications to the front as well including fixing a speculated "seat tracking' problem. (Maybe it's already fixed and included with the May 1st cars).
The problem is that there is a 2-3 month lag between the time a car is manufactured and the time it is available for sale on the lot (at least here in the U.S.) So, it would probably be August or later before the "modified" Azeras are available.
If you're going to wait until August or September, you might be better off to wait until the 2007 models are out sometime in the fall. I'm sure they will include more tweaks and modifications.
Anyway, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably wait for the 2007 models. But safety is important to me. Others list safety as a lower priority, so it depends. If those safety upgrades and things like navigation or bluetooth are not that important to you, you still might want to wait a few months. When the 2007s come out because they will most likely be heavily discounting the 2006s.
In my mind, it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a car in July or August when in September or October the new models come out and you can either get the new model or buy the old model at a heavy discount.
The only thing that kept me from getting an Azera this year (2006) was the fuel economy figures that people are reporting. I drive 95% city and don't want to trade in a vehicle that gets 15 mpg for one that gets 12 mpg (or even less than 16).
I am not too concerned about the crash test ratings as I don't think there is much difference between a four or five star rating. I don't believe the crash tests are to be taken literally. Another car or barrier could impact the Azera at a slightly different angle, throwing off the IIHS crash testing scores.
Anyway, does anybody know if Hyundai is addressing the fuel consumption issue for the Azera in 2007? Perhaps with a Cylinder Deactivation or other technology?
Anyway, does anybody know if Hyundai is addressing the fuel consumption issue for the Azera in 2007? Perhaps with a Cylinder Deactivation or other technology?
----------
I'm sure Hyundai is savvy about the fuel economy issue. Many reviews on the Azera have mentioned it. It's really not "bad." I'm getting about 10% lower than my previous Passat but I'm jumping from 190 horsepower to 263.
But compared with vehicles in its class (and I think the main competitor is actually the Toyota Avalon), it is not performing nearly as well.
As I said before, however, my driving ratio is usually 70/30 city. I'm averaging over 19. I did a little more on the highway this last tank and I averaged 20.4. Not terrible.
But I haven't heard anything "official" about Hyundai specifically addressing the fuel consumption on the Azera. I know it's a brand new engine. I would expect some tweaks. I don't think you'll see a "replacement" engine though. No way.
If you drive that much in the city and need a roomy 5-passenger sedan with some pick-up, maybe your best bet is the Camry Hybrid. It's about the same price as the Azera. Not as luxurious but a very nice drive from all accounts.
...it's the mismatch between the orange of the trip computer and the red/white/blue of the nearby gauge cluster. Both look good, but together they look incompatible.
I'd change the trip computer rather than the gauges for one reason only: the shopworn appearance of an orange cluster. It's already achieved cliche status on nearly every Nissan product of the last five years, and even on millions of [cringe] Pontiacs, for chrissakes. :P
Interesting to note I drove a VW Rabbit today (similar instruments to the Jetta) that has the same color scheme for the instruments as the Azera: red for the "information center" including trip meters, and blue for the gauges. VW talks this up like it's really a great thing.
I test drove an Azera the other day, and I really liked it.
The first think I noticed when driving it, was "whoa! this thing takes off!".
You step on the gas, in a normal kind of way, and the Azera BOLTS! Very fun to drive.
However, I also think it's burning up gas like a Hummer climbing a mountain.
I have test driven the Avalon, and it does not take off like an Azera. It's a little more plain jane, takes it's time gettin goin, which is certainly more fuel efficient, but is also kinda boring.
On a side note, all this talk about safety ratings and such, I think is making a mountain out of a mole hill.
4 stars, or 5 stars... honestly, is there really that big of a difference?
Plus, I would be willing to bet that a car that received 3 stars today, is still safer than a car that received 5 stars 10 years ago.
The mileage is disappointing. But, remember, it pushes out all that HP on unleaded REGULAR, not Mid or Premium... e.g. Avalon, etc. A small, but most valid, consolation.
4 stars, or 5 stars... honestly, is there really that big of a difference?
Actually, there can be. The increased risk of serious injury or death as the "stars" decrease is not linear. I read someplace that the risk of serious injury or death from a car with a 4-star frontal rating is about double that of a car with a 5-star rating. Yet the same article mentioned there hasn't been statistical evidence over the years to show a correlation between star ratings and increased risk of injury. It can depend on the type of collision, also. For example, the Azera got a top score ("Good") in the IIHS' frontal offset ratings but got 4 out of 5 stars in the NHTSA's head-on frontal test.
...it's the mismatch between the orange of the trip computer and the red/white/blue of the nearby gauge cluster. Both look good, but together they look incompatible.
That is exactly what I think. Granted if there is no option to swap out or chage the trip screen I will grin & bare it. I think there is just a lot going on with the colors in the car. The clock, radio, air conditioning are all green. The speedometer/gas gauges are red white & blue which I can handle & actually like. Its just the sceen that is not following the scheme. If it was known that this color choice would be used then it should have been one color for all lighted controls (radio, clock, air etc..);even if the trip screen was full on RED like the gauges it would flow nicely, but the color of the trip sceen isnt even the same hue. It is a faded red/orange tint the only thing that somewhat matches that screen is the "passenger airbag off" note located next to the clock. It is what it is... still a great car! I am just being picky. But Again if anyone knows if it can be changed please let me know
We don't know what type of driving conditions he faces or how heavy his foot is on the gas pedal. Also, he is estimating his milage based upon the gas guage reading.
My wife and I are looking to buy an Azera literally tomorrow.
I was doing my typical obsessive research, and just found out that I CANNOT change the radio station, or cd track via the steering wheel. WOW! Huge disappointment. I have CDs with over 100 mp3s on them, I dont want to reach over to the dash to go thru them.
Heck, skip the stupid mode button, and give me a 'Next' button at least. The need to go to the next radio station or next cd track is a lot more pressing then switching between CD, tape and radio.
On another topic, I agree that the orange computer display on the dash is a mismatched color.
What is interesting however, is if you look at the pictures Hyundai has on their website of the Azera dash, the little computer screen shown there is a white/blue color.
Maybe they had a few thousand orange ones they needed to unload first...
No navigation available, no bluetooth, no xenon headlights, no ac seats, no keyless push button start, and now no ability to change CD tracks on steering wheel.
Crap crap crap, this is making me seriously consider skipping the very beautiful Azera for a Camry or a TSX, or a Zephyr.
"...this is making me seriously consider skipping the very beautiful Azera for a Camry or a TSX, or a Zephyr."
I'm neither hawking the Azera, nor panning the Camry, but before you walk all starry-eyed into a Toyota dealership, do a read on Edmunds' Camry discussions of the 6-sp automatic transmission problems some owners are reporting with their new cars.
The Hybrid Camry is the other car I am on considering. I am hearing some commnets on Toyota forums that there are initial problems with this car. However, Fuel milage is not one of them.
I have a Hyundai and would like to get another one. I was quoted $1200 for a 10 year bumper to bumper warranty on the Azera. That is hard to pass up with the $26000 price for an Ultimate Azera. The Toyota saleman said they wouldn't even offer a 10 year warranty.
But with fuel prices most likely going up again in the next two years, I am having a hard time pushing the 'buy' button.
The hybrid components of the TCH have an 8-year, 100k mile warranty. Because the TCH is AT-PZEV, I think that in CA and states that follow the CAFE regulations, it's 10 years/150k on components that affect emissions--which includes the powertrain.
Hopefully you have shopped around with other dealers on the extended warranty on the Azera. You don't have to buy the warranty right away. You could get quotes on the phone and use those for leverage with your dealer, if you can find a quote under $1200.
If the lack of steering wheel audio controls is such a negative to you, along with the other items you mentioned, you should buy something else. Nobody is going to be upset that you did not buy an Azera. In fact, when you buy that other car with all the features you require at a similar price to the Azera's street price, please let us know.
Come on you are not going to buy an Azera because it doesnt have radio station controls on the steering wheel. Dont be lazy man just reach because the controls on the AZera are high so like you dont have the like lean or anything. The car is better than Camry its in same class with avalon and avalon dropped sales in june and Azera gained lots of sales. Just go buy the Hyundai if I have money I would go buy an Azera right now for real.
"I think that in CA and states that follow the CAFE regulations, it's 10 years/150k on components that affect emissions--which includes the powertrain."
According to the '07 Camry sales brochure, the warranty for PZEV emissions components is 15 yrs/150,000 miles. That lengthy warranty protection does not extend to the entire powertrain, though, which is only covered by the nominal industry standard 5 yrs/60,000 miles limitation.
I should have been more clear. The lengthy warranty (now up to 15 years from 10) covers the electrical propulsion components of hybrids like the Camry. The exception is the battery, which in CA is warranted for 10 years, 100k miles.
I just bought a Black Azera Limited with the Ultimate Package (package 4) with Beige Leather seats.
I got several quotes from dealers via the internet ranging from $25,945 - $27,500. My final decision came down to color, availability and convenience. I don't think the dealer that quoted me the lower quote price had the car and I would have had to wait 2-3 days. I didn't have the time to wait. I think if I would have waited, I might have gotten a car for around $25,850, but I think that is about the floor............
My deal (I'm in Southern California) $26,200 + TTL I was $28,700 out the door.
I did a very hard comparison between the Azera Ltd Ultimate with various trims on the Toyota Avalon. In the end, my gut still says that the Avalon is the better car (overall smoother ride (although the backseat of the Azera is comparably as smooth as the Avalon), no hesitation at all on acceleration, Toyota brand is stronger and will probably hold its value better). BUT, in spite of that, I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra $4-$5k to get the Azera Equivalent. Azera is packed with great features at a great price. I don't need Navigation System so that made the comparison even easier. Also, the Toyota warranty was substantially less than the Hyundai warranty...and, the Toyota dealerships simply don't deal with you as much. They only discount their demo cars. They also didn't offer me any aggressive financing...which makes me feel like Toyota is saying, "Take it or leave it. We don't need you."
I ended up asking myself, is a 12-15% smoother ride worth $4 - $5k? My answer was no. Besides, my wife is short and the adjustable pedals in the Azera sealed the deal for her. I fell in love with the Avalon's reclining rear seats...but I ended up ignoring this feature since I remembered that my backseat will have 2 car seats.
The Azera is a beautiful car. I'm very impressed. Can't wait to tint the windows. So far, there are only two big annoyances (and I knew about them before I bought the car):
1. No ability to change radio stations on steering wheel.
2. The trunk lock/unlock configuration is really annoying. (There is a trunk release button the drivers side. But, it only works when the lock is "off" in the glove compartment. Well, when the lock is "off" the trunk remains unlocked and anyone can walk up to the trunk and open it without a key. So, you have to remember to "lock on" the trunk via the glove compartment everytime. Its actually really, really annoying for a family with strollers, gear and stuff.)
But, it wasn't annoying enough to change my mind.
Little wind noise at high speeds, but around town this car is very quiet in the cabin.
I'll post more on the car in a few days/weeks. I've only had it two days.
If dashboard display and stereo controls are important to you, I would definitely recommend the Zephyr. I think the visuals of the display in the Zephyr are understated but really well done. Pretty much all in black and white but incredibly readable. Though some people think the clock is hard to see at night.
Also, I personally think that the 14-speaker system in the Zephyr is overkill but it does sound great.
The Azera feels a little more powerful than the Z. but 220 hp in the latter is plenty.
You're right - my mistake. I focused on PZEV (which also applies to non-hybrid 4-cyl camrys sold in CA and several northeast quadrant states) instead of your stated reference to hybrids.
Hi there, We just bought a 2006 Limited with Premium pkg. The trunk locks with the doors when pressing the remote lock button. It unlocks the same way. I was concerned about this also and a bit disturbed at the cumbersome way of locking the trunk. I suspect once the car is underway and the doors lock, the trunk is also locked. Haven't put it to the test yet. We have 409 miles on it so far, trying to keep it under 65 MPH for awhile before picking up the speed.
Comments
The Azera appears to have it all over the American cars from what I have seen.
Thank You.
Thank You.
※APEAL survey top-ranked 2006 model-year vehicles
Sub-compact car: Suzuki Aerio
Compact car: MINI Cooper
Compact sporty car: Scion tC
Compact premium sporty car: Porsche Cayman
Entry premium car: Lexus IS250/IS 350
Midsize premium car: Infiniti M35/M45
Large premium car: BMW 7-series
Premium sporty car: Mercedes-Benz SL-class
Midsize sporty car: Ford Mustang
Midsize car: Ford Fusion
Large car: Hyundai Azera
Compact SUV: Toyota Rav4
Midsize SUV: Nissan Murano
Large SUV: Nissan Armada
Midsize premium SUV: Lexus GX470/Porsche Cayenne (tie)
Large premium SUV: Infiniti QX56
Large pickup: Nissan Titan
Midsize pickup: Honda Ridgeline
Van: Honda Odyssey
Funny how Hyundai seems to have dropped the advertising on Tibs. But they got all the new ones in. Guess that is the idea. I think some owners of other FWD upper line imports are getting worried about the Azera getting reconigiton. They get a bit hostile in forums. It is like the old, how dare you compare your car to mine! If they are huffy, they surely are not sure of their own choice, no doubt. And a base Azera is around the price of an Impala with less safety features on the Impala. The crash test score being less than the Sonata is the one thing they need to work on.
-Loren
Personally, I would take my Azera to NH, if I bought one. Far too nice a car to leave on the lot because you're scared you might hurt it. I don't think you are going to hurt the engine.
They do not have the color matched Sage Green/Chrome grille as is in my present US delivered Sage Green exterior color car.
In any event, thanks for the contact.
sweet!
Let's see...a pickup based on a mini-van chassis. This throws this whole list in the trash to me.
Where is the credibility?
Why does the column on the right side of the forum block the comments of the forum? Can this be corrected? :confuse:
Well, guess it can... looks like you beat me to it, it now looks corrected. Thanks OOOPs no it didn't, the page changed on me.. so back to the original question then..
van
If a picture or a long link is wider than the text area, the text area of the entire page gets pushed out to the right in order to accommodate the width of that one post. That right bar doesn't "float" so it ends up blocking the text of the first several messages on the page.
People should use the URL buttons to avoid the long link issue and they should post wide pictures on their CarSpace page.
To read blocked messages you can back up a few messages to shift the blocked ones down the page.
van
An option (but more difficult to implement) would be to auto-size pictures so they were resized to fit... Either would produce the desired effect and you wouldn't have to keep "policing" for people that do things that come naturally but make things display 'funny'.
Your other idea is intriguing. The web people around here are cracker-jack and I'm suspicious that there's some reason they can't do that as well ... but feel free to go to the Forums Software - Your Questions Answered discussion and post your suggestion.
I like Azera. But after reading some posting regarding safty issue, I feel to need to think one more time to change to Azera. I do not want to spend over 30K, though. Under 30K, I still have a mind that Azera is the best sedan for my family.
Do You think waiting for expecting to improve the safty on the car is worthy? If so, how long do I need to wait?
I did not know 'bout the effects on the human retina, but I guess it does make sense. Just not my favorite look
Do You think waiting for expecting to improve the safty on the car is worthy? If so, how long do I need to wait?
I'm very confident that Hyundai is addressing safety shortcomings. They take a lot of pride in having their cars the best in all areas.
As was mentioned earlier, the IIHS (safety testers) reported that Azeras manufactured May 1, 2006 or later have had some safety modifications made to the side area. Frankly, I believe this was done as a last ditch attempt to shore up the safety scores right before side impact testing.
Regardless, I'm sure they will make modifications to the front as well including fixing a speculated "seat tracking' problem. (Maybe it's already fixed and included with the May 1st cars).
The problem is that there is a 2-3 month lag between the time a car is manufactured and the time it is available for sale on the lot (at least here in the U.S.) So, it would probably be August or later before the "modified" Azeras are available.
If you're going to wait until August or September, you might be better off to wait until the 2007 models are out sometime in the fall. I'm sure they will include more tweaks and modifications.
Anyway, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably wait for the 2007 models. But safety is important to me. Others list safety as a lower priority, so it depends. If those safety upgrades and things like navigation or bluetooth are not that important to you, you still might want to wait a few months. When the 2007s come out because they will most likely be heavily discounting the 2006s.
In my mind, it doesn't make a lot of sense to buy a car in July or August when in September or October the new models come out and you can either get the new model or buy the old model at a heavy discount.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060701/AUTO03/607010303/1149-
I am not too concerned about the crash test ratings as I don't think there is much difference between a four or five star rating. I don't believe the crash tests are to be taken literally. Another car or barrier could impact the Azera at a slightly different angle, throwing off the IIHS crash testing scores.
Anyway, does anybody know if Hyundai is addressing the fuel consumption issue for the Azera in 2007? Perhaps with a Cylinder Deactivation or other technology?
Anyway, does anybody know if Hyundai is addressing the fuel consumption issue for the Azera in 2007? Perhaps with a Cylinder Deactivation or other technology?
----------
I'm sure Hyundai is savvy about the fuel economy issue. Many reviews on the Azera have mentioned it. It's really not "bad." I'm getting about 10% lower than my previous Passat but I'm jumping from 190 horsepower to 263.
But compared with vehicles in its class (and I think the main competitor is actually the Toyota Avalon), it is not performing nearly as well.
As I said before, however, my driving ratio is usually 70/30 city. I'm averaging over 19. I did a little more on the highway this last tank and I averaged 20.4. Not terrible.
But I haven't heard anything "official" about Hyundai specifically addressing the fuel consumption on the Azera. I know it's a brand new engine. I would expect some tweaks. I don't think you'll see a "replacement" engine though. No way.
I'd change the trip computer rather than the gauges for one reason only: the shopworn appearance of an orange cluster. It's already achieved cliche status on nearly every Nissan product of the last five years, and even on millions of [cringe] Pontiacs, for chrissakes. :P
PS: Ricwhite, peace offering accepted.
The first think I noticed when driving it, was "whoa! this thing takes off!".
You step on the gas, in a normal kind of way, and the Azera BOLTS! Very fun to drive.
However, I also think it's burning up gas like a Hummer climbing a mountain.
I have test driven the Avalon, and it does not take off like an Azera. It's a little more plain jane, takes it's time gettin goin, which is certainly more fuel efficient, but is also kinda boring.
On a side note, all this talk about safety ratings and such, I think is making a mountain out of a mole hill.
4 stars, or 5 stars... honestly, is there really that big of a difference?
Plus, I would be willing to bet that a car that received 3 stars today, is still safer than a car that received 5 stars 10 years ago.
Actually, there can be. The increased risk of serious injury or death as the "stars" decrease is not linear. I read someplace that the risk of serious injury or death from a car with a 4-star frontal rating is about double that of a car with a 5-star rating. Yet the same article mentioned there hasn't been statistical evidence over the years to show a correlation between star ratings and increased risk of injury. It can depend on the type of collision, also. For example, the Azera got a top score ("Good") in the IIHS' frontal offset ratings but got 4 out of 5 stars in the NHTSA's head-on frontal test.
That is exactly what I think. Granted if there is no option to swap out or chage the trip screen I will grin & bare it. I think there is just a lot going on with the colors in the car. The clock, radio, air conditioning are all green. The speedometer/gas gauges are red white & blue which I can handle & actually like. Its just the sceen that is not following the scheme. If it was known that this color choice would be used then it should have been one color for all lighted controls (radio, clock, air etc..);even if the trip screen was full on RED like the gauges it would flow nicely, but the color of the trip sceen isnt even the same hue. It is a faded red/orange tint the only thing that somewhat matches that screen is the "passenger airbag off" note located next to the clock.
It is what it is... still a great car! I am just being picky.
But Again if anyone knows if it can be changed please let me know
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/WebX/.f0d2fb4/6!make=Kia&model=Sportage&ed_make- index=.f0d2fb4
I was doing my typical obsessive research, and just found out that I CANNOT change the radio station, or cd track via the steering wheel. WOW! Huge disappointment. I have CDs with over 100 mp3s on them, I dont want to reach over to the dash to go thru them.
Heck, skip the stupid mode button, and give me a 'Next' button at least. The need to go to the next radio station or next cd track is a lot more pressing then switching between CD, tape and radio.
On another topic, I agree that the orange computer display on the dash is a mismatched color.
What is interesting however, is if you look at the pictures Hyundai has on their website of the Azera dash, the little computer screen shown there is a white/blue color.
Maybe they had a few thousand orange ones they needed to unload first...
No navigation available, no bluetooth, no xenon headlights, no ac seats, no keyless push button start, and now no ability to change CD tracks on steering wheel.
Crap crap crap, this is making me seriously consider skipping the very beautiful Azera for a Camry or a TSX, or a Zephyr.
I'm neither hawking the Azera, nor panning the Camry, but before you walk all starry-eyed into a Toyota dealership, do a read on Edmunds' Camry discussions of the 6-sp automatic transmission problems some owners are reporting with their new cars.
The Hybrid Camry is the other car I am on considering. I am hearing some commnets on Toyota forums that there are initial problems with this car. However, Fuel milage is not one of them.
I have a Hyundai and would like to get another one. I was quoted $1200 for a 10 year bumper to bumper warranty on the Azera. That is hard to pass up with the $26000 price for an Ultimate Azera. The Toyota saleman said they wouldn't even offer a 10 year warranty.
But with fuel prices most likely going up again in the next two years, I am having a hard time pushing the 'buy' button.
Hopefully you have shopped around with other dealers on the extended warranty on the Azera. You don't have to buy the warranty right away. You could get quotes on the phone and use those for leverage with your dealer, if you can find a quote under $1200.
They gave me a quote of $922 (there is no tax) on the Hyundai Protection Plan.
Florida considers the extended warranty an insurance policy, and all dealers charge the same price.
According to the '07 Camry sales brochure, the warranty for PZEV emissions components is 15 yrs/150,000 miles. That lengthy warranty protection does not extend to the entire powertrain, though, which is only covered by the nominal industry standard 5 yrs/60,000 miles limitation.
I got several quotes from dealers via the internet ranging from $25,945 - $27,500. My final decision came down to color, availability and convenience. I don't think the dealer that quoted me the lower quote price had the car and I would have had to wait 2-3 days. I didn't have the time to wait. I think if I would have waited, I might have gotten a car for around $25,850, but I think that is about the floor............
My deal (I'm in Southern California)
$26,200 + TTL
I was $28,700 out the door.
I did a very hard comparison between the Azera Ltd Ultimate with various trims on the Toyota Avalon. In the end, my gut still says that the Avalon is the better car (overall smoother ride (although the backseat of the Azera is comparably as smooth as the Avalon), no hesitation at all on acceleration, Toyota brand is stronger and will probably hold its value better). BUT, in spite of that, I couldn't bring myself to spend the extra $4-$5k to get the Azera Equivalent. Azera is packed with great features at a great price. I don't need Navigation System so that made the comparison even easier. Also, the Toyota warranty was substantially less than the Hyundai warranty...and, the Toyota dealerships simply don't deal with you as much. They only discount their demo cars. They also didn't offer me any aggressive financing...which makes me feel like Toyota is saying, "Take it or leave it. We don't need you."
I ended up asking myself, is a 12-15% smoother ride worth $4 - $5k? My answer was no. Besides, my wife is short and the adjustable pedals in the Azera sealed the deal for her. I fell in love with the Avalon's reclining rear seats...but I ended up ignoring this feature since I remembered that my backseat will have 2 car seats.
The Azera is a beautiful car. I'm very impressed. Can't wait to tint the windows. So far, there are only two big annoyances (and I knew about them before I bought the car):
1. No ability to change radio stations on steering wheel.
2. The trunk lock/unlock configuration is really annoying.
(There is a trunk release button the drivers side. But, it only works when the lock is "off" in the glove compartment. Well, when the lock is "off" the trunk remains unlocked and anyone can walk up to the trunk and open it without a key. So, you have to remember to "lock on" the trunk via the glove compartment everytime. Its actually really, really annoying for a family with strollers, gear and stuff.)
But, it wasn't annoying enough to change my mind.
Little wind noise at high speeds, but around town this car is very quiet in the cabin.
I'll post more on the car in a few days/weeks. I've only had it two days.
Also, I personally think that the 14-speaker system in the Zephyr is overkill but it does sound great.
The Azera feels a little more powerful than the Z. but 220 hp in the latter is plenty.
We just bought a 2006 Limited with Premium pkg. The trunk locks with the doors when pressing the remote lock button. It unlocks the same way. I was concerned about this also and a bit disturbed at the cumbersome way of locking the trunk. I suspect once the car is underway and the doors lock, the trunk is also locked. Haven't put it to the test yet.
We have 409 miles on it so far, trying to keep it under 65 MPH for awhile before picking up the speed.
Don