2001 Hyundai XG300 - Hyundai Motor Company Ltd.'s XG300 - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, Dec, 2000 by Lindsay Brooke

Korea's largest automaker finally has the right foundation in place for a serious march up market in North America. Sport-ute? Done. Mid-sized sedan with luxury pretentions? Enter the XG300.

Larger than the Sonata on a 108.3 inch wheelbase and downright comfy inside, even for my 75 inch frame, the XG (named after its platform code) is packed with standard features right out of the Honda playbook. The seats are swathed in genuine bovine skin. There's keyless entry, cruise control, projector-beam headlamps and Bosch ABS to slow it down securely. The homegrown 3.0L dohc V-6 makes 192 hp and works in seamless symphony with an automatic that can be clicked through all five ratios manually.

The XG's exterior looks more upscale than a Sonata and actually stands out when parked next to an Accord. To their credit, the car's designers went for the unadorned, conservative look; however, the front end has a hint of Korean-car weirdness lurking in its toothy grille.

I had a blast driving the XG over California back roads, accompanied by Hyundai's U.S. product planning boss Dave Ossenmacher. The car feels good -- it's smooth and quiet, agile without being too soft and has plenty of scoot The XG's target is the Nissan Maxima; while it's no Maxima, the result might surprise Japanese-sedan loyalists.

Ossenmacher hopes to sell 15,000 XG300s in '01-- an easy target, considering the $23,500 price. Is the world ready for a luxury Hyundai? Maybe.