Faults:

We don't drive it often, and if left in the garage not driven for 10 days or so, have had many battery failures. This is a 'high feature' car and thus causes more than normal drainage to the battery.

There have been no other service issues!

General Comments:

This is by far the finest car that we have owned. I tell friends that it is 95% of a Mercedes S class for about 60% of the price. This is the first year for the Equus in the US and it has a 4.6 liter engine rated at 389 HP. It has a 6 speed automatic. Later models went to a 5 liter with 8 speed.

All materials, fit and finish are superb. Ride is very well controlled. Acceleration is excellent. Rear and rear side windows have power shades. Sunroof. Reclining back seats.

The car is black with black premium leather. We added tinted windows. There are no options offered by Hyundai as the car has all options as delivered.

This was the owner/dealer's personal car with 1620 miles on it when purchased.

We have had three replacement batteries, all under warranty. I believe that the latest battery may be superior to the previous ones as we have not experienced any more 'dead battery' issues in the past year.

My wife's dilemma at this time is that there is nothing currently made that she would 'trade' for. We are disappointed that the 2017 model is now the Genesis G90

Faults:

Periodic maintenance items (brakes, belts, filters, fluids), a noisy rear wheel bearing, two switches. Lots of the interior trim melted.

General Comments:

PERFORMANCE: the car moves nicely from a standstill, but it leaves you wishing for more in the responsiveness department. Will have the hardest time downshifting by itself unless you floor it. Decent MPG for a 2-ton car.

HANDLING: it's a 2-ton boat, but still manages to pull relatively tight U-turns. Never felt its marine handling was an inconvenience unless you tried to do anything stupid with it. This is not a car for aggressive drivers, and it will make you into a more serene individual at the wheel.

RELIABILITY: the car feels strong and has aged beautifully since 2002. My vehicle has covered roughly 100,000 miles and a lot of it seems original.

COMFORT: ungodly comfortable. Wide and floaty like a B-Body Buick Roadmaster, but tight like a Lexus LS400. Lots of little convenience items (folding mirrors, automatic climate control, foldable rear seat, two TVs from the factory) worthy of a chaebol chairman or a foreign diplomat.

DEALER: no issues. For as rare as this car is in this country, they get the right parts within a week. Service is friendly and personalized — they actually remember you.

RUNNING COSTS: surprisingly low. If you can get over it getting 20-24MPG, the car's original spares are very inexpensive, as they are shared with other vehicles, like the Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero and some Kia models.

Final verdict: perhaps it does not have the qualitative edge over Lexus (cheap plastics, unfortunately), however, you can definitely tell that Hyundai/Mitsubishi tried very hard to build a solid machine worthy of executives and dignitaries. For the money, it can't be beat — got mine for $2,700 in 2016. The fold-down cushion in the passenger seat is always a great party trick. Try it! If you can find one...