2003 Hyundai XG 350 V6 – Driven To Write

Grand Horizons

A further lesson in design from Hyundai.

It has been stated with considerably greater authority^[1] than mine that the current automotive design centre of gravity no longer resides in Europe, the US, nor indeed (as yet at least), China. Car design’s True North now points inexorably towards South Korea. Several factors have contributed to this enviable state of affairs, not least an influx of senior European design talent to the Hyundai group over recent decades, but the end results are entirely their own and can now Continue reading “Grand Horizons”

Ascendant Class

Attempting to unpick a feudal line.

On one hand the formal limousine has always been a potent marker of social superiority, yet simultaneously a place within which to shield oneself from an often hostile plebeian gaze. After all nobody purchases, borrows or otherwise purloins a luxury saloon with the notion of hiding one’s ego from the madding crowd, one’s average plutocrat hardly being of the shrinking violet tendency.

This makes the design of the limousine something of a delicate balancing act. Serious enough to suggest material attainment, elegant enough to establish aesthetic discernment, yet sufficiently opulent to Continue reading “Ascendant Class”

Don’t Forget Your Camera

As luck would have it, I was out and about with no camera for most of the day.

Among the unicorns I spotted: a Hyundai XG350 and a Renault Safrane. It’s the Hyundai I regret missing the most. I haven’t seen one since 2006 and that one was a neighbourhood car. In all I have seen two, one of them several times. This time I could do not do more than Continue reading “Don’t Forget Your Camera”

Theme : Engines – The V6 Also-Rans.

Recently DTW surveyed the decline of the mid-size family car with a V6. Further reflection led me to uncover some of the also-rans that trailed in the category.

2001 Kia Magentis V6: classic used-car salesman photography.

This post-script adds four vehicles to the list of V6 contenders who have tried but not succeeded to gain sales from the dominant manufacturers. All four are marginal cars from marginal makers. Taken together they comprise a foursome fit for a comparison test in a future edition of Classic and Sportscar, say, 2024.

Continue reading “Theme : Engines – The V6 Also-Rans.”