A Hyundai Equus sedan, seen at a car-inspection facility in Beijing in 2017. The Hyundai was a bit dusty but otherwise in a good shape, painted in black with a lot of chrome and darkened windows.
The first generation Hyundai Equus was made from 1999 until 2009, with an extensive updated in 2003. The car we have here is the updated version, which was called the ‘New Equus’ by Hyundai in period.
The Equus was developed in tandem with the Mitsubishi Proudia, part of a larger cooperation project between Hyundai and Mitsubishi. The Equus was only sold in South Korea, the Middle East, and in China. A very few were sold in Europe, where the Equus was badged as Centennial.
The 2003 update saw a new grille design, new headlights, new bumpers, a partially redesigned dashboard, and it got a TV in the back.
But most important were the new engines. The original Equus used a mix of Mitsubishi and Hyundai engines, but the updated version got Hyundai motors only: a 3.8 V6 with 263 hp and 348 Nm and a 3.3 V6 with 244 hp and 309 Nm. All horses went to the front wheels via a 5-speed automatic transmission.
I drove one of these for a couple of days when I was on Holiday in South Korea, a very comfortable and large machine. Great sound too. I’ll post some photos later on in a planned Korea-special.
The interior was in need of a proper cleanup! But it still looked cool with lots and lots of buttons and switches. It even had an infotainment system with a small screen controlled with even more buttons on a small panel in front of it. The steering wheel is huge. The seats are in gray leather and look pretty worn. The wood was rather good, but the plastics are showing their age.
The rear compartment with a comfortable bench, lots of leg room, and somewhat odd handlebars attached to the front seats.
The television was located between the front seat, it had a 7-inch display and an in-build speaker.
The car has no license plates and there were some numbers written on the window and C-pillar. This usually indicates the was being sold. License plates remain with the owner in China, not with the car. So when you buy a car you need to get plates on it. And to get plates you need the car to pass inspection first.
The Equus hood ornament, made of metal.