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2006 Hyundai Azera Auto Show Video

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Hyundai's brand-new flagship will offer an incredible value for the money, priced below most of the competition.
The Azera features more interior space, with more interior room than the Toyota Avalon and Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
This is the largest sedan Hyundai has ever built.
The Azera's 3.8-liter V6 features more horsepower than either the Buick LaCrosse or Ford Five Hundred.
To go along with the Azera's cavernous interior is a huge, nicely finished trunk.

2006 Hyundai Azera

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What Is It?
2006 Hyundai Azera

What's Special About It?
Hyundai believes so much in the singular charm of its new flagship sedan that it scheduled an entirely separate event to introduce it, outside of the NYIAS confines of the Javitts Center. The Azera (formerly known as the TG) appeared to the assembled press at a special cocktail reception at Splashlight Studios in Manhattan, and the hype was more than justified.

Replacing the outgoing XG350, the Azera should set a new standard for Hyundai's design and performance capabilities. The company has clearly not been sitting idle in these tumultuous times, as the Azera is the third of seven new or reconfigured designs that Hyundai will be airing over the next two years.

This is the largest sedan Hyundai has ever built with a wheelbase more than an inch longer than the XG350s, and more interior space than Toyota Avalon, Nissan Maxima, and, believe it or not, the Mercedes S-Class.

The brand-new 3.8-liter V6, rated around 265 horsepower, not only tops the performance of its predecessor, it bests the powertrains of the Ford Five Hundred and Buick LaCrosse in terms of horsepower. It's also slated to receive the EPA's Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle certification.

The Azera's swanky interior features leather seats, dual-zone climate controls, driver seat with memory, power rear sunshade and rain-sensing windshield wipers. In keeping with the company's new safety-oriented philosophy, the Azera will also feature eight standard airbags throughout the vehicle, along with ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution and Electronic Stability Control.

Ed Bradley, Hyundai's vice president of national sales for the U.S., reassured us that the Azera would start well below $30K.

What's Edmunds' Take?
With products like this seemingly exploding out of the company design studios every couple of months, it's no wonder that Hyundai has registered a consecutive six years of sustained sales growth. The Azera proves that Hyundai can offer a car that you would actually feel proud to drive in addition to its customary value and increasingly high quality. — Phil Lienert