What a car! In fact, although VW struggled to sell them in any kind of numbers, it did prove that it could produce one of the world's finest luxury automobiles, if it wanted to. Today, that vehicle is the basic underpinnings of the Audi A8, and even one or two Bentleys.

When you step inside the vehicle, you realize that it's more than a simple step up from the other Hyundai products.

Now there's a perfect comparison company for Hyundai, as VW also started out building cars for the masses and then slowly moved more upscale until it finally created the VW Phaeton. What a car! In fact, although VW struggled to sell them in any kind of numbers, it did prove that it could produce one of the world's finest luxury automobiles, if it wanted to. Today, that vehicle is the basic underpinnings of the Audi A8, and even one or two Bentleys.

Back to the Azera, and I think that Hyundai made a very smart move launching its upscale attack with this vehicle because it almost perfectly blends affordability with more than a touch of luxury.

From the outside, nice chrome appointments hint of what can be expected inside. The styling is bang up to date (especially when it was launched in 06), and the fit and finish of the body panels are on par with anything that the Japanese competition can offer (and this comes from someone who once ran detail shops for a living!).

However, it is the interior which truly impressed me. As soon as you step inside the vehicle, you realize that it's more than a simple step up from the other Hyundai products. To call it loaded wouldn't do it justice. It literally carries more bells and whistles than some other vehicles twice its price, and although affordability has always been a keyword at Hyundai, the Azera takes this to a new level entirely.

Hyundai is also a company which learns quickly, and a good example of that is the fact that the Azera sports a nice soft-touch dashboard whilst some of its competition is still utilizing hard plastics.

Features abound in the Azera and some of my colleagues have made favorable comparisons to some BMW products. I'm afraid that I can't exactly go that far. However, what I will say is that the Azera would surprise most high end vehicle buyers, if they were to venture into a Hyundai dealership.

Forget the brand logo for a moment. The Azera does seem to offer more for your money than any other premium vehicle out there, and yes, I believe that it does belong under that classification.

The Azera would surprise most high end vehicle buyers, if they were to venture into a Hyundai dealership.