Ever since the Azera was first launched in 2006, I've been itching to get behind the wheel of one, but you know how things go, there's always something else to do.

The Hyundai Azera offers buyers lots of features, space, and luxury.

Of course, I've had opportunities to drive it at various events, but I thought that in order to give it a fair evaluation, I'd wait until I could book one for a whole week! After all, as I see it, the Azera was the model which first heralded in the idea of luxury products from Hyundai. That's something quite rare in the car business these days, a company moving its product line upscale!

Oh yes, it's easy enough for manufacturers like Mercedes and BMW to start offering cheaper models, but to head in the other direction takes some doing. Just ask any product branding specialist.

As most of you know, Hyundai started out in North America by offering budget priced vehicles, such as the famous Hyundai Pony. In my opinion, that's a vehicle which has been unfairly treated, the brunt of many cruel jokes it didn't deserve, and it's now something which Hyundai seems to want to push back in the history books as far as possible.

However, if you talk to people who actually owned one, they'll paint an entirely different picture. Ok, the Pony was rather crudely built and didn't offer much in the way of creature comforts, let alone luxury, but it was priced right and many owners piled hundreds of thousands of miles on them. They also sold in large numbers and outlasted many of its competitors' products

In a lot of ways, the Pony reminds me of that other great people's car, the original Volkswagen Bug, because that little car had it fair share of problems also, but owners simply adored them!

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.

The Azera has a nice soft-touch dashboard whilst some of its competition is still utilizing hard plastics.

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.

I won't list all the features on the Azera as it would take far too long, but I will simply point out a few which you seldom find on a sub-$40k vehicle (My tester was the top of the range Limited edition priced at $39,195). The Azera carries 8 standard airbags, including front and rear seat-mounted, with roof-mounted side curtains and active headrests. It also features an integrated memory system, which includes the steering column (electronic tilt & telescopic), the driver's seat, and outside mirrors. Speaking of those, the Azera also boasts a Power-folding mirror feature which is rather useful when parallel parking on narrow downtown side streets (Modern units are expensive to replace when they are sideswiped).

Power comes from a healthy, sweet running 3.8L 24 valve DOHC V6 which produces 263hp.

Continuing on the mirror theme, the interior unit is an electrochromic auto-dimming unit with integrated compass, which also features a built-in Homelink garage door opener system.

The leather seating is of good quality and both the driver and passenger front seats are power adjustable. Another feature worth mentioning is the wood-grain treatment which has been stylishly applied to the interior. In fact, when sitting in the driver's seat, the feel of the half-wood-half-leather steering wheel, and the wood and leather gear selector makes the Azera feel considerably more expensive than it actually is. On this note, I'd like to point out to buyers, and some manufacturers, that although many items are important on a vehicle, the owners spends most of their time holding on to these two particular items, and if those are sub-standard, as many are, then the whole feeling of the vehicle is disrupted.

Power for the Azera comes from a healthy, sweet running 3.8L 24 valve DOHC V6 which produces 263hp and 257 ft/lbs of torque. This is then passed through a 5 speed automatic transmission with Shiftronic, and ends up fed to the front wheels.

Ride quality is very good on the Azera, although, as an old hand technician, if I were brutally honest, I'd have to say that the front suspension components could perhaps do with slightly improved rubber bushings, because although road feel is a good thing, the Azera can make that seem a little harsh at times.

Size is always a factor when purchasing a luxury vehicle. Too small, and you lose that premium feeling. Too large, and you feel like you're driving a land yacht. The Azera does extremely well on this score, as the exterior is of moderate size, yet the interior is nothing short of bountiful. In fact, the Azera offers more interior volume than that of the Mercedes E Class, or the BMW 7 Series!

All in all, the Hyundai Azera offers buyers more features, more size, and more luxury than any other premium vehicle under $50k on the market today (Yes, I did mean under $50k, not $40k which is its actual price). I think that was the company's objective from the start, and I'd say that they literally surpassed themselves on this score.

I believe that some buyers still have a little difficulty with the idea of a premium H badge vehicle. To those I'd say "Go and check one out", because you're going to be surprised, especially if you take a little peek at the brand new Genesis model. Oh yes, Hyundai is definitely on the way upward and if I were a premium car manufacturer today, I'd be watching this rather closely!