This review is about a luxury car from Hyundai.

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You heard me right.

While the Hyundai lineup is not often compared to luxury offerings from the likes of Lexus and Acura and Cadillac, the Hyundai Equus is their one entry in this upper-echelon level. I recently spent some time in a 2014 Hyundai Equus Ultimate -- a luxury ride with a major tech focus -- and I’m back with a full report on what it offers compared to the rest of the luxury market.

LOOKS
Externally, I’d give the Equus about a B rating -- sure it’s attractive and sleek, as a luxury ride should be, but it doesn’t blow you away from a distance.

Where it makes up for that, and then some, is the interior. This is a truly plus-sized ride in all the right ways. You get a ton of leg room in the back, and there is even a “relax” mode you can engage (which pushes the passenger seat forward and reclines the rear-passenger seat and lets you literally stretch out your feet like you were sitting in first class on an airplane).

Materials are high-class throughout the vehicle (premium leather seating, wood trim, leather-wrapped dash), and you’ll rarely think you are in a Hyundai while sitting in this ride; as it feels like an entire different level despite having the same name. (think of the Equus as Hyundai’s one-car luxury level, as the Lexus line is to Toyota and Acura to Honda, Lincoln to Ford, etc.)

ENGINE, HORSEPOWER
Ridiculously fast is the best way to describe what’s it’s like to drive the Equus when you really want to get going. A 5.0-liter V8 engine offering 429 horsepower will do that for you. The vehicle also features an 8-speed automatic transmission.

If you need to get up to speed in a hurry this vehicle will do it faster than most other cars on the road. It takes a little while to get used to just how quickly the accelerator responds.

Beyond just speed, the overall ride is superb in the Equus. It’s quiet, smooth and genuinely enjoyable whether you are in your subdivision or on the open road. There will be complaints from anyone who sits in the Equus about ride quality.

There are also various drive modes -- including one for snow; good news for drivers in wintery areas of the country.

MPG
Here’s where all that power and having a large car works against you -- you’re only going to get 15 mpg in the city/23 highway and 18 average. Those numbers were basically a mirror reflection of my time in the car. It’s a fact of life for folks who want larger rides with powerful engines -- you’re going to escape the gas station like folks who drive smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.

TECHNOLOGY
When rattling off the list of technology features attached to a vehicle, I usually have something missing. With the Equus, everything you might want from a tech perspective is there (and then some), and it all works very well.

There’s too much to list it all, but standard tech features include:
-- Smart Cruise Control (slows down if cars get in your lane; very helpful)
-- HID headlights with LED turn signal indicators (you’ll know exactly what’s ahead of you and folks will see you coming from far away)
-- Proximity Key Entry and push-button start (no need to remove your key from your pocket. Just get in and go).
-- Front and rear parking assistance system with rearview camera (an absolute must these days, and the system works very well in this car)
-- Power-folding heated auto-dimming mirrors with turn indicators (not really necessary, but still helpful)
-- Heated/cooled front seats (and heated rear seats)
-- Memory for mirrors, wheel and driver seat (so you don’t have to keep adjusting)
-- Navigation with 9.2-inch LCD screen
-- 17-speaker Lexicon stereo system (with major sound quality)
-- AM/FM/Satellite/CD/DVD/Bluetooth audio
-- Hyundai Blue Link telematics system (which can handle POI searches by voice, read text messages, Geofencing to keep track of your kids’ speeds, etc. in the car and more)
-- Power sunroof and rear sunshade
-- Control panel in rear so passengers can control everything from the back

A few optional items get added with the Ultimate package:
-- Heads-up display (a great feature to keep your eyes on the road)
-- Multi-view camera display (one of best I’ve seen outside of Infiniti)
-- Rear-seat entertainment with two 9.2-inch monitors on back of headrests.
-- Cooled rear seats
-- Power rear side-window sunshades

SAFETY
Similarly to the tech features, you get all the latest safety offerings on the Equus. Standard features include:
-- Vehicle Stability Management system with Pre-Collision Warning
-- 9 airbags
-- Blind Spot detection system and Rear Cross-traffic alert
-- Lane Departure Warning System
-- Electronic Front Active Head Restraints with Power controls (yes, the headrests are electronically controlled -- you read that right)
-- Electronic Stability Control with Traction Control and Brake Assist

Combine all these and you’ll be pretty darn safe driving the Equus, assuming you listen to what it tells you about what is going on on the road around you.The lane departure warning system could be a bit sensitive at times, but I suppose that’s the point -- to keep you between the lines. And it can be shut off if it’s getting too out of control.

PRICE
The base price on the 2014 Hyundai Equus Limited is $61,000; on par with some of the European luxury rides in this class that it’s trying to compete with. That’s no small amount, but it’s actually less than much of its competition -- believe it or not. My test vehicle added on the Ultimate package -- tacking on another $7,000 to bring the total to $68,000 (plus the $920 destination charge).

BOTTOM LINE
Hyundai is definitely not the first automaker people will think of when they talk about luxury cars, but there is no denying they have a winner in the Equus. Sales numbers are not off the charts, but the luxury buyers who take one home are going to enjoy a stellar interior design, great tech and one of the best ride qualities you’ll find from any automaker.