Cultures from across Asia have used the status of lions as guardians for old religious temples and regal palaces. However, we were rather shocked to hear that Hyundai's new flagship is named after the famous character from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. We have to admit that we were a more little curious about the Aslan, which is why we searched for a review to show the model in detail.
Launched last month, the ASLAN is technically a slightly larger mid-size (we think it's based on an Azera) and has been priced from 39.9 million won, equivalent to around $37,000. That's a lot of money to pay for a Hyundai, but you do get a lot of car.
As you can see from the video, the ASLAN has a full leather interior with a cool quilted design, wood trim, a heads-up display, lane departure warning, heated and ventilated seats plus surround view for parking.
This super-posh Sonata is available with a choice of two V6 petrol engines. There's a 3-liter base model that makes 270 horsepower and 310 Nm (229 lb-ft) of torque, which sounds fine. However, top-spec cars like the one in this video come with a 3.3-liter powerplant generating 294 hp and 346 Nm (255 lb-ft) of torque. That's 12 hp more than a Genesis. Both come as standard with a 6-speed automatic and both get paddle shifters behind the steering wheel for when you feel like shifting some cogs. Unfortunately, ASLAN is FWD-only.
As the Korean reviewer points out, the V6 engine idles at around 600rpm, making the cabin quiet. Using an app, he measures it at just over 60 decibels, which is about the same as a room with the window open.
According to a Hyundai Motor official, the company aims to “set the monthly sales target for the ASLAN at 2,000 units with an annual target of more than 22,000 units.” If that sounds like a low volume, know that Peugeot only sold 22,742 of its 508 models in the first half of 2014.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News