The Grille on the New Hyundai Azera Should be the Brand's Face

Though the Hyundai Azera midsize near-luxury sedan left our shores back in 2017, there was always a whiff of a rumor it would return. It was also known as the Grandeur in its home country of South Korea (as weird as the Azera name is ("the era from A to Z"), we're glad we didn't get 'Grandeur'). It looks like the Azera may actually come back in the form of the newly refreshed Grandeur. Just take a look at that stunning grille. 

The Grandeur's grille is unlike anything we've seen on the market. 

The Grandeur in its current generation has been around for three years, and it's the flagship over there. Now, it gets a grille truly worthy of a flagship, and we think it should be the new face of Hyundai. Other versions of their "cascade" grille have seen a few interpretations, and it seems the brand can't quite decide what it should look like. Now, they have the best one yet on the Grandeur. 

As gorgeous as the taillight is, check out those LED arrows on the front end. 

There are new headlights with two diamond-shaped elements within the single housing. The inner element melds perfectly with the grille that has numerous diamonds across its surface, as well as five LED elements that skirt the headlight. The effect is very original and incredibly attractive, especially in low light conditions. 

We love the Palisade for its luxury and space, but that grille is not nice.

Take a look at grilles on the current selection of Hyundai vehicles. The Palisade's is big, bold, and a bit too much. The one on the current Sonata and the Elantra are okay but lack the presence the brand needs. The version on the upcoming 2020 Sonata is better but in some colors, it looks like a fish's mouth due to its outer edges angling downward. 

The Grandeur's, however, eliminates those edges by incorporating them into the headlights, and it doesn't look as big as it actually is. The diamonds give the grille beautiful visual texture, and the whole thing looks far better than anything Hyundai has to offer here in America. 

As much as we love the new look of the next Sonata, the grille needs help.

We don't have any confirmation the Azera will come back to us, but if it does, the Grandeur would likely be the basis for the new sedan. We think it's one of the freshest front-end designs to come down the pike in a while, and we'd like to see that styling cue make it to the rest of the brand.