Hyundai Azera (GN7) review: a Genesis-flavoured sedan most Bahrain buyers will overlook
3.9/5MotorsSouq Editorial Team
The Azera is a genuinely good car being sold in a market that hasn't caught up to it — the 3.5-litre V6 and cabin quality would carry real weight under a Genesis badge, and do carry real weight under Hyundai's for buyers willing to look past brand perception. It is not the safe choice for resale, and buyers who need to sell quickly should factor that in before falling for the cabin.
Pros
- Shares platform and interior architecture with the Genesis G80
- Naturally aspirated V6 is smooth, quick and genuinely satisfying
- Cabin quality is a clear step above the Sonata's
- Uses the same accessible Hyundai parts and service network
- Lower running costs than a comparable German executive sedan
Cons
- Resale value is weak against German and Lexus alternatives
- Brand cachet doesn't match the car's actual quality
- Not officially marketed in Bahrain with the same push as Sonata/Elantra
- Front-wheel drive only, no all-wheel option on GCC cars
- Rare enough on Bahrain roads that used buyers can be hard to find
The GN7 generation is the most confident Azera Hyundai has ever built, sharing its underlying platform and much of its interior architecture with the Genesis G80, and it shows in a cabin that feels genuinely upmarket rather than dressed-up Sonata. This is the car Hyundai wanted the Azera to be for two decades and finally is.
A naturally aspirated 3.5-litre V6 making 300 hp through an eight-speed automatic is a genuinely satisfying powertrain — smoother and quicker than the Sonata's four-cylinder, and a rare thing in a market moving toward turbocharged fours everywhere else.
A hard sell in this market
The problem isn't the car, it's the segment: Bahrain buyers shopping this price bracket default to a used German executive sedan or a Lexus ES on badge trust alone, and the Azera nameplate carries little of the cachet its GN7-generation quality would justify. It is a connoisseur's purchase, not a mainstream one.
Ownership reality
Parts and service follow the same Hyundai network as every other model in this list, which is a genuine advantage over a used German alternative once the warranty runs out — European luxury-sedan running costs in Bahrain's heat are notoriously high, and the Azera avoids that trap entirely while delivering comparable comfort.
Buy the Azera if you want a genuinely well-built, well-equipped sedan and don't need it to signal anything to anyone else. Buy something German if the badge matters to your decision — the Azera will lose that argument every time regardless of what sits underneath it.