Hyundai Centennial review: a forgotten flagship that is now a used-car curiosity in Bahrain
MotorsSouq Editorial Team
Buy a Centennial today only with full awareness that it is a discontinued nameplate with no factory support network specifically for it — Hyundai's mainstream Bahrain workshops can service the mechanicals, but bespoke trim and electronics parts increasingly come from breakers rather than a dealer counter. The 5.0-litre V8 flagship trim is the one worth having if you're buying for the experience rather than a cheap V6 commuter; either way, this is a car for someone who wants the space and comfort and has already made peace with the resale reality.
Pros
- Genuinely luxury-grade cabin materials and build quality
- Smooth, powerful V8 flagship trim available
- Body-on-unibody structure feels solid a decade-plus on
- Low purchase price relative to original luxury-sedan cost
- Mechanically serviceable at mainstream Hyundai workshops
Cons
- Discontinued nameplate with no dedicated parts pipeline
- Resale value is essentially negligible in this market
- Air suspension and electronics can be costly to repair as they age
- No factory warranty support available for a car this old
- Genesis-badged alternatives now fill this role with active support
Hyundai built the second-generation Equus/Centennial to prove it could compete with a Lexus LS on genuine luxury-car terms rather than just badge-engineered comfort, and mechanically it largely succeeded: a stiff body-on-unibody structure, air suspension on higher trims, and a cabin that borrowed real leather and wood trim rather than convincing plastic imitations.
The range topped out with a 5.0-litre Tau V8 producing over 400 hp through an eight-speed automatic and rear-wheel drive, with a 3.8-litre V6 as the accessible entry point. Both were genuinely smooth, quiet engines built for effortless highway cruising rather than any pretence of sportiness — exactly the brief for a car in this class.
Where it stands today
Hyundai discontinued the Centennial after the 2016 model year as the newly launched Genesis brand absorbed the flagship-sedan role Hyundai had been trying to fill on its own. That decision left the Centennial as an orphaned nameplate: mechanically serviceable at any competent Hyundai workshop in Bahrain, but without the dedicated parts pipeline a still-produced model enjoys.
Buying one now
A used Centennial today is bought for space, comfort and a genuinely low purchase price relative to what it originally cost — not for resale confidence, which is essentially nonexistent for a decade-plus-old orphaned luxury nameplate in this market. Inspect the air suspension and electronics thoroughly before buying; these are the components most likely to show their age and the hardest to source parts for locally.
For a buyer who wants the specific experience of a full-size, comfortable, quiet Korean luxury sedan and understands exactly what they're getting into on the ownership side, the Centennial remains a genuinely interesting used-car proposition. For anyone who needs the car to hold value or be trivially serviceable, it is the wrong choice.