Here’s a Hyundai XG300, seen in 2016 at a makeshift parking lot near a restaurant mall in eastern Beijing. The Ebony Black sedan looked fantastic for its age, with lots of shiny chrome, slightly darkened windows, and fitted with the original factory alloy wheels.
The Hyundai XG300 sedan
Hyundai launched the XG sedan in 1998. Production ended in 2005. Hyundai priced the XG in South Korea, with assembly in Taiwan and Turkey. There was no local production in China. The car in the photos is the mid-spec XG300. Hyundai also offered the base XG250 and the top-spec XG350.
Hyundai fitted the XG300 with these beautiful light-gray 12-spoke alloy wheels. The tire size is 205/60 R16.
The interior
The interior looked great as well. The leather is a little worn, but otherwise the cabin is nearly as new. The company marketed the XG as a luxury executive sedan, so it’s quite luxurious inside, with leather seats, leather on the doors and armrest, and lots of pretty wood trim. A lucky charm hangs from the mirror; this was a common accessory from the 1990s until the 2010s. These days, it’s becoming increasingly rare.
It has an Infinity sound system. Infinity is an American manufacturer of loudspeakers, owned by South Korea’s Samsung since 2016. Infinity sound systems were an option on top-spec Hyundai and Kia cars in the 2010s. The system on the XG300 includes a CD player, a cassette player, a digital equalizer, and a small display. The buttons look super classy!
Specifications of the Hyundai XG300
The front-wheel drive Hyundai XG is based on Hyundai’s XG platform – easy to remember! The dimensions are 4865/1825/1420, with a 2750-millimeter wheelbase. The engine of the XG300 model was a 2.5-liter ‘G6BV’ V6 with an output of 184 hp and 258 Nm.
Hyundai mated the motor to a 4-speed automatic gearbox. The brand claimed a 220 km/h top speed and a 0-100 acceleration time of 10 seconds.
Price in China
Hyundai sold the XG300 in China as an imported model from 2000 to 2004. It was positioned above the locally-made Hyundai Sonata.
Hyundai offered the XG250 and XG300, but never the XG350. In 2004, the XG300 carried a price tag of 255,000 yuan. The car wears a shiny Hyundai-themed license plate frame, another popular accessory of the era. The Beijing government later banned such frames, but quickly repealed the rule because it proved impossible to enforce.
The XG sedan proved notably popular in Beijing, helped in part by the city’s large ethnic Korean population. Even today, many examples remain on the road. The main Korean hub in Beijing was the Wangjing area, north of the city center. I regularly went there, particularly to spot rare Korean cars.