The leather-clad seats, front and rear, are comfortable, balancing on that fine line between firmly welcoming and aggressively hard. They are flat and firm like a Mercedes seat, but lack support in the seat bottom; snack and re-fueling stops will be welcome breaks on long drives. The lack of side bolsters makes getting in and out is easy.
From the driver's seat, almost everything about the XG350 is friendly and familiar. The hefty steering wheel trimmed in wood and leather invites spirited inputs and features redesigned cruise controls with more pronounced and readily discerned delineations. A smooth, quiet dashboard houses gauges in a well-shaded recess. Faux-wood trim suggests luxury and the light color highlights the roomy feeling of the interior.
Instruments are straightforward, clearly marked and easy to read, using white markings on a black background. The speedometer is placed in the middle of the display, the tachometer is on the left side and the fuel level and engine coolant temperature gauges are in a large display on the right. A big emergency flasher button is mounted just to the right of the steering wheel, easy to reach quickly for those times when the traffic ahead comes to a sudden halt.
Audio and climate controls are paragons of ergonomic excellence. They are mounted high on the center dash, with the stereo properly positioned above the climate control panel. Buttons for both are large, clearly marked and easy to operate. The air conditioning automatically switches to recirculation mode when outside air quality deteriorates. LED readouts are large and easy to read. The stereo features an in-dash CD player, but the sound lacks dynamic range. A trip computer above the audio/climate controls includes a clock that's easy to read.
The XG350 offers good rear-seat headroom, but is a little lacking in legroom. It beats all but the Camry in rear-seat headroom, but in rear-seat legroom it comes in behind all except the Maxima. Rear-seat head restraints lock into their selected positions and ratchet forward, making them more effective at preventing injuries. When in position, they block rearward vision somewhat, but they can be removed (with a struggle) when not being used. XG350 does not have a head restraint for the center of the rear seat. However, it does have ISO-specification anchors (covered when not in use) for child safety seats across the rear bench.
The design of the garment hooks show attention to detail and makes picking up the dry cleaning a breeze. Instead of being suspended from the roof-mounted assist grips, they fold out from the headliner, making them much more user-friendly, and less likely to dump the week's dry cleaning onto the floor. Few manufacturers make garment hooks that work as well as this Hyundai's.
Trunk space is more limiting, and here the XG lags behind midsize sedans. An inside pull-down will keep your hands clean when the outside of the trunk lid is covered with slush or rainwater, a nice detail. Gas-pressurized struts are used instead of goose-neck hinges to eliminate the problem of hinges crushing cargo as the trunk is closed. Beneath the floor resides a full-size spare mounted on a matching alloy wheel. As with most new cars, the XG's trunk features an inside safety release, should someone be trapped in the trunk.
