Hyundai includes an iPad with its new luxury, paperless Equus

NEW YORK // Hyundai's bid to break into the luxury car market has seen the Korean firm offer a free iPad - loaded with a digital version of the owner's manual - to buyers. Well-known for their budget cars, the Accent and Elantra, Hyundai is trying to break into the high-end market with the Equus, which the manufacturer compares with the Lexus LS 460 and Mercedes-Benz S550 sedans.

The Equus will, it is believed, be sold in the region of US$55,000 (Dh202,000), slightly less than the Lexus and considerably less than the Mercedes. The iPad pitch could make the Hyundai the first paperless car as they try to tap into the buzz surrounding the tablet computer. Hyundai's move with the Equus can be seen to echo the moves in the 1980s of the Japanese manufacturers Honda and Toyota with their forays into the luxury car markets with the Acura and Lexus brands.