I took out a Genesis yesterday!

[nester7929]

...I have to admit that when I read "I took out a Genesis yesterday," I just assumed you grabbed some C4 and went to a Hyundai dealership.

[kevin2323]

Originally Posted by CamaroSpike23

nice write up. I'll be adding 2 tomorrow.... one for the mustang and one for the chally... stay tuned

hmm wonder which challenger you will test....rt or srt

[Milk 1027]

Originally Posted by kevin2323

hmm wonder which challenger you will test....rt or srt

he already tested the RT, I guess he's just lazy at writing.

[Mac1]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

It was a nice day out yesterday...and I figured I'd head out and see what there is to see about this car - what the big deal is...

Right off the bat, let me tell you I was very pleased with the car, just not impressed.

The salesman I spoke to was very...'normal'. He was actively trying to sell me on the car, but not in an obnoxious way. He was very personable, and pretty funny. He was SO good, in fact, I'm going to call the dealership today and send my compliments to his general manager.

But on to the car...They had TWO on the lot. Both were premium turbo four's (automatic). They were still covered from nose to tail in plastic wrappings, and they were placed way out in 'left field': at least 200 yards from the dealership itself (in the back). He said they didn't want to let people see them, because they weren't allowed to let folks test-drive the cars. He also said that only the regional manager has any idea when they would get more cars -- his dealership just empty's the trucks that show up on their doorstep. I figured I'd take a look anyways, give the benefit of the doubt -- maybe the car isn't so fugly in person...

It is, imo. But it's not as bad-looking as pictures make it seem. The front end does have an awkward look about it, and the bodywork isn't very attractive, imo. It has character, lots of creases, and body lines. All in all, it looks much better than a Tiburon, but that's not saying much because the Tiburon is at the very bottom of my list...below the Aztek.

I told him I understood about the test-driving thing...but I wondered if I could sit in it anyways? He said yes, and jogged cross-country back to the dealership to get the key. While he was gone, I took a moment to step back, and stare at them from a distance...the first thing I noticed was how wide the car is, then how low it is. Not Corvette, or 370z-low...but it's about as low as the Camaro, so I could see it's roof well enough.....very plain. I was able to appreciate the reverse-mohawk much more after that.

The salesman came back, and he waved around a license plate in his hand -- "I pulled some strings" he said. That's why I'm calling his manager -- these cars were clearly not for driving...what with the plastic, and the fuse box was still open - he said it wasn't 'cleared' in the shop, yet; so things like the radio didn't work. But he opened the door, started it up, and went to pop the plate on the back. I headed to the rear, and listened to the exhaust...for a 4-cylinder, it was very nice: Throaty, but high-pitched; most definitely not 'ricey'-sounding.

I hopped inside, and the seats just hugged me perfectly. Lots of support. The interior as a whole is...bleh, imo. I don't think anybody can give it points over the Camaro, unless you really don't like the Camaro's layout. Materials is also comparable with ONE exception -- the top of the dash was that soft-touch stuff. But the dash is so far away that I could barely reach it, so I don't think it matters. They look the same. But that was another thing I didn't like -- the distance of the dash from me. I adjusted the wheel as much as possible, but the guages were so far back, and the space in the steering wheel was shaped such that I couldn't see the twin-pod guages properly: Not good. The radio and HVAC knobs were flimsy...they wobbled back and forth when I tried turning them...the plastic surrounding the center stack felt thin, and brittle...not necessarily 'cheap'. Same with the doors -- the entire thing was one, big hunk of poorly-textured plastic, with the exception of the armrest. The guage pods were surrounded by a polished silver bezel -- like the Camaros. and as I looked, there was very little chrome touches to be found inside.

It had a few cool do-dads and gadgets. The most notable is the push-button start. You flip up a little door panel in the center console, and put the key fob in a slot. Then you hit the button, and the car starts up. It also had bluetooth, an up-level stereo, USB, and mp3 connectivity.

We went around the block...twice. It turns out the sales guy had never driven the car, and he was enjoying the ride, so he told me to go around again. I figured I'd let him drive. He had asked me to drive 'conservatively', being that we weren't even supposed to be driving it, but then he stomped on it . This was only the turbo-4, as I mentioned -- it was very smooth, and it had a healthy bit of pickup (nothing to write home about), and the driving experience itself was engaging to a similar level as the G8GT, imo. Obviously, not as fast or torquey, but when turning, etc -- it felt about the same with a little less steering response. Which I thought was remarkable given the G8's weight disadvantage -- GM sure did hide those pounds well.

After we ended...I asked him to pop the hood...lots of space down there -- but I got hit with a blast of heat that took me off guard. I don't know what to think about that...

One final note -- it was rated at 20/30mpg....2.0L and a turbocharger...this dissapointed me. Either it needs more than 210hp, or more than 30mpg...

Overall...I'd give this particular car a 5/10. I expect the V6 model (which I'll be going back to drive...) will up that to 7/10. And that will give the Camaro some competition...but right now, I'd say the Camaro hands-down trumps this car.

Don't get me wrong, it was a solid car: fun-to-drive, and pretty engaging driving experience...but it wasn't 'fast', it wasn't impressive in terms of either the exterior, or the interior. Powertrain specs were dismissive, and interior quality especially rubbed me wrong. Both of these cars were priced at ~$26,000. I think, for the money, I'd rather get a Cobalt SS or something like that, most definitely a 1LT Camaro. I just can't see myself owning, much less feeling proud to own the Genesis coupe.

Nice write-up. I went to Auto Choice (?) on Southwestern a week or two ago looking for the 300 HP (?) version I saw on TV. This was also just as a comparative tactic. They didn't have any. When they come in I won't go back for two reasons: 1) IMO your write-up tells the story (even though the greater HP car may be a little better) and 2) I felt I was betraying my committment to the camaro lol. Thanks for the assessment. Well written.

[Mr. Wyndham]

Originally Posted by nUcLeArEnVoY

One thing I gotta say though... the Tiburon looks worse than an Aztek? Alright, no offense since I understand brand loyalty and all and the Aztek is still GM but really... the Aztek can't look good after a quart of Jagermeister. Tiburon looks better. xD

Allright...you caught me. It's a dead heat between the Aztek and Tiburon... I can't stand that car; they even had a few on the lot...

Thanks again for the compliments, guys.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

Allright...you caught me. It's a dead heat between the Aztek and Tiburon... I can't stand that car; they even had a few on the lot...

Lets discuss this, shall we? Ugliest cars/trucks ever

[Design1stCode2nd]

It’s a good first try for Hyundai. Give them another 10 years and they may have something really worthy of comparison. They have come a long way from the crap boxes of 15 years ago. Still have a ways to go for sure though.

[RoyalKev]

I see a 4 dour one every morning one my way to work and he changed to emblems to make it look like a bently.

[lil_chef]

Originally Posted by RoyalKev

I see a 4 dour one every morning one my way to work and he changed to emblems to make it look like a bently.

thats much better than the trailblazer around hear sporting jaguar emblems and the leaping jaguar on the hood.....

[MerF]

Originally Posted by Dragoneye

After we ended...I asked him to pop the hood...lots of space down there -- but I got hit with a blast of heat that took me off guard. I don't know what to think about that...

That's the ugly side-effect of piping around an engine's exhaust through a turbo under the hood. Most turbo-cars are much warmer in the engine compartment than the N/A or SC coutnerparts.