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I hate this car!

I hate it so much, because it made me like it when I didn't want to. As most know, I generally have a negative disposition to Hyundai/Kia Motors. They copy designs, and build generally boring appliance cars. I recently had several experiences over a week with both the 2.0T and 3.8 trim levels of Hyundai's Genesis Coupe. The 3.8 had the "Track" package and standard 6-speed manual, and the 2.0T was in "Premium" form with a 5-speed automatic.

The interior felt roomy and comfortable enough, and the seats had good adjustability. However, the Track packaged car was much harsher along the I-80 sections that were being worked on (and especially in the parts that needed to be worked on). Of course, all of the Track packages sins were forgiven when driving spiritedly on decent roads. The clutch pedal on the manual felt a bit stiff, but the shifter itself moved smoothly. Both cars had ample torque for your basic day to day low RPM driving (a major plus when comparing against Honda and Toyota offerings).

The styling got mixed reviews, the "sag" in the rear quarter windows being almost universally hated. The side profile of the cars was liked, but everyone knew that Hyundai was ripping off of Infiniti's G37 Coupe styling. The offset side creases gave it its own unique look, adding to the faster flavor over the elegance of the G37. The headlights have an aggressive look, but the lower grill was oddly shaped. I found it to be reminiscent of a crooked and ugly smirk. One of the older observers said it "looks like one of those double ended battle sticks they used on American Gladiators... they should have split it into different parts."

From the rear, the copied G37 lights also drew some negative remarks, especially from yours truly. "This car would have looked cool, if it came out first," commented our female staff member in charge of the Lifestyle section.

Rear seat room was especially good for a coupe, and could be used by average sized female, or smallish male, passengers with no problems. Powered by Infinity, the 10-speaker stereo systems were good enough for most normal folk, and had a decent amount of "thump" from the single woofer in the rear. The blue lighting for the buttons and instrument panel was a pleasant carry-over from the Tiburon, a big plus for the younger crowd. The lack of a navigation option was complained about by several female staff members. Those of us who consider ourselves "real drivers" rolled our eyes.

OK, enough of all this touchy-feely crap. You want to know how it performs, right?

When taken to the local dragstrip, the 2.0T could only manage mid-15s in the low 90s, and the 3.8 hitting mid-14s in the high 90s. That may be slower than a lot of magazine articles printed, but those tests were done in much cooler temperatures (their articles were printed in the spring issues, but written and done 2-3 months ahead of time). It was not because of "driver error," as our testers were quite well adept at launching... on the well-prepped track... with the ample sized tires provided by Hyundai. Some would consider the cars fast, if they weren't already used to the massive power and torque of cars powered by eight or more cylinders.

The cars were very fun to drive on local windy roads. Steering feel is pretty much spot on, not power over-boosted or requiring the strength of a body builder.The seats gave enough lateral support to not let one slide around inside while taking hard corners. And speaking of sliding around, this car will be a big hit with the drift crowd. In the non-Track model, the car suffered from understeer due to its front weight bias. But with the Track package's stiffer rear swaybars, it was very easy to overcome with either a touch of the brakes, doing a quick downshift and mashing the throttle (assuming you have the stability control turned off). After that, all you had to do was keep on it and countersteer to get (and stay) sideways.

To see just how good the Genesis Coupe was against its competition, we found a local Nissan dealer willing to dragrace its demo Base 370Z against the faster 3.8 Track-packaged model.* It wasn't even close, the Z murdered the Genesis... and was only $430 more.

Overall, the Genesis is a decent car. The 3.8 Track-packaged model wasn't as fast as the base 370Z, but it had a lot more options and features equipped and was the most expensive iteration of the Genesis coupe! Everyone needs to be afraid if this is only Hyundai's "beginning" entry in the field.

Still... it's not worth the $30K ($29,500) they're asking for it.



(*We also raced Jenny against both the Genesis and 370Z... she raped them... hard.)

I hope to Hell the thing bombs as bad as the Tiburon. I hate Hyundai so muc because they rip off other companies designs. Look at the ******** Kia Forte! Honda should sue! It won't bomb though, Red Bull is sponsoring it... and whatever they touch is gold. I pray I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the brainless slide around and look (as opposed to actually "be") fast Dorito kids will eat it up.