Hyundai needs quality and reliability on par with Lexus to charge like Lexus.
Again..you people who are focused solely on "is the dealer experience worth $15k" are missing the point. That's merely an additional perk. Nobody pays $15k for dealer experience. Nobody. Especially with the brand that is statistically the least likely to ever even visit a dealer beyond regular maintenance.
The questions should be: Is the superior reliability, quality and dealer experience of Lexus worth $15K more than a Hyundai? If you plan on owning the car longer than the warranty period it very well may be. We have in excess ~1.25 million KMs on the various Lexus we've owned. And only ONCE did any of the cars require a visit for a non-maintenance item. And that was the valve stem recall on my 2006 IS350. In addition, Lexus wear very, very well. Jeff and Bob are hardcore car guys. They know cars. When they saw my IS350, I asked them what they thought the mileage was. They guessed around 50K. It had almost 190K on it. Will the interior in a Genesis hold up as well at 190K? What about at 425K like the near immaculate interior in my GS400? Somehow I doubt it. IMO, few cars wear as well. How much is that worth to you?
I like the previous gen 5.0R A lot. I'd have no problem buying one over a GS350, mainly because of the V8. Lexus let me down when they dropped the V8. So any car with a V8 gets BIG bonus points from me. And 429 worth in the Genesis is mighty tempting. But long term or high KM ownership would certainly give me pause. In that regard, I just don't think they're up to par with Lexus.
Really has little to do with reliability.
Reliability hasn't allowed the LS460 to approach 7 Series pricing, much less S Class pricing.
Most of it has to do with the pricing in the cost of a separate lux brand and dealer network and perks like service loaners, as well as Hyundai having to start at a lower price-point being the
new kid on the block (much like what Toyota did with the pricing of the LS400).
Reliability has more of an impact on the % of buyers as opposed to those who lease.
By all accounts, in terms of powertrain, the Genesis is pretty stout - no major issues with the 3.8 V6, the Tau V8 or the Hyundai-sourced 8 spd AT.
The biggest problem area (in particular for the 1G model) was the head-unit for the Lexicon audio system which is the privy of the OEM supplier, Harmon (which, btw, also is the supplier for Lexus's Levinson system which is also owned by Harmon).
The Lexus ES starts at about the same price as the base Genesis 3.8.
The basic difference being that at such a price-point, Hyundai sunk the $$ into a RWD platform whereas Toyota sunk it into having a separate luxury brand and all the amenities/costs that go with that.
