Topic: First Genesis review...and it's lukewarm at best

[Dante]

I'm not sure the Genesis will "own" any of the BMWs or Audis in driving dynamics and engineering. For sure it doesn't "own" them in style; perhaps in luxury appointments and for sure on price.
BTW, what does the Genesis have in terms of luxury appointments that BMW 5ers and Audi A6 do not offer at any price point? One thing I know is the leather dash, but what else?

I could see Genesis attracting Avalon, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln buyers - you get the demographics and maybe few Acura, Infinity, Lexus buyers too, but not so much BMW, Audi and MB.

'mazda 6 gtv, v6 accord, v6 camry, TL, 328, g37 sedan, is350, c300, a4'

well the first 4 are down.. and i did say pretty much.. the bimmer will probably win on the twisties.. but i think the genesis is capable to stick with the rest of the RWD pack..

And we're not talking about 5s/A6s

But isn't Genesis a full size car? Why would you compare it to the 3ers, A4, C, G?
I think it aims at the 5/A6/E class as a vehicle not in price.

[Dante]

Genesis Coupe details released:

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/30/hyundai-releases-tech-specs-on-2010-genesis-coupe/

The interior doesn't seem to be luxurious at all and the feature set is nothing to talk about either (all listed features are available on mainstream cars).

One remarkable thing is the relative low weight.

Now it becomes even more puzzling, at least for me, as the Genesis sedan is luxurious but the coupe isn't. I really don't get Hyundai's branding; it's just all over the map.

[Dante]

I'm not sure the Genesis will "own" any of the BMWs or Audis in driving dynamics and engineering. For sure it doesn't "own" them in style; perhaps in luxury appointments and for sure on price.
BTW, what does the Genesis have in terms of luxury appointments that BMW 5ers and Audi A6 do not offer at any price point? One thing I know is the leather dash, but what else?

I could see Genesis attracting Avalon, Buick, Cadillac, Lincoln buyers - you get the demographics and maybe few Acura, Infinity, Lexus buyers too, but not so much BMW, Audi and MB.

'mazda 6 gtv, v6 accord, v6 camry, TL, 328, g37 sedan, is350, c300, a4'

well the first 4 are down.. and i did say pretty much.. the bimmer will probably win on the twisties.. but i think the genesis is capable to stick with the rest of the RWD pack..

And we're not talking about 5s/A6s

But isn't Genesis a full size car? Why would you compare it to the 3ers, A4, C, G?
I think it aims at the 5/A6/E class as a vehicle not in price.

people in the market for an a6 or a 5 series or an e class will not be walking into a hyundai dealer.  they want status.  if hyundai thinks they are competing with those cars they are delusional. maybe the genesis is going to be put up against the g37, passat cc, TL, CTS more so than the 3 series, a4 and c class.

Exactly my point. Hyundai is trumpeting that the Genesis offers 5ers luxury at 3-ers prices. So what? I don't think they'll catch too many BMW/Audi/MB/Lexus buyers with that. Whoever buys a 3ers/A4/C probably wants the brand (prestige) or merely want a smaller car from one of these brands.
Most likely Genesis will attract, with few exceptions (perhaps people bored of luxury brands that would like to try something else), some mainstream buyers that want luxury cars but can't afford luxury brands.
If Hyundai was seriously thinking about entering the luxury market, they should’ve created a new luxury brand.

[DriverJeff]

The interior doesn't seem to be luxurious at all and the feature set is nothing to talk about either (all listed features are available on mainstream cars).

One remarkable thing is the relative low weight.

While I agree that I'm a little puzzled by calling both the luxo-barge a Genesis and their sports coupe by the same name, I don't know what else you'd want from this thing in terms of amenities.  That's a pretty comprehensive list, I thought -- all the bells n' whistles... and then some!

3400 lbs isn't exactly a lightweight... Nearly 1000 lbs heavier than my car... of course at 310 hp, it's nearly double the power.  yeehaw!

[Dante]

The interior doesn't seem to be luxurious at all and the feature set is nothing to talk about either (all listed features are available on mainstream cars).

One remarkable thing is the relative low weight.

While I agree that I'm a little puzzled by calling both the luxo-barge a Genesis and their sports coupe by the same name, I don't know what else you'd want from this thing in terms of amenities.  That's a pretty comprehensive list, I thought -- all the bells n' whistles... and then some!

3400 lbs isn't exactly a lightweight... Nearly 1000 lbs heavier than my car... of course at 310 hp, it's nearly double the power.  yeehaw!

Don't know, but from the interior pictures I don't see any details to suggest that it would aim at the luxury coupes. To my eyes, the interior looks Elantra Touring grade (nice, but not luxury).
The weight is relative to the other coupes listed by Hyundai press release and it seems reasonable for the size of the car.

[dougjp]

so who's going to be buying this car??  maybe people looking for big NA style sedans will consider the genesis.  caddy and lincoln buyers??  buick??   i see hundreds of accords, camrys, and mazda 6's, but i haven't even seen a azera.  huyndai needs to create a stronger identity first.

That's a really good question (and put in different words by others too) to apply to the Coupe version. My thinking is its quite a limited group. Potential G37 buyers who wants to spend less. Accord and Altima (Coupe only) buyers looking for RWD for the same money (or will it be the same money?). Some import tuner types drawn by the turbo and perhaps the different styling. And that's about it.

[Mitlov]

so who's going to be buying this car??  maybe people looking for big NA style sedans will consider the genesis.  caddy and lincoln buyers??  buick??   i see hundreds of accords, camrys, and mazda 6's, but i haven't even seen a azera.  huyndai needs to create a stronger identity first. 

If we're talking about the Genesis coupe and not the Genesis sedan, it's going after the import non-luxury performance car buyers.  Those who currently buy everything from WRXs to Ralliarts to 350Zs to RX-8s.  Sure, there are individual differences between each of those in terms of number of doors, number of seats, etc, but I think it's the same sort of person who is buying them.

[Snowman]

so who's going to be buying this car??  maybe people looking for big NA style sedans will consider the genesis.  caddy and lincoln buyers??  buick??   i see hundreds of accords, camrys, and mazda 6's, but i haven't even seen a azera.  huyndai needs to create a stronger identity first. 

If we're talking about the Genesis coupe and not the Genesis sedan, it's going after the import non-luxury performance car buyers.  Those who currently buy everything from WRXs to Ralliarts to 350Zs to RX-8s.  Sure, there are individual differences between each of those in terms of number of doors, number of seats, etc, but I think it's the same sort of person who is buying them.

I agree, it would be on my radar.

[DriverJeff]

so who's going to be buying this car??  maybe people looking for big NA style sedans will consider the genesis.  caddy and lincoln buyers??  buick??   i see hundreds of accords, camrys, and mazda 6's, but i haven't even seen a azera.  huyndai needs to create a stronger identity first. 

If we're talking about the Genesis coupe and not the Genesis sedan, it's going after the import non-luxury performance car buyers.  Those who currently buy everything from WRXs to Ralliarts to 350Zs to RX-8s.  Sure, there are individual differences between each of those in terms of number of doors, number of seats, etc, but I think it's the same sort of person who is buying them.

I agree, it would be on my radar.

I'll second that.  Those who appreciate performance, reliability, a bit of practicality and good value could reasonably cross-shop all those cars Mitlov referenced.