Comments on: First Drive: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe [Review]

By: Arvin@PowerAXEL.kr

Arvin@PowerAXEL.kr — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 01:32:10 +0000

We’re ECU tuners for the Genesis Coup 2.0 T, and currently under development on the BK 3.8L Lamda V6 engine.

We’re located in SoCal, please let me know if anyone’s interested!

By: jackjimturkey

jackjimturkey — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:05:27 +0000

LLN: never use the non=word “Hotlanta” again.

good call on “the spiritual successor to the Nissan 240 SX.” had a GF that drove one. Pretty sweet.

This is indeed no Tiburon; i can do without that, AND the Scoupe.

The G37 and 3 are unequaled, except maybe by each other.

lack of in-dash navigation is not a demerit for me.
haw about “turboed” or better yet, “turbocharged,” LLN.

tob: “Not that I’m in the market for a car but I was disappointed when they said no V8.” The bay was designed, according to MT, specifically not to fit the Genesis V8 in there. This car should have another name. I like Symphony.

DB9: I thought the Celica was the worst car ever …. until i owned a Civic.

“It changed my opinion of Hyundai.” that’s happening a lot these days.

dracolnyte: BMW and Audi are not in the same league with Toyota’s faux-luxury division.

By: Payton Byrd

Payton Byrd — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:16:17 +0000

I’ve been over to my audio installer a couple of times to check progress, and the more of the car I get to see the more obvious it is that Hyundai went out of their way to keep things simple and very easy to customize. For example, the underside of the rear deck of most cars looks like a Byzantine maze, but in the Genesis it’s flat with the back wall at a right angle. This means it’s beyond simple to add more speakers, mount amps (a computer in my case), even NOS tanks. The trim pieces of the center console have a very simple but effective mounting scheme that makes it very easy to modify and replace pieces while maintaining the stock mounting points so that it’s easy to standardize how each custom piece attaches to the car. I’m thoroughly, thoroughly impressed and my installer says it’s one of the easiest cars to work on he’s ever seen.

By: Mark Elias

Mark Elias — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:17:59 +0000

^zfender,

Be sure to stop by the Orange Peel afterwards for some adult beverages!

By: zfenderguy

zfenderguy — Fri, 29 May 2009 04:05:49 +0000

I’ll be taking my wife’s Tiburon SE 6 speed out to Deal’s Gap this weekend. Kind of wish I had that Genesis instead. Looks like a nice car.

By: idrinorbarsaku

idrinorbarsaku — Fri, 29 May 2009 00:41:43 +0000

I like this car a LOT!! And the weird thing is that it’s a HYUNDAI!!! I’m shocked! Definitely better than the similar offerings of camaro/mustang/challanger. However, the g35/37 is better, but also a lot more.
I give Hyundai HUGE props!!

By: shane train

shane train — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:47:09 +0000

“demonic anime character”

Unable to read beyond this point.

aggie531: no.

By: aggie531

aggie531 — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:19:49 +0000

next step: make a drop top V8. that’ll be a seller

By: Hyperion

Hyperion — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:13:17 +0000

I’m waiting for the R-Spec to show up.

By: leftwingagenda

leftwingagenda — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:35:52 +0000

yeah, i can see sprucing the look up with some after market mods or paint schemes like you’re talking about, it’ll be interesting to see the pics…i may be rationalizing, but if they left it like a plain canvas that’ll let folks do what they want with it, rather than making it so uber-styled that any change you make spoils the look…but who knows, really, it’s just that to me from the front the thing has a bland look, at least fresh from the factory…

i’m sure a mop would fit, i was being a bit flippant there…i’d be nabbing a 4 door hatch for easier moving of boxes and larger gear that wouldn’t fit in a trunk so well…in a perfect world i’d have a used truck for that, and a fun car for around town, but my personal economic stimulus hasn’t kicked in to the level where i can sport two vehicles ;P

By: Payton Byrd

Payton Byrd — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:20:53 +0000

The rev hanging makes it impossible to shift smoothly when combined with the very high and abrupt clutch takeup that the car has. Since the rev hanging is controlled by computer, it’s a lot easier to fix than the clutch’s pressure plate (which is what sucks about the clutch).

By: dracolnyte

dracolnyte — Thu, 28 May 2009 22:14:30 +0000

^Payton Byrd

why is rev hanging bad in terms of performance?

By: Payton Byrd

Payton Byrd — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:49:26 +0000

I don’t like the auto on the V6, it’s about as connected to the engine as Obama is to reality. Like I said, after driving several I decided the 2.0T Auto was the best combination. Rumor has it that Hyundai has a TSB out that allows the ECU to be reflashed with less aggressive rev hanging. If you live in an area with stringent emissions controls then you may not want to go this route long term, but if you live in a freedom loving part of the country, go for it! I’ll be getting the flash done as soon as my dealer validates the rumors.

By: abu4y8

abu4y8 — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:20:38 +0000

bang for the buck the best sports coupe on the market! oh yea, thats why i sell em!

By: ahnuconun

ahnuconun — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:35:56 +0000

So far I have driven all the engine-tanny combos in the Coupe. I’m not a big fan of the 2.0T, it’s not as sweet as a VAG 2.0T, plus it has hanging revs – extremely annoying in the manual transmission version since you have to time the gas-off before clutching for the next gear. Also, one of the big three car mags (can’t remember which one) said the 3.8 with the auto was choice because the manual sucks – I have to disagree: the paddles on the auto are soft pliable plastic (ick) and the transmission is slow to respond.

By: Mark Elias

Mark Elias — Thu, 28 May 2009 20:27:11 +0000

^Johnnycanuck,

Here’s my take on Tiburon vs Genesis coupe:

I think they went the right way design wise. Yes this was probably what the next Tib would have been. But having said that I am glad they did not go further in the extreme. Go too far and you get a design that everyone remembers for the wrong reason (original santa fe); or if it’s too radically out there, it looks dated by the end of the month.

So in going where they did with this design, Hyundai has what I think is an instant classic that has legs to grow on.

Again, thanks for reading!

mark

By: Payton Byrd

Payton Byrd — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:28:11 +0000

@leftie

A mop will fit just fine in there. The rear seats fold down easily and the trunk is surprisingly big, both deep and wide. I’ve driven many Hyundai products and the interior is NOTHING like what Hyundai does in lesser autos.

As for the grill and other black trim: They are all unpainted and can be easily primed and finished by anybody. I’m having the black inserts painted pearlescant white to go along with the blue paint on the car. It’ll be bad ass. I’ve also received suggestions of having them painted the same color as the rims, which would also look good. I may get the rims painted the same shade of blue as the car with the spokes painted white to match the inserts.

I’m having a car PC installed into it today (should have it back tomorrow). I’m going to post some pictures soon.

By: Ring-Taxi

Ring-Taxi — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:20:43 +0000

The 4 banger is basically the same Evo motor, with a few different components here and there. There’s no problem with parts swapping and compatibility. The tuning base is already there.

By: JakeK66

JakeK66 — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:01:58 +0000

Touche A4 and Leftwing, you both got it right. The Coupe’s interior still looks Hyundaish to me, maybe well-built, but VW/Audi won’t be fearing them anytime soon as far as interiors are concerned.

I’d just like to see this and/or the sedan be advertised with some Genesis tunes, I’m a fan.

By: leftwingagenda

leftwingagenda — Thu, 28 May 2009 18:08:27 +0000

slightly off topic, but my co-worker drove her 2010 Camaro to work today and we all had a good look at it…she has the V6, but with the RS package…the interior, with the extra gauge cluster, looked pretty nice, albeit a bit spartan…i was impressed…that car definitely has a fat rear end, though, making it look pretty chunky (although some would probably say “substantial” instead)…i’ll beg her to let me drive it in a few weeks after she’s had a chance to break it in…i got a brief ride in it and it felt pretty tight…kudos to gm for putting out something with some style, even in a crap economy…

i think the reviewer of the genesis coupe really nailed something that bothers me about the styling of this car, the front end isn’t nearly distinctive enough…it looks like a very generic swoopy asian design, and the matte grill with no border is too understated…the rear end and profile views are fine, though, and the interior looks pretty good…

personally, i’m more likely to blow 25k on a 2010 Mazdaspeed 3 rather than one of these, but that’s just because i want to go fast and still be able to buy a mop at target and not having it dangling out the windows…

By: dracolnyte

dracolnyte — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:41:31 +0000

I went to my local dealer to test drive one of these bad boys in the 3.8 model with the brembo brakes. We drove past the corporate office and the salesman said Hyundai is undergoing tests for a new 4.0L V8 under the hood of the genesis coupe, cranking out over 400HP. That should put it in the league of BMW M, Lexus F and Audi (R)S, well at least horsepower wise.

By: A4

A4 — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:23:54 +0000

A 2.0T RWD coupe thats cheaper than a GTI? …sh!t
oh wait its hideous and will probably look more dated than a box of raisins in 5 years? …phew.

This is the first car Hyundai has built I can honestly approve of

By: PerformanceGuy

PerformanceGuy — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:16:41 +0000

Seems like a nice car. Should do well against the Eclipse, Soltice, etc and do well with the high school to college age market.

By: Payton Byrd

Payton Byrd — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:25:43 +0000

I just bought the 2.0T Premium Auto a couple of weeks ago. This review is pretty much on target. I sampled both the auto and manual versions of the 3.8 Grand Touring and though the power was great, the manual has a horrible clutch setup combined with rev-hanging that is intentionally added for emissions control and thus is impossible to drive smoothly without roasting the clutch in the process. The 3.8 with automatic felt more sluggish and less connected to the engine than the 2.0T auto did, so I went with the 2.0T as it just felt more fun than the 3.8 auto. The 2.0T is also a hot item for the tuners and there are already intercooler and exhaust kits available that push the car up to 2.0T to 340HP at the wheels. I’m looking forward to adding some of these goodies and getting power up around 300HP, then I won’t miss the V6 at all.

By: DB9

DB9 — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:47:14 +0000

The dealer where I buy my VW’s/Audis, old family friend, also has a Hyundai franchise. Last week while the CC was in for maintenance they gave me a 2.0 turbo base Automatic to drive for the day. For the price I give it a 4 out of 5, performance 3 out of 5 for the engine, suspension 3.5 (ride 4) and fuel economy a 4. Given that it’s rear wheel drive and will be very tuneable this car represents a modern incarnation of the 240 and Celica. It changed my opinion of Hyundai and for what it’s worth that says a lot.

The interior was excellent – for the price – I liked the seats, since the car I had was a base model, only option being the 5spd auto, they were cloth.

DB9

PS. If I was interested in a coupe at this price point this would make the shortlist as everything else is FWD:-((

By: anyclearer

anyclearer — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:43:13 +0000

Fletch this car inside and out was made for tuners.

By: johnnycanuck

johnnycanuck — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:37:54 +0000

Mark, love the Nuke Laloosh reference even if I’m more of a Major League guy.

I have to take exception with your perception of the styling as being that much of a departure from the Tiburon and I think that’s my problem with this car. It looks exactly like what one might have expected a next generation Tiburon to be. From the upswept crease on the sides, the same rear window curvature (minus the ‘dip’) to a very similar front end theme- I just don’t think they went near far enough to separate the two. Hopefully enough people realize that underneath they are two very different creatures.

Just for comparisons sake and I know people will think I’m biased but I had a chance to look at several ‘10 Mustangs on a lot yesterday. If you don’t think Ford did enough to distinguish the new one from the last generation go see for yourself. The last one which is by no means weak in the visuals department looks like a slab compared to the latest. And the new one definitely does look smaller even though it really isn’t.

By: Borat

Borat — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:26:59 +0000

Based on Road and truck article this will not make Nissan/Infinity eating dust anytime soon with any engine.

By: Fletch

Fletch — Thu, 28 May 2009 15:14:17 +0000

The question is how tunable the 2.0L turbo motor will be. This car looks somewhat decent, but it’s a porker at 3300lbs. If somebody comes up with the right turbo swap it could be pretty fun to drive and making 350Z owners eat your dust.

By: tob

tob — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:37:31 +0000

Drove past one on the lost and it looked pretty good. Not that I’m in the market for a car but I was disappointed when they said no V8.The V6 puts out some good number though.