By Chris Doane
Wednesday, Jun 17th, 2009 @ 3:47 pm

A sterling blue metallic Hyundai Genesis sitting quietly at the curb is a very non-threatening scene. You would never think of the Genesis as a car that makes noises usually reserved for pony cars. You would never think of it as a car whose 0-60 time starts with the number 5. You would never think of it as a car capable of a burn out.
Throw out what you think you know because the Genesis is all of those things.

Surprise, surpise
I’d been behind the wheel of the Genesis for a grand total of two minutes before the pleasant surprises started raining down. The first time I dropped the hammer to see what the 4.6-liter, 368-horsepower V8 was all about, I was greeted the kind of exhaust note that you’d expect from a Mustang GT but not so much from a Korean luxury sedan (itself an oxymoron for North America until the Genesis arrived). I’m pretty sure I even said “what?!†in disbelief as the exhaust note rumbled through the car. Never mind that I was alone in the car.

Once you shake off the shock of the exhaust note, you’ll notice you’re getting off the line quite fast. Surprisingly fast, in fact. Most tests show 0-60 times in the 5.5 to 5.8 second range, which seems believable from our seat-of-the-pants evaluation. Unfortunately the forecast of “possible showers†turned out more like “monsoon†during much of our time with the Genesis. In the wet, we still managed runs to 60 mph in 6.3 seconds. In everyday driving situations, the Genesis’ Tao V8 motor will never leave you wanting for power.

Having been left thoroughly impressed with the thrust on tap, my mind started wandering a little towards the juvenile side during the latter half of the week I had with the Genesis. I turned to a friend in the passenger seat and wondered aloud “you think there is anyway this can do a burnout?â€

Several weeks beforehand, a Nissan 370Z Touring had proved it was not up to the task thanks to its electronic nannies. The Nissan is a thoroughbred, the Genesis, an elegant cruiser.

“Surely it can’t…†ran through my mind right up until I looked in the side mirror to see a huge cloud of smoke and small bits of rubber flying off the tire at an alarming velocity. Is that practical or useful in any way? Not really, but, it’s fun to know you have enough “oomph†to light off the tires as you leave the Sunday service at St. Anne’s.

Identity crisis
The ride and drive of the Genesis feels a little bipolar. More to the point, it seems to be attempting to be both sporty while retaining a smooth, luxury ride. Since those two things don’t exactly meld like Peanut Butter and Jelly, the Genesis does neither that well.

On the luxury side, it simply feels like the ride could be smoother. At times, a ton smoother. Even modest road imperfections will transmit to the passengers — an aspect that won’t go far in winning the hearts and wallets of BMW buyers.

On the sport side, the suspension has been softened so much to attempt a smoother ride that the handling suffers. Show the Genesis a few corners at brisk speed and things start to get a little sloppy. The car feels unsettled and body roll is fairly prevalent.

The transmission also lives a dual life in the Genesis. During regular, everyday driving, the six-speed automatic transmission gear changes are exceptionally smooth. However, when the pace quickens, the lag between shifts becomes very obvious. This holds true for regular or “sport†modes.

Design-wise
One part of the vehicle Hyundai got right from the get-go is the interior — well, mostly.

Before the Genesis was born, the nicest Hyundai you could buy was the Azera. The Azera interior rates somewhere between “bland†and “acceptable.†The Genesis interior is yet another surprise in our long list of “wows†with this sedan. It’s a level of luxury, comfort, roominess and excellent design that we haven’t seen from Hyundai. Ever. The high quality leather on the seats, dash and doors, along with the stitching on the dash and the wood and aluminum accents could easily make your passengers believe they were in a more expensive Lexus . However will Lexus strive to set itself further apart from Hyundai in the future?

How I will get through summers ever again without a cooled seat is beyond me. While a cooled driver’s seat is optional in the Genesis, the list of standard luxuries includes a power tilt/slide sunroof, a power rear sunshade, illuminated kick plates, a wood-trimmed steering wheel, keyless entry and engine start, a 14-speaker Lexicon sound system and rain sensing wipers. Those rain-sensing wipers would be great if they actually worked, but during storms, they never seemed to be at an appropriate speed. On the other hand, the Lexicon sound system is fantastic.

The interior has one or two major misses, namely the cluster of buttons just under the navigation screen. These buttons are on an angle and painted silver. When the light hits them a certain way, they become largely unreadable. It is impossible to see the blue backlight and, therefore, impossible to tell if that button is activated. How an issue like this got through years of research and development is beyond me.

The other let down is Hyundai’s version of BMW’s iDrive. The system in the Genesis lacks the intuitiveness of a system like Audi ’s MMI. The Hyundai system just doesn’t flow very well and the control knob spins a little too loosely, making it easy to go past your intended selections.

As for the exterior design, we’ll let the photos do most of the talking. One could easily call the Genesis design safe and elegant with a hint of sportiness. Others might call it bland, derivative luxury.

Either way, all we know is that Hyundai needs to design a new grille when the Genesis comes up for a design refresh. Rolling down the street with something that looks like Star Trek’s Lt. Warf scares the hell out of us.

Why you would buy it:
For 42 grand, you’re getting a mid-level luxury sedan with a hefty V8 and lots of amenities. Sounds like a steal to us.

Why you wouldn’t:
The Genesis’ mission seems a little muddled: Are we in a luxury or sport sedan? It’s hard to say with the way the Korean sedan handles and rides.

2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 base price, $ $37,250. As tested, $42,000.
Technology package, $4,000; Destination, $750.

Words and photos by Chris Doane.

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