They weren't letting people drive them unless they are seriously interested in buying one in order to keep the mileage down. Apparently they have had a slew of people coming in asking to drive them, so it makes sense. It was easier for me to get a test drive of the only SRT-4 that existed in Lancaster, PA when I lived there
I know that this is long, but I had a lot to write about, and felt like writing it for you all to ignore
Exterior:
The car is attractive. It is, like reviewers have said, pretty understated. Nothing too flashy or outlandish. Pretty unassuming, really. One thing I was worried about prior to seeing one in person was the grill. In pictures it looked very large and "bling-ey", but happy to say, in person it was not large at all, and looked very tasteful.
The model I looked at was equipped with the auto-turning HID headlamps. They all come standard with LED tails. It had a sunroof, and the optional 18 inch wheels.
While this is a full sized sedan, the proportions do well to keep it from seeming boaty. At a glance, one could be forgiven for assuming it was the same size as an Accord (assuming the Accord was not sitting right next to it of course.)
Interior:
My personal experience with Beemers, Lexi, and Mercs is pretty limited. I've never been inside a lexus, I've only looked at a low end Merc (230 compressor, or whatever...) that my aunt owned, and never sat in it. I've not been inside a Beemer newer than an e36 3 series.
I have, however experienced the kind of luxury that 5+ million will get you from Cessna, Raytheon, Hawker, and BeechCraft.
That being said, the Genesis is definitely sub-par for interior luxury compared to a business jet, but compared to the only beemer interior I have ever experienced, it was superior.
First impression sliding into the seat was that this leather was amazing. Supple, smooth, soft. This is what leather should feel like. I didn't care for the shape of the seat, preferring something more like my Tiburon's seats, or the Preludes seats, with larger bolsters and a more "sporty" feel. This is a subjective thing, and the type of person I see buying or looking at the Genesis will enjoy these seats. The car I looked at had the heated seats, and apparently they have an air conditioned seat option as well.
The woven headliner was a very nice touch, adding an incredible amount of class to the car surprisingly.
The interior was cavernous and roomy compared to impressions from the outside. I could imagine 5 large adults fitting comfortable in this car very easily.
The dash was trimmed in leather and wood. I know that I have heard that Hyundai is using real wood, but I don't know if it is an option or standard, and whether this car had real or imitation wood, so if it was imitation, they did a fine job on it.
The guage cluster was beautiful. Black with white lettering. I enjoyed it very much, and I hope that the same guage cluster, or similar, makes it into the Coupe.
All of the buttons had a solid, positive feel to them, none of the typical cheapie plastic feel you get in most cars today. The trim all matted very well together with do large gaps, or tight squishes.
The steering wheel felt very nice, finished in a very soft, slightly padded leather. Apparently there is an option to have this air conditioned also.
Climate control had all of the standard amenities, dual zones, digital read out, etc. Everything is controlled via the LCD panel in the dash. I did not get to play with their "iDrive" rip off, as they did not have any on the lot with this feature.
I had my iPod with me, and all of the models they have currently have the 14 speaker lexicon sound system. Since the car comes standard with iPod integration ($24 cable as an option, but it is just a USB sync cable essentially, so I suspect that your standard iPod cable would work just fine) we decided to try it out.
First impression of the iPod integration? Could be better, but not horrible. It could have been that the guy just didn't know how to use it as well. My iPod has 12 thousand songs on it and several hundred Artists, and scrolling through the artist list was a bit painful to get all the way down to Pink Floyd.
We popped on One of These Days from the Meddle album and the sales guy cranked the system, literally, to MAX. We were pleasantly rewarded with what I can only describe as the single best sounding stock audio system I have ever heard in my life!
This system sounded better than a lot of modified systems I have listened to. There are separate tweeters and mid woofers in each door (including the rear doors), a pair of Mids in the dash and rear deck, a center channel inthe dash and a 10 inch sub woofer in the rear deck.
We were surrounded by Roger Waters amazing guitar work (once that part of the song came around) and when the bass lines really took off I was amazed to see a stock sound system cause the rear view mirror to vibrate, and not just a little bit either.
I noticed not a bit of distortion from the system, even with it turned all the way up, which was surprising to me. Overall I was VERY impressed by the audio this car has.
Two things that I had issue with about the audio.
- The sub woofer, while amazing, was not the greatest, and the overall sound felt like it was lacking a bit down low. An aftermarket Sub woofer would be a definite upgrade in my mind, however I don't think I would touch anything else at all.
- About 5 minutes into listening we started hearing a very nasty buzz coming fromthe speakers. It sounded like electrical noise, so I doubt that it was any deficiency with the audio system itself. We were parked under an overhang with those metal halide lamps that pour out the EMI. I would have to reserve judgment on this point until I had a chance to drive it around.
Overall:
Prior to anyone outside of Hyundai having even SEEN one of these, Hyundai was claiming that their target for this car from a fit and finish standpoint was the Beemers, Lexi, and Mercs, while their target for sales were cars such as the G8, 300c, etc...
Price wise, they have matched the target for their sales group. The car I looked at was 36 thousand dollars. This was a V6 model nicely equipped. Models can reportedly go as high as 42 or so for a fully loaded V8.
Many reports have placed the Genesis on par with it's upscale inspiration in the Beemers, Lexi, and Mercs, and even surpassing them in some areas. While I cannot speak to that, I can definitely say that overall this car is amazing, and even more so coming from Hyundai, a company that not long ago was held in the same regards as Yugo.
Until I have a chance to drive it, I cannot say anything about performance, but if Hyundai has managed to uphold every single promise on this car so far, I am confident that the driving experience will not let me down. Hopefully, as they begin selling more and the initial interest wanes, I will have the chance to drive one, rather than having to wait for the Coupe to hit early next year.
The fact that Hyundai has made this car live up to every expectation gives me great hope that the Coupe will as well, it only heightens my anticipation.
It has been noted that the Genesis Sedan is on par with the Mercedes S550, but for the price of the S550 you can pick up two Genesis, and have enough left over for a couple of Vespas. In my opinion, that should be re-worded to "For the cost of an S550 you can have a Genesis Sedan and Coupe and have enough left over for some upgrades. Talk about having your cake, AND eating it too."
