This is long. It's me again. My last post was supposed to be a comparison of the Genesis, versus my interest.

Well here is some background. I am in the Army stationed in Korea. I had to go to Seoul today (Yongsan) and as I was leaving the unit I was visiting, I had to go off post, turned a corner, and there in a display window of a Hyundai dealer was a brand new black Genesis. I went in, talked to the sales person (Korean sales person with broken english) and he let me sit in it, start it, play around in it (feel materials, try out functions) and gave me literature on it.

Impressions:

First off, it's a very nice car. Mind you this is the Korean model. It had the wood adourned dash. I'll get the negative out of the way early. I am 6ft and it seemed very cramped to me for such a large car. Even after adjusting the seat I had to conciously refrain from allowing my knees to touch the dash when messing around with the pedals. This could be because there really isn't any Koreans as big as me. I was here also in '95 and have never met a Korean of my stature so it could be seat placement or seat build for this market. It could be different for the North American model. As far as interior materials are concerned, IMHO fit and finish was among the best I've seen and the materials were mostly top notch. The only exception to this is the climate control buttons near the clock. They are plastic painted silver and the best way I can describe them is they are very similar to the silver painted bands in my 2005 F150 on it's dash surrounding the center stack and the dashboard "wings" near the door hinges. My F150's "band's" paint started rubbing off due to the contact they had with the doors as they were opened and closed. They developed black spots. Well this post is about the Genesis, not my F150 so I'll digress. The climate control buttons being painted silver is unfortunate in my opinion, because the climate control is a "high traffic area" in any car and with heavy use I would worry that paint would rub off exposing the plastics true color beneath. Aside from that and the headliner, which is such a very small thing, I felt as if I was sitting in a very substantial automobile. I mean really, who ever looks up? Anyway, as I left the showroom the salesman gave me some literature, to include a Korean pricing guide. The top of the line BH 380 Royal Genesis which is comparable to the fully loaded V8 Genesis for the US is $56,547 or 58,300,000 Korean WON. I hope that price doesn't translate to US dollars as we get the Genesis. I also got the Korean Brochure for the Genesis and it is not much more than a comparison between it and Lexus and BMW.

Bonus:

The Genesis is big, I mean big. As I was riding the bus back to Pyongtaek I saw a Genesis at a stoplight next to the Lexus GS. The Genesis is bigger but not by much and looks more substantial. Anyway that is my 2 cents. Have a good weekend everyone.

*EDIT* Sorry I was using a computer lab to type that and they were closing so I got kicked out before I fully finished. I am using a different computer now so I want to add some things.

In pictures the Genesis is comparable to a lot of automobiles. I my self compared it to the Lexus GS offering similar shots of the two cars in similar colors on my last post. However, I am glad I got to see them side by side at a stop light. I wish I had a camera. The Lexus, for a lack of a better way to describe it, looked hollow next to the Genesis. The Genesis had seals and "filler" where on the Lexus there was none except for exposed bodywork. For example, the Genesis has a guard type plate under it's bumper making the dual exhaust tips look more like an integral part of the car where as the Lexus doesn't. They just kind of hang under indentions the bumper. Does my description make sense? And the Lexus, even here in this market, is a far pricier car. From 50 feet away, out of a bus window, the Genesis looks like a better built, more substantial, car. For me that is saying alot. Did I already mention the Genesis is bigger? Because it is. Now also on my travels I saw the Nissan Maxima clone, the infinity. It looks more brittle in its bodywork but it looks much more detailed and upscale compared to the Genesis. Like I said above. This is just my two cents and just my opinion.

- Chris

This post has been edited by csmith4105: May 30 2008, 06:17 AM

Interesting impressions Chris, thanks for writing. We'll all have to get in (long) lines to take a test drive of Genesis once it gets here - and they probably won't be sitting around on the lot for test drives for more than a day for the first month+ they're on American soil.

Cheers :beer:

No Doubt everyone on this forum is looking forward to its arrival.

Good Info Thanks!