Just curious, how do luxury car drivers feel about their new Genesis? Is it also a true luxury car?

I would especially like to hear from MB, big BMW, big Lexus, and other luxury car owners. Do you think the car is a legitimate luxury car in every sense, or a partial or total knockoff?

Have you taken other luxury car owners for a ride, and what were their impressions?


Happy New Year to all,,,

This post has been edited by bobad: Dec 29 2008, 12:10 PM

[size="4"][/size]There is no really "true" answer to your question.

One way of looking at it is thru the objective data--Horse Power, suspension type, brakesm etc. Also include the objective test data, such as acceleration times, braking distances, interior noise levels etc.
Compare there data to whatever "luxury Car" benchmark you choose, and see how the Genesis meaures up.

Another way to look at it, is how will your neighbors see the car? Will they see it as a luxury car, or a car made by a cheap Korean company that sold the Pony?

Are you looking for a powerful, comfortable, car to drive, or a boost to your ego? Are you confident enough in yourself to drive a Genesis, smug in the knowledge that you have saved tens of thousands of dollars, or do you require the approval of other people, car "experts", and magazine endorsements?

What makes it a luzury car?

The Genesis is a Luxurious car, but not a luxury car, that will happen when Hyundai will be perceived as a maker of lyxury cars and it has a looong way to go. See how the customer is treated at BMW MB LEXUS INFINITI and then compare it to a Hyundai dealership.
There is your answer.

Happy New Year to All!!!

You pay for what you get. Ya it maybe 20k less then a BMW but then again you dont get wine and dinned at the dealership. Is the car the same quality I would have to say yes. I drove my buddies BMW daily and took the new genisis for a drive and was amazed at how much car it was and compaired it to the BMW and hands down I would buy the Genisis. Cheaper out the door and maintness cost is also affordable. I would most definatly get the V-8! Hyundai has stepped it up! in 2006 attacking Honda and Toyota with the new Sonata and how going after BMW and Mercedes with the new Genisis. Not to forget go drive a base model Civic hatch and then take an Accent for a drive! Ok I got a little OT. Hope this helps!

This post has been edited by v33sonata: Jan 2 2009, 01:49 PM

Time will tell! All good luxury cars hold their resale value well, and are reviewed by the consumer and the auto magazine pundits after a couple of years mark. Motor Trend even makes this one of their long distance drive tests...keep a vehicle for a year, all of the office writers rotate a free car for a couple of months, write up their appraisal but most importantly...the tally for one year of operation with schedule maintenance, and number of repairs. And a final score.

If Genesis can hit all of the right notes, you might see the Hyundai brand reputation rise to Toyota/Lexus 2008 quality/performance level...in 5-8 years or so.

Really though, are YOU happy?? Don't buy if you want to have your neighbors drool, as that will not happen.

I will tell you though to look what happened to Audi. They released the Audi 5000 with the brake pedal too close to the accelerator, and after a few hundred idiots ran into the garage wall, the Audi reputation was trashed for 20 years.
From a brake pedal and gas pedal too close.

Byron

Hyundai reports that 40% of the new Genesis sold were to previous owners of BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, and Porsche owners. This from Autospies. If you don't need to be pampered and want to keep several thousand bucks in your pocket then the choice is pretty clear. I have not regretted, for one moment, switching from Acura to buying my Sonata and Azera. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grin.gif)
Don

The Genesis Sedan IS a luxury car. I mean cmon 4.6 375 HP V8, 17 Speaker Lexicon System, RWD, Audi Style Multimedia Controller etc.
When Volkswagen released the Pheaton it was considered a luxury car. The few owners I see driving them, I think to myself that yes indeed that is a luxury car even though the VW make isnt.

It goes like this, the Sonata is a Mid-Size Sedan, Azera is considered a near luxury Full Size Sedan, and the Genesis is a Luxury Sedan.

Had Hyundai not included Porsche I migh have believed them! The Porsche inclusion makes me suspicious of its veracity.
What do any of the Porsches cars have in common wiyth the Genesis sedan? Had they said the Gen Coupe well... maybe, but that statement looks to me like much smoke about nothing. The Gen is a very nice car, I drove the V6 and liked it a lot, but as someone said before, they have to play all their cards right for the next 5 or so years and then..we'll see.

Well, that is the exact purpose of my question. I want to know if luxury car owners are happy with their Genesis. Specs are good, reputation is good, prestige is a factor to some (not me), etc. I just want to know how luxury car owners feel about their Genesis. Just hearing "I like it as much as my XXX" or "I like it OK, but in't not as nice as my YYY" is what I'm fishing for. Owner to owner commentary says it all if you listen.

Incidentally, I owned an Audi 5000. It was under powered and not happy on the road at high speeds, but it has a great interior for its day. You can still see cues taken from the Audi's interior in today's luxury cars. Never had "unintended acceleration", and I knew it was a bunch of hooey, as the car was not computerized.

Don.

How do the cars compare? Did you think the Accura was a luxury car, and do you think the Genesis is just as much (or more so) a luxury car as the Accura?

This post has been edited by bobad: Jan 4 2009, 10:46 AM

I liked the V6 Tech Pkg a lot better than the 2009 A4 which I found underpowered, same MSRP yet the A4 will hold its value a lot better
The one thing that the A4 had (for those in the snow belt) is the quattro system.

Hmm. I consider it one. But, I do not consider it High-class.

Just traded a 2008 Mercedes ML For the 4.6 w/tech. Genesis is alot of car for the money and you don't have to pay 750.00 for service B when the car only has 6000 miles on the clock. There are only a few items that I see that Hyundai should have put on the car. Such as folding outside mirrors, approach lights and and headlight delay for nite. I have owned 9 MB 4 BMW's and one Lexus LS460. I can tell you that this car is A GREAT DEAL (IMG:style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif)

Welcome to the fold! It's odd that you pay half as much and get a car that is every bit as nice & powerful, and MORE exclusive and attention-fetching, isn't it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif) Win win win win win... etc.!

Hi Garo, and welcome!

I know Genesis is a good deal, but do you consider it in the same general class as your MB and LS460?

Actually for the most part Luxury dealerships are snobby. Especially when they know they are the only dealer within a few miles. I don't know what Hyundai dealer you've been to, but ours pampers customers more than any luxury car dealer does.

Hyundai is not necessarily going after the BMW, Audi, and MB customer. They just wanted to prove they could make a car just as good for a lot less to attract the customers who have wanted these luxury cars but couldn't afford one.

You'll always have the people that will argue that it's not a "luxury car" just because of the price tag. For many buying a luxury car is about the status of being able to afford one.

This post has been edited by DynamiteTiger: Feb 25 2009, 04:35 PM

I just drove a 3.8 with the tech package. To answer your question, no. Im comparing it to my E320 4matic. I found the Genesis was a dog till it hit 2nd gear. It had a lot of lag when floored from a dead standstill. The ride was not of a MB or Lexus. It was good. But not as good. Also, There was a lot of wind noise coming from the rear seat. I kept hitting the power window switch, even though they were up. There was still wind noise.
Like previously stated, time will tell on the resale value. Hyundai's are usually very low resale. Thats what scares me with the Genesis. Every one keeps saying about how much less it is that a MB or BMW. It is, BUT it is way too much for the car that it is. I feel Hyundai is about $3,000 too high on the price of the Genesis. I liked the car a lot and would like to have one. But, it is overpriced for what it is, and its no BMW or Mercedes.

The 4.6 I drove was VERY quick and almost pin-drop quiet, both around town and on the highway. I wonder if there was some quality control problem in the 3.8 you drove. Inside the doors there is usually a plastic "tarp" behind the interior door panel assembly that covers the frame, to seal wind noise from the exterior latch outside. If any work is done on the door, it often happens that this tarp is not sealed properly and can fall down inside the door, creating wind noise from one door in particular. If this Genesis had to have any work done behind the door panel - like locking mechanism, speakers, window regulator - I wonder if that was the problem?

It sounded like it was coming from the rear passanger door

Well, if I could have my hands on that particular Genesis for 1 hour I could find the source of that wind noise. ;)

I found this issue in my '96 XJ6, I replaced the speakers in the door panels (the stock stereo is just **** poor and all 3 of 4 door panel full-range speakers had blown the surrounds) and found that this plastic tarp had fallen down into the door. Probably a sloppy reassembly when some past technician worked on the lock or latch or something. It's perfectly conceivable that this kind of thing happened due to sloppy assembly or even just through all the jostling it encountered being shipped over.

As I said, the Genesis I drove was really remarkably quiet.

However, another point of note is that the special sound-proof glass they put on the Genesis is only in the windshield and front windows. Just like LS460. I believe the LS460 has had a considerable amount of consumer complaint about wind noise out of the front windows but there you have it; the rear windows don't have whatever magic pixy dust they put on the front windows to keep wind and road noise out. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumbsup.gif)