A ride in a Hyunda Genesis 4.6L V8

[Greg55_99]

This past weekend, while attending an air show, I got the chance to ride in the new Hyundai Genesis V8. A local dealer had set up a test autocross track on part of the runway and were giving rides in the Genesis handled by professional drivers. My first look at the car didn't really invite any excitement. It's styling is somewhat derivative of several other sedans built off shore. In fact, if you took off the Hyundai badges, you'd probably think it was a Nissan or Toyota.

There were several V6 and V8 versions set up for rides. Of course, I wanted a hot lap in the V8. I had the dealer open the hood. I wanted to see the engine. Couldn't see much, but it did look somewhat "Northstarish". But then, four cam V8's probably all look that way by design. Anyway, once aboard, I buckled in and the demo driver took off. For the next 30 or so seconds, I got slammed back in the seat from the burst of acceleration, bent sideways in several tight turns and jammed forward when the brakes got hit! Throw in some drifting around the turns, the delicious sound of that V8 revving to the stratosphere and the smell of burning rubber… and I actually saw myself buying one of these things… It was great! Then the $41,000 sticker hit me and I came back to reality. That's a lot of dosh for a… Hyundai…

And therein lies the problem. I'm sure it's an excellent car, but, it's quite untested long-term. Let's face it… for that kind of coin, I can get my hands on a new Dodge Challenger. Still, this car address's a different customer base. Let's say, I hope they do well…

Greg

 

[spf_lexus]

Not a Hyundai fan for their "copy-cat" attitude but i admire the layout. Looks reminiscent of the 240 IMO.

 

[JustenGT8]

This past weekend, while attending an air show, I got the chance to ride in the new Hyundai Genesis V8. A local dealer had set up a test autocross track on part of the runway and were giving rides in the Genesis handled by professional drivers. My first look at the car didn't really invite any excitement. It's styling is somewhat derivative of several other sedans built off shore. In fact, if you took off the Hyundai badges, you'd probably think it was a Nissan or Toyota.

There were several V6 and V8 versions set up for rides. Of course, I wanted a hot lap in the V8. I had the dealer open the hood. I wanted to see the engine. Couldn't see much, but it did look somewhat "Northstarish". But then, four cam V8's probably all look that way by design. Anyway, once aboard, I buckled in and the demo driver took off. For the next 30 or so seconds, I got slammed back in the seat from the burst of acceleration, bent sideways in several tight turns and jammed forward when the brakes got hit! Throw in some drifting around the turns, the delicious sound of that V8 revving to the stratosphere and the smell of burning rubber… and I actually saw myself buying one of these things… It was great! Then the $41,000 sticker hit me and I came back to reality. That's a lot of dosh for a… Hyundai…

And therein lies the problem. I'm sure it's an excellent car, but, it's quite untested long-term. Let's face it… for that kind of coin, I can get my hands on a new Dodge Challenger. Still, this car address's a different customer base. Let's say, I hope they do well…

Greg

LOL nearly fell off my chair.....you rate the Dodge as your benchmark

Sounds like an interseting car but don't think we'll see it down under...especially not with the way fuel prices are headed

 

[4000GT]

Has to be the worst move... oil at record highs and a company known for economical shitboxes make a V8. Nice thinking, might as well flush the money down the toilet like Ford has...

 

[Thermactor]

Has to be the worst move... oil at record highs and a company known for economical shitboxes make a V8. Nice thinking, might as well flush the money down the toilet like Ford has...

They should have spent their Genesis reverse engineering (oh I mean development)... "billions" on reverse engineering.. I mean developing.. a hybrid drive system.

 

[stevechumo]

Huyndai tries to compete with the big boys...:yikes: I'm never a fan of Huyndai but I think they're really improving and trying to gain an edge. Who knows what position they can gain in the future!

 

[XR8tt]

There newer cars are FAR better than their earlier models..
Far better than Daewoo / Holden..

 

[Jake Breyck]

I vaguely remember hearing about how mainly Americans talking about Toyota Honda and Datson in the same fashion, when they started making decent cars it look a long time for people to believe it.

so is there any power figures for this car?

 

[cribbj]

True enough; in the early 60's, ANYTHING that was marked "Made in Japan" was junk. All the best electronics (in the US anyway) were American made, and the best TV was a Zenith.

Then the Japanese improved their quality, and somewhere in the 80's Zenith ceased to be a player.

Seems like the Koreans are going through the same cycle now as the Japanese did.

 

[stevechumo]

True enough; in the early 60's, ANYTHING that was marked "Made in Japan" was junk. All the best electronics (in the US anyway) were American made, and the best TV was a Zenith.

Then the Japanese improved their quality, and somewhere in the 80's Zenith ceased to be a player.

Seems like the Koreans are going through the same cycle now as the Japanese did.

Very true. I remember back then in the 80, I'm not that old in the 60, everything made in the US is the best. But now...the US is only into missiles and forgetting about consumer electronics and automobiles. Luckily, these Korean cars are made in South Korean. :approve:

 

[spf_lexus]

Well we'll see... can't really imagine a Hyundai passing an sc400? These mockeries make me want to make my 1uz even faster LOL

 

[XR8tt]

Well we'll see... can't really imagine a Hyundai passing an sc400? These mockeries make me want to make my 1uz even faster LOL

Far far different price range..

 

[pas4116]

hey guys,
i drive the genisis cars everyday.
they are a great start for hyundai. they will never be as bad as my lex,but it's a start.
i'm a service tech for hyundai and heres there story.they have been heavy around the world for many years in computers and heavy equipment
the car buisness has been a hobby for them.the ceo has recently been kicked out and arrested for some scandle,ever since then the cars have been getting better and better.they do things a little different at hyundai,some people say they copy..well in america yes,but around the world no.they are just doing what sells.they have some bad ass cars out in other places,in alabama at the plant they have some righthand drive vip cars for the owners when they come here,and they are bad.anyways they do have a genisis coupe comming out next spring,and it's going to be a problem. like the four door it will be rear wheel drive,but have different engines availible,starting with a 2.0 inline 4 turbo w/ a six-speed behind it,and the 3.8 v-6,and a 4.3 v8...now i'm not trying to sell anything,but while the rest of the car world is heading to hybrid,hyundai is going in a different direction...but as far as that go's,we will see how fast they are compared to my lex.they will have to bring more than a n/a 4.3 to take us on....

 

[stevechumo]

Pas116,

You convinced me of these Huyndai sports cars. I want 3 of them...LOL. I don't now how their performace is, but the looks catch my eyes. :saeek: I hope they're better than the Tiburon that they currently have..

 

[spf_lexus]

Tiburon... hah! My neighbor had a midlife crisis last year and bought one... man he thinks it's fast lol. It isn't haf bad tho.. it's the tuscani version but I think he lost some more hair when my LS smoked him. The guy can't keep it out of 1st gear every time he rolls down the block, revving to 3k at 25mph... i'm always yelling, "second!!!.. drop to second!!!"but he likes it so I guess that all that matters.

 

[Zuffen]

Hyundai needs to get a decent designer to sort out their body shapes then they would be onto something.

Our company had an Excel for one of our workers to run around in. When he left I strated to drive it around. It went, stopped and turned pretty well for a shoebox, in fact so well my wife made me sell it before I killed myself!

 

[cribbj]

Hope they don't hire any of Toyota's.

On 2nd thought, maybe they should hire all of Toyota's designers; then perhaps Toyota could get back to making well engineered cars that also are pleasing to the eye.

 

[JustenGT8]

If those things pictured are V8 RWD i'd have one!! That HKS one is the dogs balls

The 1.5 litre twincam EFI Excel had a great engine/ECU....would take decent boost on the stock setup and the ECU would self tune to suit....great tech for it's day. Just a pity the body side of things wasn't up to scratch.

 

[spf_lexus]

Yeah Genesis is RWD. Their aim was to replace the Nissan 240. The 4-banger base engine sports a 5 speed turbo which isn't half bad.

 

[Jake Breyck]

Hope they don't hire any of Toyota's.

On 2nd thought, maybe they should hire all of Toyota's designers; then perhaps Toyota could get back to making well engineered cars that also are pleasing to the eye.

toyota has some nice looking cars, they just keep them to japan or the lexus line up. it seems in the usa the toyota brand has taken place of what the corolla brand was.