On Friday, the Cars.com team got to check out a bunch of new vehicles. One that we couldn’t drive we instead let staff photographer Ian Merritt capture with his lens. Below you’ll find 36 photos of the upcoming Genesis coupe in black. Yes friends, black. There was universal praise for how the two-door looks from the front, but there were doubts about the taillight treatment around back. Check out the photos and let us know what you think.
They're big, they're comfortable and they're pricey. The full-size sedans that came under the scrutiny of our team of reviewers all have their advantages and winning features, but, alas, only one could come out on top. Mike Hanley, Joe Wiesenfelder and David Thomas pit the 2008 Buick Lucerne, 2009 Hyundai Genesis and 2009 Lincoln MKS against each other in a test of fuel economy, drivability and, of course, country-club cred. To find out which pampering bad boy comes out on top in their book, check out the full faceoff on Cars.com.
We’ve had nothing but praise for the 2009 Hyundai Genesis since we test-drove it; it’s a car that easily keeps up with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5 Series, but at a discount price. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has also given it a seal of approval, awarding this stately beast five-star crash-test ratings all around.
The Genesis received five stars in both frontal and side-impact crash tests — something the BMW and Mercedes could not achieve.
“These five-star results are just one indication of the dedication Hyundai engineers place on safety,” said John Krafcik, vice president of Strategic Planning and Product Development at Hyundai Motor America.
Krafcik is referring to the Genesis’ standard rigid body structure, eight airbags and active head restraints. Included in the eight-airbag count are rear side-impact airbags, which are rare for a mid-$30K vehicle.
While our preferred testing agency is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, NHTSA’s five-star ratings are another helpful selling point to a car that’s already got a lot going for it.
2009 Lincoln MKS: The all-new sedan’s styling is a hit, and the MKS delivers on its good looks with a lot of value for its $37,655 starting price tag, reviewer David Thomas says.
2009 Hyundai Genesis: Hyundai does the impossible, wowing senior editor Joe Wiesenfelder with its first foray into the “luxury” car market.
2009 Ford Flex: The large crossover offers lots of legroom in its spacious cabin, but Joe says the Flex is missing some key interior features.
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Known for small cars with low sticker prices, Hyundai has made a gamble on the all-new Genesis, which starts at more than $32,000 and will compete with cars like the Toyota Avalon, if not Mercedes-Benz's E-Class and BMW's 5 Series. After testing the vehicle, Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley seems to think the Genesis is not only a winner, but that it will offer a tempting and affordable alternative in the luxury car segment. Hanley praises Hyundai for getting all the elements of the Genesis right, and for including many safety and convenience features standard. Read his full review for more.
Hyundai expects leasing to account for half the Genesis sedans you’ll see on the road, and it’s given the $33,000 car an excellent lease option: The Genesis can be yours for two years with $2,199 up front and $399 a month for 24 months.
The Genesis got a strong rating from Automotive Lease Guide, and for a luxury vehicle this deal fares pretty well — especially when you consider the fact that Hyundai names the Cadillac CTS as a competitor. The Genesis lease is between $100 and $150 per month less than the CTS, although Cars.com reviewer Mike Hanley says the Genesis compares more to the Chrysler 300 or Toyota Avalon.
The deal is only for the V-6 version, and it runs through July. The V-8 version will go on sale in August.
We were impressed with the Hyundai Genesis when we saw it on the auto show circuit, and the new sedan has generated a lot of interest from readers, too. Today, the company has announced pricing for both the 290-hp, 3.8-liter V-6 model and the 375-hp, 4.6-liter V-8.
To get into the Genesis, buyers will have to part with $32,250, plus a $750 destination charge. The V-8 will start at $37,250, plus $750 destination. Both go on sale this July.
Fuel economy won’t sound stellar, but remember this is a large sedan. The V-6 will get 18/27 mpg city/highway. As Hyundai points out, that’s better than lower-powered V-6 engines in smaller cars like the Ford Fusion. For comparison, the Honda Accord, which has a 268-hp engine, gets 19/29 mpg, and the Toyota Camry gets 19/28 mpg with its 268-hp V-6. By comparison, the Genesis, with its extra power and size, is looking good.
Relatively speaking, the V-8 does even better, with 17/25 mpg. That outdoes the V-8 engines in the Chrysler 300C (15/23 mpg), Cadillac STS (15/24 mpg) and Lexus GS 460 (17/24 mpg), while pumping out more power, too.
Keep reading for a list of standard equipment in both models and let us know if you think this is a lot of car for the money, or too much to pay for a Hyundai no matter the specs.
With the all-new Hyundai Genesis coupe coming down the pipeline in 2009 as a 2010 model, the current Hyundai coupe, the Tiburon, will cease to exist. This isn’t really a shock, since there’s not enough room in the line-up for two coupes. The 2008 model year will be the Tiburon’s last, and it will stop production as the Genesis goes on sale in the spring of 2009, according to the Automotive News.
However, company executives aren’t calling the Genesis coupe a replacement for the Tiburon. There is a chance that a smaller front-wheel-drive two-door coupe could be sold right next to the larger, rear-wheel drive Genesis coupe.
We can’t say we’ll miss the Tiburon — its time has come. During the first quarter of 2008 its sales were down 28.7%.
What do you think? Should Hyundai produce a small coupe like the Veloster concept we saw in Los Angeles last year? That’s the one the company is hinting at. Or do you think it should stick to the Genesis coupe as its sole sporty car?
Hyundai is charging relentlessly into new territories with its products. Witness the Veracruz, a three-row SUV that Hyundai regularly compares to the Lexus RX 350 (which, if a recent Motor Trend comparison is any indication, might not be such a wild notion). Earlier this year, the automaker said it set sedans like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class as the benchmark for its new Genesis sedan, and now press materials for the 306-hp, V-6 Genesis coupe — rumored to be priced starting under $26,000 — tout the $35,000-plus Infiniti G37 as a possible competitor.
The comparison Hyundai made concerned performance capabilities, so we’ll have to wait until we drive one before we can deliver a final verdict. That doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun, though; at last week’s New York auto show, I checked out the two cars back to back.
After reading all you could find on the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe, were you left wondering what it was really like? In this video, Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays takes a look inside and out of Hyundai’s new rear-wheel drive performance machine and finds everything to be pretty remarkable.
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