kewl

I see we have many narrow minded members. I have driven the high end, at the time, Azera from Hyundai. A very nice car. By all appearances it was well built with high quality materials used inside and out. I especially liked the tail lights used...nice and bright. Easy to see from a distance. Didn't drive it at night so can't speak for the headlights.

It was, however, a bit too rough a ride, but that might have been tire pressure issues and there was too much road noise. Whether that was tires or a lack of insulation I don't know.

On it's forums owners are mostly very pleased with the car. Gas mileage is nothing like our 350...only about 19 in town. I get 23/24 from my 350 in town.

For the money, I'd say it is a nice vehicle. Go look at one before you say too much negative about it. This new Hyundai, the Genesis will certainly be worth a look, but for me the low mileage rating will have to improve before I would consider one.

Q_Lexie

The car looks cool and all, but why buy a Hyundai with that money if you can afford something else like Lexus, Cadillac, MB, etc.? For now, my answer is no. Maybe 20 years later, when Hyundai/Genesis establishes itself as a true luxury brand, then I'll pay $100k to get one. Hyundai has already come this far, and I'll be surprised if they don't move ahead with their own luxury division. BTW, the front really resembles the current ES models.

LexBob2

I've been surprised that the Azera doesn't sell better. It's not setting the world on fire vs. the cars it competes against. It seems to offer a lot for the money and has received good reviews, but for some reason buyers haven't warmed up to it like you'd think they would.

To me, the Genesis is just as interesting as the Azera although in a different segment. I read that a a fully loaded V8 will sticker at close to $40K, with V6's a little lower. It will be interesting to see how it does vs. even tougher competition. I hope it does well. Competiton is good for both manufacturers and buyers.

INHOCJP

I can imagine MB and BMW owners saying something similar back in the '80's:

"call me brand concious, but no matter how good it looks, its still a Lexus and a Lexus in my book is no car worth buying"

ng123ray

that car looks awesome... but i wouldnt buy that car... ones its a hyundai... and two... ... call me shallow... but my buddies would mock me for years for rolling around in a hyundai... as great as that car looks... the front is classy.. sort of a mix between a ES and LS... the rear reminds me of the new BMW 3 series/ MB S class... what a beauty of a car.. still wouldnt buy it because its a hyundai... X_X

RXSF

your not the first to point this out. but....thank god we live 20 years after those mb and bmw owners.

Kaydee

i'm not saying that hyundai is a POS, but honestly at this time i wouldn't be caught driving them. their current lineup is actually quite good, if the new sonata was rebadged as the accord or camry i will surely buy them. but at this time, no thx. but who knows, with the company's growth, maybe my kids will all be driving Hyundais

MD350

Many years ago, the auto finance company(s) I work(ed) for would limit the advances on Hyundai and Kia units on sub prime customers. This was because the cars were worthless if they were repoed, causing larger than expected losses.

Today, these cars have made a complete turn around. Advance restrictions have been lifted.

One of my sales reps had a 2001 Sonata with 191K miles on it before the tranny failed. He traded it on a new Sonata. Nice car for the money.

Also, the Hyundai minivan has been given great reviews and has been replacing Chrysler, Honda, and Toyota minivans with large families.

Go take a Hyundai for a test drive, you will like it!

ES350Bob

You could try telling your friends ZF was first passenger car 6 speed transmission and Genesis ZF transmission is same as used in several Bentley models (pass the Grey Poupon), Maserati, Jaguar, BMW to name drop a few.

I'm reasonably certain it does not have rolling hesitation or slip/flare issues.

MD350

Great point. Its badge may say Hyundai. But, I bet it does not have piston slap or a slippery tranny.

ES350Bob

Check this out, esp the last paragraph, it already stock nets 368 HP but you gotta love the "force feed it some air comment." Appeals to those who like to Mod a car. My guess would be NO piston slap, knock or what have you.

"The Tau produces more horsepower and torque than the powerplants found in Lexus GS450, BMW 750i, Audi A8 and Infiniti M45 and has more horsepower per liter than any of its V8 competitors. The Tau engine is built with flexibility for the future. Future Tau variants may offer larger displacement, forced induction options and other technology enhancements.

"Hyundai also hints that there's room in the V8's block to enlarge its displacement, and that force feeding it some extra air is definitely a possibility."

LexBob2

People probably said that before the ES350 came out.

ES350Bob

From reading over ES330 owner input here, they were saying they hoped the trans hesitation issue of the 330 and wind noise would be addressed for and with the release of the ES350.

RXSF

368 horsepower or not! this issue has been exhuasted in car chat and the verdict is that it is and always will be a hyundai.

the exterior is nice although it screams lexus, mercedes, acura and infiniti
the interior is hideous, and it fittingly screams hyundai

MShybrid

Personally, I wouldnt trade our ES for two of them. Just my opinion