IS-SV

Unfortunately Genesis is not a good example of Hyundai's success in squeezing Honda, it's combined sales (coupe and sedan) are quite poor and under 3K units per month. The booming sales of the new Sonata is another story.

Big Mack

iTrader: (1)

How very true! You certainly will not know how much you will HATE this car until you actually drive it and have to lean back so far that you are stretching your arms at full length to drive the car. Not only is it one of the most uncomfortable cars I've ever tried to get into with the very short roof, hard curve down on the side of the roof to further lower the ingress/egress area, and extremely narrow flat portion of the seat, but it feels cheap inside. The "soft touch" areas are not soft. In fact, they are very hard with a knurled pattern in the vinyl door panels that feels like sandpaper on the skin. Definitely something I look for in a vehicle - that I am wanting to eliminate from any purchase option ever. Combine this with terrible ergonomics for switches that are used (prefer to open the windows or lock the doors with your knees, anyone? Me either), and you have yourself one of the most **** poor interior/exterior combinations I've seen or tried to drive in a long time.

Lest ye think I'm a Hyundai hater, I went into this with an open mind and the full idea that I might actually love the car because of what I had read and see on television. I am not basing this on "looking" at the car, but actually driving it at a Hyundai track day. My friend went with me, and I asked his opinion before I shared mine, not wanting to taint his thoughts (he's not as much of a car guy as me, but still can say if he likes/dislikes something). He had the exact same sentiment - cab forward is not working in this car if you're taller than 5'9.

I did like the smoothness of the engine and powertrain overall, given that it shifted smoothly, ran very quickly around the track, and felt like the handling was good. I put it through the paces, but couldn't get past the terrible ergonomics and feel of the car to me, the driver. Overall, very disappointing.

Big Mack

mmarshall

I agree with some of your points. The interior does leave something to be desired, especially compared to the Genesis sedan. But my positive comments on this car have mostly to do with the superb drivetrain and chassis engineering.....the 3.8 Track model is arguably the closest thing I've driven to as BMW without actually having a blue-and-white propeller on the hood. And you can pick one up in the upper 20s-low 30s......far under the equivalent price of comparable BMWs.

IS-SV

Since the topic is Koreans putting the squeeze on Honda, and Hyundai overall is doing well in todays market.

But are the opinions here regarding the poor sales results of both the Genesis coupe and sedan? Certainly other Hyundai models sell very well (as seen especially with the new Sonata), so it's not just a brand issue.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

People buy what they like and can afford. Not necessarily what is good or the better product. Also, the Genesis is trying to attract a whole new kind of buyer with some decent money. Those typical buyers were generally buying Acura, Infiniti, BMW, Lexus and such. They weren't really buying Civics, Corollas, Accords, and Camry's. Much easier for those type of buyer to jump into a Hyundai Sonata or Accent than it is for a BMW 323 buyer to jump into a Genesis Coupe or a Lexus ES330/350 buyer to jump into a Genesis Sedan. It will take a little more time for people to warm up to the higher end Hyundai's.

jwong77

I have to say that at least part of the reason for the low Genesis sales has got to do with the shopping experience at your local Hyundai dealership. When I'm shopping for a 30-40k vehicle, my expectations are just going to be different than if I was shopping for a 20-30k vehicle. And another piece to this is that regardless of what anybody would admit to, but telling someone you drive a Hyundai, just doesn't sound as nice as telling them you have a Mercedes or Lexus.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I have said that at a certain price point, car buyers want something more than a car.

It becomes a lifestyle. Brand camaraderie. Brand name recognition and loyalty.

Hyundai doesn't have that yet. Especially with the Genesis. And the Equus is a harder sell.

Most Hyundai owners do not have the reputation in the car industry to support that loyalty (yet).

IS-SV

^^All have brought up good points about the lack of sales traction with Genesis (both sedan and coupe).

And because of the success of the Korean low to mid-level products, this impacts Honda the most (with minimal impact on premium car makers like BMW/Lexus/Benz).

mmarshall

We're also, to an extent, forgetting about SUV's here. The Hyundai Santa Fe is developing quite a nice reputation (deserved, I might add) among mid-sized SUV sales. The Honda Pilot, at least to some extent, is feeling the squeeze from the Santa Fe. The smaller Hyundai Tuscon, though, and its Kia Sportage brother have been less-successful in putting heat on the Honda CR-V, not because of any real inferiority of the Korean twins (both are nice, well-done small SUV's), but primarily because of the CR-V's excellence and superb build quality. The CR-V has had huge success, even without a V6 option.

IS-SV

^^ Not forgetting, because SUV's sold by Hyundai do sell quite well in the low to mid-level class of vehicles mentioned. But I agree it's certainly an area where Hyundai has shown substantial sales even if not dominant, unlike the Genesis in its 2 forms.