Report your test drive experience here! We are all interested in your thoughts and opinion about your drive. My first drive was short and quick. I did followup with the dealer and when they get some more in I will be able to take it out for an extended evaluation.

I test drove the V6 base with the upgraded wheel option. The Dealer only had two and the GM was driving one. With my other purchases, they let me take the car home over night. Anyway, I drove it in city for about 5 miles (had 12 when I started). Good power, great ride. The base unit sound is similar in quality of sound to my Azera. This is one great car. I will be getting on of these as soon as they get in the V8 with all the options.


Mark
Ball Ground, GA

P.S. Post your test drive experiences here! :banana:

This post has been edited by markn455: Jul 13 2008, 02:14 PM

Hello everyone ,

Well I am new to this site and I did test drive the V6 and V8 Model both with Tech Package and I for one am waiting for the V8 to come to my dealer.

I test drove them both on June 28 at the La Jolla Festival of the Arts. I actually test drove the V8 two times I could not seem to get enough of the drive.

The handling, braking, exceleration, and road noise was great in both but the Premium leather in the V8 and the extra Umph! of the V8 engine won me over. The navigation system along with the Lexicon 7.1 system were amazing in sound quality.

After my test drive and a brief survey of the car I received a Microfiber eye glass cleaner with an image of the Geenesis on it along with a TAU energy sports drink with all the specs of the Tau engine on it (size of a Red Bull can) and lastly I received a Hyundai Genesis Discovery Rewards good for $500.00 off my purchase or lease of a Genesis)

I was looking at the BMW 535i but now I am in the market for a Tau powered Genesis in Titanium.

Jerrad

This post has been edited by Jerrad: Jul 17 2008, 02:48 PM

I received a Microfiber eye glass cleaner with an image of the Geenesis on it along with a TAU energy sports drink with all the specs of the Tau engine on it (size of a Red Bull can) and lastly I received a Hyundai Genesis Discovery Rewards good for $500.00 if my purchase or lease of a Genesis)

A hint of marketing, a first from Hyundai.

Yeah, a really big production :whistling:

The impressions I've been reading are more positive than I expected, especially with regard to steering and handling. Looking forward to driving one myself.

Just came back from my dealer where they just got 3 3.8 V6's in. I am going to test drive one next week. Two are silver and one is drop dead gorgeous burgundy. I sat in front and back and I have to tell you these are beautiful cars. Had a long talk with the sales manager and apparently the sales force will be going to "school" to learn about the car. I just hope that this car is marketed better than the Azera, and I told them so. I will be waiting awhile for the car to get the kinks out before considering the Genesis. They had the sticker on the window with an add on price of just over $5,000 for "dealer add ons". I did not enquire what that was all about but if they are trying to up the ante because of scarcity I think it's going to be a "hard sell". Remains to be seen how this car is marketed.
Don

Had a long talk with the sales manager and apparently the sales force will be going to "school" to learn about the car.

I wonder why they didn't "go to school" to learn about Genesis before initial inventory arrived.

They had the sticker on the window with an add on price of just over $5,000 for "dealer add ons". I did not enquire what that was all about but if they are trying to up the ante because of scarcity I think it's going to be a "hard sell".

At best it means they want product to show, allow test drives and hype the newness of the model to the public. At worst, it's a rope-a-dope dealer tactic trying to screw the "i gotta have it now" consumer who will pay a premium to be the first on the block.

I'd look for another dealer.

I wonder why they didn't go to "school" for the Azera :rant2: :rant2:

I wonder why they didn't go to "school" for the Azera

All 3 Hyundai dealers I have encountered, (one of which went belly up shortly after I leased my '07), not only missed the Azera school, but the boat entirely.

At least this price gouge dealer is only going to be late for class at the Genesis school. His sticker price additions will soon reflect price reductions in a similiar amount, when the Korean suits throw in the rebates.

Took the Genesis for a test drive and all I can say is the car is awesome. The dealer indicated that the $5900. add on is just that. I said that's gouging and they said that right now they are one of the few dealers in the NY area to get the car, and their allotment is 3 cars. I will be interested in about a year after the car has the kinks removed, if any. It is luxurious, drives impeccably with a suspension that is both taught and giving. You can feel the difference with a rear wheel drive, a drivers car. Hyundai really seems to have outdone themselves, but if the dealers get piggish on price gouging after the initial interest people will be turned off. Remains to be seen. :grin:
Don

The funny part of all this gouging is that you can buy this car from like 50 dealers who are willing to make a sale. Just hit autotrader and there are some good deals. I live in MA and bought my car in PA. Had it shipped on a flat bed to my front door.

Whenever I negotiate with car dealers I tell them straight up; "If you can beat the best price on the net then you've got my sale, if not then I'll just buy it from them". Did this with my girls Kia Sportage. Saved $3500 off of KBB. And her SUV came with all the dealer "add-ons".

That is funny.

Still, we might put ourselves in dealers' shoes. When is the last time they had a car to be this excited about? The Veracruz was above and beyond Hyundai's previous efforts, but failed to set the world on fire. The Genesis is doing a much better job of getting everyone's attention.

And who knows when they'll get something this exciting again. This might be their only chance to throw on the add-on stickers and do the whole "you can't touch this" song and dance.

Maybe we should just let them have their fun, while it lasts?

Agreed - I would not begrudge them this short-lived opportunity to put a premium on an exciting new car. Doubt they'll sell many at that price, more likely it's more of a strategy to keep the very first units around for a few weeks to have something to test-drive. At least it's building up the unsold inventory in the U.S. so that when Q3 sales figures are coming due, we'll very quickly start to see how bad they want to move some units off the lot ;)

Test drove a base model today. MY OPINION ONLY. The dash looks a lot better than my Azera's, but other than that, I was not much impressed. The leather is softer and the console looked better also.
The "wood" trim on the dash looked better to me than the pictures I have seen of the leather dash, but I haven't seen the leather dash in person.
The car does not have a space for sun glasses or a cell phone cubby with door and the console box is single level.
While it did not have the bounce that my 07 Azera has, the ride was extremely sensitive to pavement imperfections, transmitting all up to the cabin. I could feel them in the seat and steering wheel. Drove my Azera over the same streets and did not feel the imperfections. This was all on city/residential streets near the dealership, but that is the type that 90% of my driving is on.
It was very quite, but no more so than my Azera.
I like the "wood" steering wheel on the Azera better than solid leather.
Due to the cost differential, I wouldn't trade my Azera on a Genesis now.
The dealer was asking 33,000 (MSRP) for it.

I'd bet $100 the tires on the Genesis you drove were overinflated. Mine came w/ 46psi from the dealership. The vehicle rides quite smoothly w/ the recommended 33psi. It's like night and day.

We were invited to the Genesis test drive in Humble, TX and got to drive both the V6 and the V8 versions today. They also had a Mercedes and a Cadillac to compare them to, but we did not drive them. A storm was coming through, so I didn't want to drive them in the bad weather. We liked both the V6 and the V8, but the V8 seemed to have a smoother ride than the V6. Hyundai had a test track set up for the event, which included a wet surface to test the ABS (didn't need the hoses once it started to rain); they had a section to get the car up to speed and do a winding course and then a sandy and bumpy course to test the suspension and stability. We drove a black V6 and a dark blue V8. By the way, the Hyundai rep who went with us told us that in Washington D.C., they had a bad experience with weather, and the tent blew over and damaged several cars. I was afraid the same thing was going to happen to us as well, and on the way home we saw a tornado in Houston, so I was glad we left when we did.

For taking the time to test drive the cars, we were rewarded with an energy drink (odd-tasting, by the way) that sported the Hyundai engine as its name. We were entered to win our choice of three holidays (Napa Valley wine-tasting, Florida golf trip, or a fantasy car testing). Each trip includes the Genesis for the weekend. We then were given a $40 value car care kit with squeegees, brushes, hose sprayers, and cloths as well as a Texas ZAGAT Guide to restaurants all in a nice zippered tote bag with the Hyundai Genesis logo on it.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable experience with the staff bending over backwards to make us feel welcome. I particularly enjoyed the demonstration of the new Lexicon audio/video/navigation system. The video component is odd though. It's a DVD player that only works when the car is in park. I understand that a DVD playing while the car is in motion would be distracting, but why bother with it at all? The navigation feature and audio were both amazing--sounded as though we were in a concert hall.

I currently drive a 2006 Sonata LX V6, and I think I have more room in my driver's seat than I had in the Genesis. I liked the fit and finish of the car, and the black leather seats were really nice. We got to see the rain-sensing wipers, and the "look around corners" headlights. The rear window shade will take some getting used to. I sat in the back while my roommate drove, and I had plenty of room. I will have my car until at least 2010, but right now if I had to buy a new Hyundai, I would get either an Azera or a Veracruz. I just wish the Veracruz had more color choices. The Genesis, by the way, does come in a nice red color, but they had none of those on display: just gray, black, and blue.

Took another test drive in one with the premium package. The leather on the dash is nice, but I don't think much of the color. IMO, real wood would look much better and offer a real contrast. 90% of people will think it is just more vinyl. BTW, Lincoln MKS (I think) is using real wood that is left over from furniture manufacturing. Real disappointed in the fact that it does not have the adjustable pedals or place for sunglasses. the slot in the dash above the ashtray is not very useful as it is hard to reach and no door to keep things from coming out.
Why waste space on an ashtray and cigarette lighther? Use it for something else and make the ashtray and lighter as option as on Camrys.
Parked it beside my car - not a lot of difference, except Genesis is a little larger. Think the Azera rear looks more impressive.
Biggest thing is the ride. Took it on some city streets and you can feel the ridges and so forth in the pavement. It does not have the Azera "wallow," but then it does not have 5,000 miles on the shocks yet either.
Guess they could not have a double console box due to the console sitting so high because of the rear wheel drive.
Told the salesman, I would have bought it instead of the Azera if both available in 2007, but not going to trade in my Azera. Also, not buying any Hyundai for MSRP, but that's me.
BTW, Hyundai is offering $3,500 off on Santa Fe Limited and then you can negotiate with the dealer for more.
Those who bought a Genesis, wish you the best and hope it lives up to its reports so far.