Okay, so I've read and watched all of the reviews that have been posted so far. I'm very encouraged and very interested.
Most of the reviewers like the car quite a bit and feel that it does very well overall against the competition.
But these are "driving impression" reviews. We'll have to wait a while for instrumented testing and more critical evaluations of the car. These types of reviews tend to be positive, but the G70 seems to be garnering more praise than some cars get at this stage.
One of my skill sets is in assessment and measurement and a tenet in that arena is that for assessments to be valid, they mus be reliable. If ratings disagree from observer to observer, then either the observers aren't making accurate assessments or their observations are based on something other than what they're actually observing. Examples of the latter would most obviously include personal preferences and biases. That's why it's essential to collect information over many observers, so that the idiosyncratic quirks cancel each other out when you view the data in aggregate.
With that idea in mind, I found the following contradictions or inconsistencies in the reviews available so far. I've tried to give my sense of which point of view was the most common when that was possible.
1. Top price is $50K vs top price is mid 50’s. Only 1 reviewer reported that Genesis said it was mid50's and maybe he meant close to $50,500, not close to $55,000. Let's hope the one guy is wrong and the others are right. At $55,000 the picture would change drastically, and not in a god way for Genesis.
2. Automatic transmission shifts really quickly vs transmission sometimes lags. Could be a matter of what the reviewer is accustomed to.
3. Paddle shifters are the way to go vs leaving it to shift on its own is the way to go. Probably just personal preference.
4. 6-speed tranny is kind of vague vs feels solid and precise. Again probably what the reviewer is accustomed to and is serving as a comparison standard. But it suggests that the 6-speed is neither the best nor the worst out there.
5. Should have opened Genesis brand with a CUV vs starting with a sedan was a sensible move. Many feel that starting with a sedan is a big mistake in a market that's moving away from that configuration toward SUVs and CUVs. But at least one reviewer felt that a luxury brand has to establish its bona fides first with sedans and that Genesis is holding true to its market of origin (Korea) where sedans are still preferred. Obviously personal points of view.
6. As much as 90% of power to rear wheels on AWD vs as much as 100%. Both reported as factual. One (I think the latter) must be wrong.
7. Ride is too stiff for daily driving vs ride is ideal for daily driving. Personal preference.
8. Four-cylinder is under-powered and struggles when trying to accelerate up hills vs it's all the power you really need. Personal opinion, perhaps also influenced by the order in which the cars were driven.
9. The back seat is too cramped vs it's okay. Nobody considered it anything close to spacious. Some felt it was really quite restrictive while one or two found it adequate for most situations.
10. Body rolls too much in the corners vs car stays suitable flat in corners. Some disagreement although most seem to think it does lean a fair bit when pushed hard through corners. None felt it was so bad as to be a significant flaw but most felt that it wasn't up to the standard of, say, a BMW 3-series in this respect.
Things that seemed to be pretty well agreed on (besides factual information from Genesis press releases) were:
1. The 3.3 is a strong engine. Pretty much everyone seemed to like it.
2. The interior is nice. Quibbles here and there but most found that it was comfortable, attractive, and that stuff was easy to figure out.
3. The balance between comfort and handling was about right. Some would push the balance a bit in one or the other direction but most seemed okay with it.
4. It's a car that competes very favorably against the competition. That is to say, just about every reviewer felt that it offers a whole lot and that, while specific competitors may beat it out in any given category, overall it puts a lot of features together in a reasonably-priced package.
5. The brand is largely unknown and it doesn't have the cachet of of the brands with which it's competing, especially those from Europe. Not everyone explicitly stated this but those who addressed the perception issue suggested that it was currently a disadvantage for Genesis relative to competitors.
So, my take is that these initial reviews are predominantly positive, with some areas of disagreement. Some of this may change as more reviews based on the initial promotional press event drift in and we may see more substantial changes one more formal testing is done. But things look pretty positive for now.
