Pls help - close to buying:)

[sia]

Hi, I'm close to buying a genesis but had a few questions that my wife has raised and I don't have good answers for:

1)We live in New Jersey so occasional winter storms, is it sufficient to get good all season tires? Has anyone actually done that in NJ or in a similar climate? I don't live on a hill or anything, just want to feel safe in standard driving. We've only had front wheel cars and have done fine on those w all seasons. I know the forum recommends snow tires but we live in a condo and I have no storage space for them. I even called a Pep Boys, Sears and two dealers - no one will store your tires so that option doesn't seem practical for me.

2)My understanding is that the trunk doesn't lift up - the keychain button just unlocks it. My wife finds this a bit inconvenient and noted that the Sonata and our current Camry all "pop open". Not a big deal for me but can see her point when carrying a kid or groceries. Is this true? Can anything be done? (heard there was a lock in the glove compartment - our sales rep didn't really know)

3)Is there anyway to get the technology package nav to say the street names? We were looking at a used '09 and wasn't clear if the recent update added this or there was another way to do this. We noticed this on a test drive and really liked the feature.

Thanks so much - #1 is certainly the biggest concern and its driving me nuts bc I really like the car (moving to a house w a garage isn't option.

 

[dg_moore]

You'll probably be ok with good all-weathers, but they won't be as good as snow tires. Put some extra weight in the trunk and drive sensibly and you should be good to go.

The trunk is not automatic - just unlocks when you press the keyfob or inside button. I haven't found this to be a problem, but I've owned cars for 50 years and never had automatic trunk lift, so I'm used to it.

I don't think any version of Nav says street names. Just beeps when a turn is coming up. Since I use nav at most maybe 2 times a year it doesn't bother me.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Tires:
I also have no problems on the Dunplops (with ballast) BUT I don't have little kids or a wife used to FWD only. If your dealer can't store snow tires (mine can), I'd pass on the purchase. The last thing you need is a car you love but the wife is afraid of.

 

[sia]

Thanks for the responses so far

dg-moore, in terms of the nav, the 3.8 version reads out the street names (as does the one on the sonata - think its the same). its a really helpful feature bc then you don't need to look down.

 

[sia]

Backtohyundaibychoice,

By the below, did you mean that you don't think its wise to drive it without snow tires? or more the savvy point about not doing it if the wife is afraid of it (which i agree with - but hopefully could convince her if many here are in fact driving in NJ type winters on all seasons)

"Tires:
I also have no problems on the Dunplops (with ballast) BUT I don't have little kids or a wife used to FWD only. If your dealer can't store snow tires (mine can), I'd pass on the purchase. The last thing you need is a car you love but the wife is afraid of. "

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Backtohyundaibychoice,

By the below, did you mean that you don't think its wise to drive it without snow tires? or more the savvy point about not doing it if the wife is afraid of it (which i agree with - but hopefully could convince her if many here are in fact driving in NJ type winters on all seasons)

"Tires:
I also have no problems on the Dunplops (with ballast) BUT I don't have little kids or a wife used to FWD only. If your dealer can't store snow tires (mine can), I'd pass on the purchase. The last thing you need is a car you love but the wife is afraid of. "

I mean both:
Many think I'm nuts to NOT have snow tires on the Gen (now Equus), but with cat litter in the trunk, use of the pseudo-manual tranny (2nd gear starts), etc. I did just fine. But the SMART thing to do is the snow tires.

As for the wife, you read it right!
If you can, wait until Spring to get a Gen. She'll then have 9 months to learn to love the car before having to overlook its Winter shortcomings.

 

[04blackxjr]

I tried my Geni 4.6 in the snow, no problem. I bought a used GMC Jimmy to use when it snows. The Geni stays clean in my heated garage when the weather gets bad. LOL.

 

[Gambler]

1) If you get better all seasons than what comes on the Genesis you should be alright. Winter tires are better. If you think about it, it is a higher up front cost, but not any higher in the long run, since your all seasons or summer tires will last longer. Winter tires make a huge difference over the stock Dunlops in snow, I was surprised at how much better they were.

2) The trunk does not automatically open. It needs to be unlocked, or you need to have the fob in your pocket when you go to open it.

3) The Tech nav does not say street names. I'd find the feature annoying, I'm more of a visual person myself.

 

[sia]

Thanks Gambler,

on 1 - i have no issue with the cost. i literally just don't have the space to store the extra set of tires. thus trying to find out if anyone is actually making it through the winters on all seasons.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Thanks Gambler,

on 1 - i have no issue with the cost. i literally just don't have the space to store the extra set of tires. thus trying to find out if anyone is actually making it through the winters on all seasons.

The vast majority of Gen drivers are making it through the winter just fine.
But I still suggest that in a case like this you cannot win with the wife. She will be afraid of the car, grow to hate it, and YOUR experience will be hell.
As you know (or will learn), logic and facts have little to do with marital bliss. 100 people here could tell you "all is well, go for it" and it won't mean a damn thing if the wife is concerned about RWD during the 5 or 6 days you'd have to actually worry about it.
Therefore, after a few glasses of wine, I offer this:
Get a Subaru! Lose this battle and go on to win the war down the road (no pun intended) by getting a Gen when the kid(s) are older. You may have to remind her of your sacrifice, but the points you score now should pay dividends later.
BTW, the trunk question was a diversion. She's looking for reasons to mask the real fear of the snow. That's cool as long as you're aware of it, right?

Aren't you sorry you asked?

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[homeofstone]

The trunk unlocks with the fob or the with the key that is incorportated into the fob. The outside trunk lock is above the tag near the backup camera. The same key also is used to lock the trunk for valet by turning the lockout in the glove box.

 

[dg_moore]

Thanks for the responses so far

dg-moore, in terms of the nav, the 3.8 version reads out the street names (as does the one on the sonata - think its the same). its a really helpful feature bc then you don't need to look down.

You're right, now that I think of it, it does. I've only used the nav twice in the past year and I had forgotten about that. Now that you mention it, I recall that the street names are very hard to understand - if you don't know what street name is coming up (by seeing a street sign or viewing it on the screen) chances are you (or I, anyway) won't understand what the nav is telling you.

 

[OldSpice]

Hi, I'm close to buying a genesis but had a few questions that my wife has raised and I don't have good answers for:

1)We live in New Jersey so occasional winter storms, is it sufficient to get good all season tires? Has anyone actually done that in NJ or in a similar climate? I don't live on a hill or anything, just want to feel safe in standard driving. We've only had front wheel cars and have done fine on those w all seasons. I know the forum recommends snow tires but we live in a condo and I have no storage space for them. I even called a Pep Boys, Sears and two dealers - no one will store your tires so that option doesn't seem practical for me.

Thanks so much - #1 is certainly the biggest concern and its driving me nuts bc I really like the car (moving to a house w a garage isn't option.

Read the thread "Connecticut is Buried in about 12" of Snow"
near the bottom of this page

 

[OldSpice]

On second thought if the Genesis would be your wife primary transportation and you have small kids than maybe you need to be more practical and put her needs before your wants. Front wheel drive would be easier and safer for her.

 

[Kevinc5a]

I used to live in New Jersey and always used snow tires but without storage space there's nothing you can do. Check Tire Rack. Their on line catalog may list all season tires with good driving characteristics in snow.

My eleven year old E350 has a trunk lid that opens with the remote. I assumed that feature was standard on the Genesis, Guess not, though I understand the Genesis has a feature I don't have. With the Genesis, water will drip off the lid into the trunk when the lid is open.

My 4 year old Garmin will announce street names. I wouldn't order a nav without that feature. Makes freeway driving in congested areas much easier, especially in unfamiliar areas, where the street name is not shown on the screen or is too small to be legible, or where you can't read street signs, such as at night or where the sign is obscured.

 

[waveman]

My 4 year old Garmin will announce street names. I wouldn't order a nav without that feature. Makes freeway driving in congested areas much easier, especially in unfamiliar areas, where the street name is not shown on the screen or is too small to be legible, or where you can't read street signs, such as at night or where the sign is obscured.

The Genesis nav does say names of freeways, exits, and the like. It doesn't say names of streets, but I find that having the display show upcoming turns makes up for that in many cases. Still, I agree that voicing all street names would be a nice feature. But if you can't read the street signs (a common problem in some areas around here), how does having the nav announce the name out loud help?

 

[Kevinc5a]

I haven't tried the Genesis nav but from some of the other posts I had the impression that it didn't do any text-to-speech at all. What you're describing would probably work for me. I should take another test drive and play with the nav.

To answer your question, TTS is great in areas where you cannot he street signs. If you're looking for a street, and cannot read the sign, the TTS function will tell you the name of the street you are approaching.

Will the Genesis nav take you to a specific street address or just lead you to a range of numbers? My Garmin will take me to, for example, 470 Main Street. Others just take a driver to the 400 block or 500 block.

 

[dg_moore]

I haven't tried the Genesis nav but from some of the other posts I had the impression that it didn't do any text-to-speech at all. What you're describing would probably work for me. I should take another test drive and play with the nav.

To answer your question, TTS is great in areas where you cannot he street signs. If you're looking for a street, and cannot read the sign, the TTS function will tell you the name of the street you are approaching.

Will the Genesis nav take you to a specific street address or just lead you to a range of numbers? My Garmin will take me to, for example, 470 Main Street. Others just take a driver to the 400 block or 500 block.

The Genesis nav takes you to your end point. When you get there it says something like "you have arrived. Your destination is on your left." However, as I mentioned before, I find many of the street name announcements difficult to understand. The digital voice is pretty rough - the inflection is often way off. But you always get an instruction to "turn left" followed by a beep, which I have found to be quite accurate.

 

[rhduke00]

....I know the forum recommends snow tires but we live in a condo and I have no storage space for them....

.
You could rent a 5x5 foot storage unit.

 

[sia]

Thanks - the storage unit is a neat idea. Need to think about that - I really wish a dealer in northern NJ had a storage program!!!

Is there anyone on the forum in the NJ area (or similar climate) that makes it through winter w just all seasons?