Another Fun Genesis Dealership Experience....

[Mr. Incredible]

First of all - it's not really a Genesis dealership. It's a Hyundai dealership that services Genesis cars. There is really no standalone Genesis dealerships in my area (Georgia).

I have my normal service appointment with dealership this Friday. I'm making the drive up there because the valet service doesn't work or they can't actually do it. I gave them a call about two things yesterday.

1) Can they update the navigation maps to to the latest version
2) Can they give me quote on buying / installing the card key.

For question #1, they bluntly told me they haven no idea what I'm talking about. They never done it before and even asked if I'm talking about a recall.
For question #2, they initially had no idea what they were talking about. I then told them that it's on the Genesis website. They then asked for me for my VIN and then told me my car doesn't support the card key.

My experience with Genesis dealerships is pretty simple. They are usually shady and most of the employees have no idea what they are talking about.

I went ahead and called Genesis to confirm their answers.
Genesis told me....

#1) They didn't even try to fight about the navigation update. They will just ship me a microSD card for free with the latest maps and I should install it.
#2) They verified my car does indeed support the Card key. Their suggestion was for me to go to another dealership.


Genesis - great car.....one of the worst customer/dealership support.

#1 it has been stated over and over that a dealer is not needed for the update, all you need to do is go to the mapnsoft site, order the free replacement and install it yourself. Dealer can't order it, they don't do the update, and as you found out, even Genesis Customer service will just ship it to you and you insert it and your done.


#2 the instruction for installing the key come with the key, again ordering it online is the best solution as it is the least expensive (dealer price is at least 50% more) and the key comes packages with instructions directly out of the service manual for the car, hand them to the dealership service advisor and 15 minutes later it's done.


Personally I have never had a bad experience at a Hyundai dealership, but then again I don't expect much to begin with, I spent too many years owning American cars and Ford, GM, and Chrysler have far worse service by leaps and bounds.

 

[tissle]

#1 it has been stated over and over that a dealer is not needed for the update, all you need to do is go to the mapnsoft site, order the free replacement and install it yourself. Dealer can't order it, they don't do the update, and as you found out, even Genesis Customer service will just ship it to you and you insert it and your done.


#2 the instruction for installing the key come with the key, again ordering it online is the best solution as it is the least expensive (dealer price is at least 50% more) and the key comes packages with instructions directly out of the service manual for the car, hand them to the dealership service advisor and 15 minutes later it's done.


Personally I have never had a bad experience at a Hyundai dealership, but then again I don't expect much to begin with, I spent too many years owning American cars and Ford, GM, and Chrysler have far worse service by leaps and bounds.

1) The website literally states that I can either use the dealer or install it my self. My regular maintenance appointment was coming up, so might as well the experts install this. They can do the update - IT LITERALLY SAYS that on the MAPNSOFT website. See the screenshot below, where there's option to visit my local dealer. I visited the dealer that is they listed on the site.



2) The instructions literally states that they recommend a dealer installing the Card Key.



Honestly - it's a pet peeve of mine when people excuse shitty customer service. I'm not sure if you mean to or not but by expecting crappy service and being happy with it, you are not improving the situation at all.


Updating the maps and installing the card key are both items a dealership should do. The fact that the dealerships are too competent to do it does not make it okay.

We paid for luxury car and we should expect a luxury experience.

 

[EdP]

1) The website literally states that I can either use the dealer or install it my self. My regular maintenance appointment was coming up, so might as well the experts install this. They can do the update - IT LITERALLY SAYS that on the MAPNSOFT website.

Updating the maps and installing the card key are both items a dealership should do. The fact that the dealerships are too competent to do it does not make it okay.

We paid for luxury car and we should expect a luxury experience.

Choices are nice. Sure, the dealer can do the navigation but my car won't be going for service for a while. Meantime, I know how to insert and SD card so I did it myself today. I don't want my car tied up for such a simple thing. I had someplace to go so it installed along the way. Total active time for me, including opening the package is about 2 minutes. To me, that is a more luxury experience than making a dealer appointment and either taking the car or having it picked up.

Key card needs equipment the dealer has so yes, they can do to.

There are some luxury car owners that are older and not technically competent so they certainly should use the dealer.

 

[Mr. Incredible]

1) The website literally states that I can either use the dealer or install it my self. My regular maintenance appointment was coming up, so might as well the experts install this. They can do the update - IT LITERALLY SAYS that on the MAPNSOFT website. See the screenshot below, where there's option to visit my local dealer. I visited the dealer that is they listed on the site.
View attachment 22316


2) The instructions literally states that they recommend a dealer installing the Card Key.
View attachment 22317


Honestly - it's a pet peeve of mine when people excuse shitty customer service. I'm not sure if you mean to or not but by expecting crappy service and being happy with it, you are not improving the situation at all.


Updating the maps and installing the card key are both items a dealership should do. The fact that the dealerships are too competent to do it does not make it okay.

We paid for luxury car and we should expect a luxury experience.

I'm not excusing the "shitty" customer service, as I haven't received such a thing, all my experiences with Hyundai and Hyundai serving Genesis have been exceptional.

Personally I have far more important things in my life to be concerned with, then to worry about being pampered by a luxury car dealership. Frankly I could care less about a "luxury experience" I've owned MBZ, BMW, and Lexus and never found the experiences to be that much better, other than free coffee and highly marked up services and fees to cover the "experience".

I was taught that if I can do a thing myself then there is no reason or need to pay someone to do it, or in this case waste my time and the dealerships time when the option to do it myself is offered.

Brand names and Luxury Experiences don't concern me, I didn't buy my vehicle because of the fancy service, I bought it because it was comfortable and appealed to me, at the end of the day it is nothing more than a tool to get me from point A to point B and as long as it does that everything else is just icing.

 

[tissle]

I'm not excusing the "shitty" customer service, as I haven't received such a thing, all my experiences with Hyundai and Hyundai serving Genesis have been exceptional.

Personally I have far more important things in my life to be concerned with, then to worry about being pampered by a luxury car dealership. Frankly I could care less about a "luxury experience" I've owned MBZ, BMW, and Lexus and never found the experiences to be that much better, other than free coffee and highly marked up services and fees to cover the "experience".

I was taught that if I can do a thing myself then there is no reason or need to pay someone to do it, or in this case waste my time and the dealerships time when the option to do it myself is offered.

Brand names and Luxury Experiences don't concern me, I didn't buy my vehicle because of the fancy service, I bought it because it was comfortable and appealed to me, at the end of the day it is nothing more than a tool to get me from point A to point B and as long as it does that everything else is just icing.

That's really cool but not everyone is like you.

 

[Seejay]

I've had the good dealer/bad dealer experience in north Houston. Of course, the bad dealer will probably get the final stand-alone Genesis showroom since it is a better location. Doesn't matter, Potemkin owns both. There are worse in Houston--one tried to sell me a Sonata in 2007 that had bad tires, some awful spill in the rear footwell and 4k miles as NEW, I kid you not. I saw a Genesis with their dealer badge a few years ago. I nearly broke into tears (or laughter) for the owner.

 

[ntmehan]

There's definitely a wide difference of opinion about the Luxury Experience here so I'll throw my experience and expectations in too.

I'm in the camp that thinks a) the experience shouldn't matter, a dealer should support it's customers by always doing their best to deliver exceptional service. b) especially when buying a luxury brand, you should be treated even better than whatever non-luxury marque that is underneath that luxury brand.

Two bad experience examples where my expectations were the same and were not met: My previous 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit (ignoring the fact that it was in the shop too much for stupid shit and it was like pulling teeth to get a loaner vehicle at all when part of the Dealer Promise that I was "graced with" for purchasing the car there said that any time I had the vehicle there, they would give me a loaner, yes even for a 30-45 minute oil change.) I took it in about 6 months after purchase because one of the LEDs in the DRLs had gone out. I was driving a $53k "American Range Rover" that wasn't even a year old with LEDs going out, which was unacceptable. They first tried to send me away having "jiggled the wiring harness" which didn't fix the problem so I had to bring it back and was told, "Well, we would have to replace the entire headlamp assembly and we're not sure FCA will approve it..." Long story short, once the part finally came in and was installed they had ripped the fender flares which meet up with the (specific to Summit) front fascia off about 6 inches on either side and were just going to give it back to me like that. After 2 failed attempts to install new ones I told the service manager that they would pay to have a body shop install them properly or I would get my lawyer involved. It required 5 dealership visits over the course of 2-3 months before everything was taken care of. I didn't get a loaner a few of those trips because I didn't need one, and when I did get one they were a base model Nissan Rouge and base model Jeep Cherokee respectively. After all this the same thing happened to the other headlamp and we had to go through the whole ordeal again. I was consistently treated like I had purchased a used $10k Dodge Dart, and for that reason I will never buy another FCA product.

Fast forward to my Genesis ownership, my first dealership visit after buying my used 2015 was to my local Hyundai dealership, since the Hyundai/Genesis dealer was 30 minutes away and the closer location had only recently had it's new Genesis Inventory pulled I figured they were still a safe bet. I was told that my steering wheel moving side to side half and inch was "by design" and the sunroof rattles and f**ked up seal were just part of the way that sunroof works... It also had a rattly as hell blower fan (which we couldn't replicate) and the illuminated sill plate on the driver's side didn't work. I wasn't offered a loaner and had to take their shuttle to work while they checked everything out. Out of all these issues all they fixed was the sill plate after ordering the part and bringing it back (again with no loaner) to get it installed. I took the same car with the same problems 30 minutes away, was greeted better, checked in quicker, provided a (base model Sonata, the closest they could get at the time with short notice) loaner to drive while they diagnosed the problems and they were able to fix the steering wheel in one day. (This was the only issue I had brought up since it seemed the most pressing.) When I picked the car up, they told me exactly what had been done, had washed the exterior, vacuumed and wiped down the interior, and gave me my paperwork in a nice neat little Genesis folder that thanked me for allowing them to service my vehicle.

My second trip to this same dealer got me the same pleasant check in, a ride with the Service Manager to confirm the noises and things that I was concerned with and (the only Genesis loaner the dealer has) a base model G70 in white to drive while they diagnose. It's taking a bit longer than I'd like (especially in our current heat wave when I don't have cooled seats or remote start in the loaner) but after a follow up to grab some stuff out of my car for the weekend, I'm very confident that most if not all my concerns will be taken care of.

All that to say, if someone works as a service adviser or whatever, their sole purpose is to provide respectful customer service and if they can't do that or they continue to sour the experience by being pushy with crap you don't need or being incompetent about the brand they service, they should be fired and people brought in who can do the job. Unfortunately Hyundai owners in general will accept the poor treatment silently, but they don't need to make the same assumption about someone who spent 2-3 times more on a Genesis. I'm not even 30 and I know damn well that Customer Service has basically died in the last 15 years or so and we've got to stop letting that be ok...

 

[Mr. Incredible]

There's definitely a wide difference of opinion about the Luxury Experience here so I'll throw my experience and expectations in too.

I'm in the camp that thinks a) the experience shouldn't matter, a dealer should support it's customers by always doing their best to deliver exceptional service. b) especially when buying a luxury brand, you should be treated even better than whatever non-luxury marque that is underneath that luxury brand.

Two bad experience examples where my expectations were the same and were not met: My previous 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit (ignoring the fact that it was in the shop too much for stupid shit and it was like pulling teeth to get a loaner vehicle at all when part of the Dealer Promise that I was "graced with" for purchasing the car there said that any time I had the vehicle there, they would give me a loaner, yes even for a 30-45 minute oil change.) I took it in about 6 months after purchase because one of the LEDs in the DRLs had gone out. I was driving a $53k "American Range Rover" that wasn't even a year old with LEDs going out, which was unacceptable. They first tried to send me away having "jiggled the wiring harness" which didn't fix the problem so I had to bring it back and was told, "Well, we would have to replace the entire headlamp assembly and we're not sure FCA will approve it..." Long story short, once the part finally came in and was installed they had ripped the fender flares which meet up with the (specific to Summit) front fascia off about 6 inches on either side and were just going to give it back to me like that. After 2 failed attempts to install new ones I told the service manager that they would pay to have a body shop install them properly or I would get my lawyer involved. It required 5 dealership visits over the course of 2-3 months before everything was taken care of. I didn't get a loaner a few of those trips because I didn't need one, and when I did get one they were a base model Nissan Rouge and base model Jeep Cherokee respectively. After all this the same thing happened to the other headlamp and we had to go through the whole ordeal again. I was consistently treated like I had purchased a used $10k Dodge Dart, and for that reason I will never buy another FCA product.

same as every experience I have ever had at any Chrysler, Ford, or GM dealership since 1997. With the exception of 1 Chevy dealership that from 1996 until 2012 provided Lexus level service, including loaners.

In 2012 the owner passed away, his grand kids had no interest in the dealership and sold it. The new owner went about business the "old fashion" way, the attitude of "f the customer as long as we have their money we don't care, there will be another customer to take their place if they don't like us."

 

[idlemind]

I was just here reflecting on these posts and my experience in dealerships and other retail outlets and had the thought that maybe we should send a note up the chain praising good service. My thought is that when these service departments, and dealerships get a note of praise that they are doing something right, they will keep that up and do all they can to keep that reputation and hopefully continue receiving stellar reports of their good service. What do you guys think?

 

[ntmehan]

I was just here reflecting on these posts and my experience in dealerships and other retail outlets and had the thought that maybe we should send a note up the chain praising good service. My thought is that when these service departments, and dealerships get a note of praise that they are doing something right, they will keep that up and do all they can to keep that reputation and hopefully continue receiving stellar reports of their good service. What do you guys think?

You're absolutely right there. I've already left a glowing review of Crain Hyundai of Fayetteville (AR) on Facebook but maybe taking the time to make that a little more official would really make a difference. I want this brand to succeed so badly: as a Mechanical Engineer I really apprecieate how well designed and engineered these products are. I mean hell, I'm in a "bottom of the barrel" G70 and it's been SO MUCH FUN to drive in the week I've had it! Maybe better than my e46... It would be so frustrating for the value/design/engineering/product to be everything it needs to be and then the entire brand be let down or fail because of the service experience... And I don't think it's an overall quality issue. Everyone has issues, and when you give a car everything, you're even more likely to have issues with something. That's what I was insinuating has died recently; we understand that as things get more complex, they aren't going to be perfect, but as long as we get treated like the company cares about righting the issue, I think most people are more than happy with that... I'll draft that up in the next few days and share it with you guys! Cheers!

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[LandOfConfusion]

You're absolutely right there. I've already left a glowing review of Crain Hyundai of Fayetteville (AR) on Facebook but maybe taking the time to make that a little more official would really make a difference. I want this brand to succeed so badly: as a Mechanical Engineer I really apprecieate how well designed and engineered these products are. I mean hell, I'm in a "bottom of the barrel" G70 and it's been SO MUCH FUN to drive in the week I've had it! Maybe better than my e46... It would be so frustrating for the value/design/engineering/product to be everything it needs to be and then the entire brand be let down or fail because of the service experience... And I don't think it's an overall quality issue. Everyone has issues, and when you give a car everything, you're even more likely to have issues with something. That's what I was insinuating has died recently; we understand that as things get more complex, they aren't going to be perfect, but as long as we get treated like the company cares about righting the issue, I think most people are more than happy with that... I'll draft that up in the next few days and share it with you guys! Cheers!

At the risk of hijacking the thread, I have to ask for your assessment of the G70 vs. the e46. Those were fun cars; I drove one. I also had an e92 (2 door e90), which was a great chassis with great steering. I do, think the G70 is a heck of a fun car, but it has a more comfortable chassis and suspension setup than most of the BMWs I drove. Feels a bit bulkier, too, but it is longer and wider with more ground clearance than the e92 I drove. The G70s steering is just as precise (but not as heavy and not as much feedback), and it has wonderful grip in the corners. I really am enjoying the G70, though. Amazing what they were able to pull off with this chassis.

 

[ntmehan]

At the risk of hijacking the thread, I have to ask for your assessment of the G70 vs. the e46. Those were fun cars; I drove one. I also had an e92 (2 door e90), which was a great chassis with great steering. I do, think the G70 is a heck of a fun car, but it has a more comfortable chassis and suspension setup than most of the BMWs I drove. Feels a bit bulkier, too, but it is longer and wider with more ground clearance than the e92 I drove. The G70s steering is just as precise (but not as heavy and not as much feedback), and it has wonderful grip in the corners. I really am enjoying the G70, though. Amazing what they were able to pull off with this chassis.

So admittedly it's been a while. My e46 was a black 2003 325i with Premium and Sport packages and saddle interior (the color leather is supposed to be.) I owned it in 2009 through late 2011 and sold it with something just over 150k miles. That car was still solid the day I sold it, with a minor valve cover gasket oil leak and I had only replaced the alternator about 8 months prior to selling (did it myself in the Texas Summer heat...) None of the typical high mileage German car horror stories, she was a sweetheart. Since then I've been all over the place with different driving dynamics: 2006 G35 Coupe 6MT, 2012 Kia Optima SX, 2014 Ford Focus Titanium, 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit, and now my 2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan 5.0 Ultimate.

As far as the chassis compares, I think softer balance is a good description of the Genesis. I think the Genesis actually has larger wheels, but is still much softer than the Bimmer with a surprising amount of body lean especially when transitioning right to left. I think the Genesis feels much stiffer from a body rigidity standpoint and maybe that's why they can get away with softer springs without compromising that confidence-inspiring handling that everyone wants. I always thought my e46 with the stiffer sport springs was the ideal balance of comfort and handling but I think the G70 is actually better, and the softness allows it to put the 2.0T's power down (which sometimes slams you into full boost a bit abruptly) without relying on the electronics to sort things out and wishing you had a LSD... I think the entire Genesis lineup is poised at that balancing point where BMW was with their whole lineup 15ish years ago, but now has kept "sharpening" things up to the point that they aren't truly comfortable anymore. I'm even more impressed by what they've been able to accomplish with a MacPherson setup up-front instead of something bespoke for the platform.

Steering feel was definitely better in the Bimmer (thanks EPS... Although you can do that right, see Cadillac ATS...) but the Genesis has a good ratio, good weight in Sport if it lacks some feedback. I haven't driven any N20-powered BMWs (I think I got one as a Uber once and it oozed refinement in power delivery, shift quality and timing, etc) but the Genesis powertrain leaves a bit to be desired for me. I know if you wanted more power, go 3.3TT, which is absolutely what I'd have if I bought one, but I mean from a consistency and refinement standpoint. My buddy's 2015 A4 S-line (so it has the 6-spd DSG which is fantastic) has a 2.0T that Audi has made feel very naturally aspirated and linear all the way to redline. (It feels stronger and in fact is faster with the additional weight of Quattro [and 220hp] at 5.4s to 60 vs the G70's [252hp] 7.4 which is about the same as my 5000lb Grand Cherokee V6...) The Genesis seems a bit wheezy at the top of the rev range to the point that I think it feels faster on the butt dyno when you just give it 3/4 throttle and let the engine shift around 4500-5000RPM. There seems to be a ton of turbo lag in all modes and even in Sport Mode there is a giant delay when you lift off WOT before the electronics actually tell the engine to start decelerating... Then there is some odd non-linearity that I can't quite explain when you aren't driving for economy. The transmission programming is excellent and I've only tripped it up when driving sporadically in Smart mode where it was trying to quickly guess which sub-mode it should put me in. You'll never accidentally break the rear end loose, and I haven't tried, but I imagine it's probably hard to do it on purpose.

I need to go drive a new 3er, my best friend is a BMW tech and he said it's the best 3 he's ever driven and that the last 2 were mostly crap. MB has never blown by skirt up, their styling is gawdy in my opinion and any company that thinks it's ok to put a full phone keypad on the dash of a car in 2019 is so far behind the times it's not even remotely funny. Audi has been my go-to for a few years (haven't owned one but aspired to them) but I think Genesis has me fully won-over now. I question why an Audi S4 can get 354hp and 369ftlbs out of a 3.0L that gets 30MPG on the highway and is faster to 60 than a G70 3.3T by 0.6seconds that has 365hp and 376ftlbs and only gets 26MPG on the highway, but you can buy a lot of premium fuel for the $9k difference between the 2 comparably optioned...

 

[LandOfConfusion]

So admittedly it's been a while. My e46 was a black 2003 325i with Premium and Sport packages and saddle interior (the color leather is supposed to be.) I owned it in 2009 through late 2011 and sold it with something just over 150k miles. That car was still solid the day I sold it, with a minor valve cover gasket oil leak and I had only replaced the alternator about 8 months prior to selling (did it myself in the Texas Summer heat...) None of the typical high mileage German car horror stories, she was a sweetheart. Since then I've been all over the place with different driving dynamics: 2006 G35 Coupe 6MT, 2012 Kia Optima SX, 2014 Ford Focus Titanium, 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit, and now my 2015 Hyundai Genesis Sedan 5.0 Ultimate.

As far as the chassis compares, I think softer balance is a good description of the Genesis. I think the Genesis actually has larger wheels, but is still much softer than the Bimmer with a surprising amount of body lean especially when transitioning right to left. I think the Genesis feels much stiffer from a body rigidity standpoint and maybe that's why they can get away with softer springs without compromising that confidence-inspiring handling that everyone wants. I always thought my e46 with the stiffer sport springs was the ideal balance of comfort and handling but I think the G70 is actually better, and the softness allows it to put the 2.0T's power down (which sometimes slams you into full boost a bit abruptly) without relying on the electronics to sort things out and wishing you had a LSD... I think the entire Genesis lineup is poised at that balancing point where BMW was with their whole lineup 15ish years ago, but now has kept "sharpening" things up to the point that they aren't truly comfortable anymore. I'm even more impressed by what they've been able to accomplish with a MacPherson setup up-front instead of something bespoke for the platform.

Steering feel was definitely better in the Bimmer (thanks EPS... Although you can do that right, see Cadillac ATS...) but the Genesis has a good ratio, good weight in Sport if it lacks some feedback. I haven't driven any N20-powered BMWs (I think I got one as a Uber once and it oozed refinement in power delivery, shift quality and timing, etc) but the Genesis powertrain leaves a bit to be desired for me. I know if you wanted more power, go 3.3TT, which is absolutely what I'd have if I bought one, but I mean from a consistency and refinement standpoint. My buddy's 2015 A4 S-line (so it has the 6-spd DSG which is fantastic) has a 2.0T that Audi has made feel very naturally aspirated and linear all the way to redline. (It feels stronger and in fact is faster with the additional weight of Quattro [and 220hp] at 5.4s to 60 vs the G70's [252hp] 7.4 which is about the same as my 5000lb Grand Cherokee V6...) The Genesis seems a bit wheezy at the top of the rev range to the point that I think it feels faster on the butt dyno when you just give it 3/4 throttle and let the engine shift around 4500-5000RPM. There seems to be a ton of turbo lag in all modes and even in Sport Mode there is a giant delay when you lift off WOT before the electronics actually tell the engine to start decelerating... Then there is some odd non-linearity that I can't quite explain when you aren't driving for economy. The transmission programming is excellent and I've only tripped it up when driving sporadically in Smart mode where it was trying to quickly guess which sub-mode it should put me in. You'll never accidentally break the rear end loose, and I haven't tried, but I imagine it's probably hard to do it on purpose.

I need to go drive a new 3er, my best friend is a BMW tech and he said it's the best 3 he's ever driven and that the last 2 were mostly crap. MB has never blown by skirt up, their styling is gawdy in my opinion and any company that thinks it's ok to put a full phone keypad on the dash of a car in 2019 is so far behind the times it's not even remotely funny. Audi has been my go-to for a few years (haven't owned one but aspired to them) but I think Genesis has me fully won-over now. I question why an Audi S4 can get 354hp and 369ftlbs out of a 3.0L that gets 30MPG on the highway and is faster to 60 than a G70 3.3T by 0.6seconds that has 365hp and 376ftlbs and only gets 26MPG on the highway, but you can buy a lot of premium fuel for the $9k difference between the 2 comparably optioned...

Excellent analysis and, I think, spot on. As someone who has driven German cars for a while now (longer than I might care to admit) I think any Genesis sales associate should consider exactly what you’ve said. My sales guy knew I was coming from a BMW and knew pretty well how to focus on the G70’s strengths which, as you pointed out, center around its chassis, suspension setup and compliance, and great handling. Although my e92 had a significantly stiffer suspension and a bit less body roll, it didn’t grip any better, even with the best tires, and it was a far harsher ride even with smaller rims.

Audis are beautiful cars, especially the interiors. I didn’t like that many of them have been on a FWD platform, but they’re going back to the longitudinally mounted engine on some models now.

MB? More pretentious than just about any other brand without many (any) advantages. Generally ugly styling, IMO, but that’s subjective.

I do like the new 3ers, and I very much considered a new 330i instead of the G70. Although it’s a better 3 series than they’ve had in a while, I’d say it’s good at nearly everything, but not great at anything. Strength is its powertrain. That 4 cylinder makes great power and has unbelievable fuel economy. But in the high $40k to mid $50k range, it just isn’t a compelling value. Not saying it isn’t a good car, but it’s not that much better — and maybe not at all better — than a similarly optioned G70. Also, everyone and their brother has a BMW now. The novelty is gone.

I made the right choice. Love my G70 and am always looking forward to driving it.