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2009 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 - Long-Term Road Test Wrap-Up
We drove Hyundai's luxury car for a record two years and 100,000 miles. Call it a torture test.
What we have here is analogous to the guy who one day decides he’ll take a couple weeks off and walk from Chicago to Fargo: It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, we live to drive, and what’s 100,000 miles—two and a half times our normal long-term evaluation’s distance—to a bunch like us?
It’s a lot of miles, that’s what it is, and it took us just over two years to reach our target. Ordinarily we try to rack up the total long-term test mileage—a mere 40,000 miles—in a year.
But then, the Hyundai Genesis isn’t exactly ordinary. As we’ve observed in earlier reviews, it represents the Korean carmaker’s beachhead in the premium-sedan battlefield, reminiscent of the Lexus LS400’s 1989 arrival. With one key distinction: Toyota felt obliged to establish a new marketing division to be taken seriously as a purveyor of luxury. Hyundai eschewed the massive expense associated with that gambit and stuck with its by-now familiar approach: bargain pricing versus the competition, lots of stand*ard features, competitive quality.
That last category—quality—hasn’t always been a Hyundai strong suit, but the company has made big strides in this critical area, attaining parity, or at least near parity, in its various competitive arenas.
The question here, of course, is how Genesis quality and durability stack up versus the established players in the prestige-sedan game. The answer to that question was the objective of this extra-long long-term test, the longest we’ve ever tackled—40,000 miles more than the Lexus LS400 [“Life with Lexus LS400,” November 1991].
And how did we settle on 100,000 miles? Well, it’s a little more than four trips around the planet. And it’s the duration of Hyundai’s powertrain warranty.
We furnished a midterm report at 40,000 miles [“Pretender or Contender?” August 2010], which could be characterized as a mixed review. Some liked the car. Others weren’t so sure. The nav system, for example, drew unreserved praise from some, pans from others. The same was true of the seats and the derivative styling.
Ride quality came in for consistent kvetching—excessive impact harshness combined with excessive body motion, not a good combination for a luxury sedan. Body roll plus vague steering made it hard to take the Genesis seriously versus sporty German rivals, and there were frequent complaints about the iPod interface and the center-dash info screen, which tended to be all but invisible in daylight.
Several drivers also noted abrupt throttle tip-in, making smooth getaways tricky. However, tip-in notwithstanding, all hands appreciated the silky performance of Hyundai’s homegrown 4.6-liter V-8, as well as the operation of the six-speed transmission in full automatic mode.
The next 60,000 miles produced similar results: Certainly not love-hate, but the responses were more polarized than we ordinarily see. And as time went by, mileage accumulation slowed, as fewer staffers signed out the Genesis for long trips.
Why was this? Familiarity breeding indifference? The “been there, done that” syndrome? It certainly seemed to be a contributing factor. But whatever the cause, as 2010 began winding down toward 2011, we found ourselves almost 40,000 miles short of our goal. This produced a program of epic drives aimed at rolling the odo numbers over the six-figure frontier before the car’s registration expired at the end of the year.
We officially began our “100K or Bust” blitz on October 26, with 61,121 miles on the odo. At that point, our number-cruncher calculated that we needed to drive only 500 miles per day, every day, to hit the finish line on time. Only.
Yeah, right. There were heroics—our friends Russ and David Ferguson logged 9302 miles, from Ann Arbor to multiple California destinations and back, with a little break out West for Christmas. Online editor Jon Yanca and a pal drove 1851 miles in three days, a trip that included a visit to the superb Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Online editor David Gluckman made a one-day, 1001-mile tour of Midwestern “World’s Largest” collections, and design director Nathan Schroeder motored 555 miles to get some new dermal art at Nick Colella’s Chicago Tattoo Company.
But for all the staff’s effort, there were also days when the Genesis accumulated only a few commuting miles.
The bottom line: Bust. The odo didn’t click into six digits until February 3. The Genesis made its end-of-term visit to the test track the next day, and we closed the books at 100,167 miles.
As with its performance throughout the first 40,000 miles, the Hyundai’s 100,000-mile service record was generally solid. During its 40K break-in, the Genesis made five scheduled maintenance stops and two unscheduled pauses, both minor.
That experience was paralleled during the following 60,000 miles—regularly scheduled stops (every 7500 miles) and infrequent unscheduled stops for minor problems (such as audio-system hiccups and a check-engine code that required an ECM reflash). But there were also some non-routine expenses that weren’t so minor. For example, at about 61,000 miles, a little windshield crack grew big enough to require replacement, a $624 repair. Then another crack developed, and we replaced the windshield again before returning the car to Hyundai: $599.
On the same post-test wrap-up visit, we also replaced three of the car’s wheels: $1302. Likely bent due to deteriorated roads, they obviously were not covered by warranty.
So our total cost for 13 scheduled maintenance sessions came to $2663, an average of $205 per visit, exacerbated by the $427 charge for the 60,000-mile service. And that total also omits $1528 for two new sets of tires and their installation.
Observed fuel economy over all those miles was respectable, at 23 mpg, slotting between the EPA forecasts (17 mpg city and 25 highway), and there were freeway stretches where the Genesis flirted with 30 mpg.
Engine performance at the end of the test was just as robust as it was in its first test-track visit almost 98,000 miles earlier: 0-to-60 mph in 5.3 seconds, the quarter-mile in 13.8 at 105 mph. We can’t say the same for final braking performance—175 feet from 70 mph—but that result was undoubtedly influenced by cold weather.
The final test session also provoked erratic transmission responses, which were put right by a chip reflash at the dealer. Beyond that, the Genesis held up well over our extended time with the car. As the miles mounted toward 100K, there were comments regarding the wear and tear of the driver’s seat cushion, in particular, which lost some of its resilience. The leather also showed the sheen produced by many butts polishing its surface over many miles. And when we listened carefully, we heard the hint of wind whistle coming from the sunroof and the occasional squeak from somewhere in the dash. But there was nothing out of the ordinary for a car of its mileage. The structure remained tight, and the only people who complained about the Genesis’s ride quality at the end of its stay were those who complained when it was brand-new.
We’re a house divided on the question of this Hyundai’s chops as a bargain-priced rival to the lords of luxury sedandom. But with 100,000 miles of Genesis motoring in our collective rearview mirrors, we’re united in our respect for Hyundai’s achievement, as well as its chutzpah. And judging by the company’s steady, across-the-board ramp-up, if the first installment of the Genesis was good, we have no doubt the next will be better.
We drove Hyundai's luxury car for a record two years and 100,000 miles. Call it a torture test.
What we have here is analogous to the guy who one day decides he’ll take a couple weeks off and walk from Chicago to Fargo: It seemed like a good idea at the time. After all, we live to drive, and what’s 100,000 miles—two and a half times our normal long-term evaluation’s distance—to a bunch like us?
It’s a lot of miles, that’s what it is, and it took us just over two years to reach our target. Ordinarily we try to rack up the total long-term test mileage—a mere 40,000 miles—in a year.
But then, the Hyundai Genesis isn’t exactly ordinary. As we’ve observed in earlier reviews, it represents the Korean carmaker’s beachhead in the premium-sedan battlefield, reminiscent of the Lexus LS400’s 1989 arrival. With one key distinction: Toyota felt obliged to establish a new marketing division to be taken seriously as a purveyor of luxury. Hyundai eschewed the massive expense associated with that gambit and stuck with its by-now familiar approach: bargain pricing versus the competition, lots of stand*ard features, competitive quality.
That last category—quality—hasn’t always been a Hyundai strong suit, but the company has made big strides in this critical area, attaining parity, or at least near parity, in its various competitive arenas.
The question here, of course, is how Genesis quality and durability stack up versus the established players in the prestige-sedan game. The answer to that question was the objective of this extra-long long-term test, the longest we’ve ever tackled—40,000 miles more than the Lexus LS400 [“Life with Lexus LS400,” November 1991].
And how did we settle on 100,000 miles? Well, it’s a little more than four trips around the planet. And it’s the duration of Hyundai’s powertrain warranty.
We furnished a midterm report at 40,000 miles [“Pretender or Contender?” August 2010], which could be characterized as a mixed review. Some liked the car. Others weren’t so sure. The nav system, for example, drew unreserved praise from some, pans from others. The same was true of the seats and the derivative styling.
Ride quality came in for consistent kvetching—excessive impact harshness combined with excessive body motion, not a good combination for a luxury sedan. Body roll plus vague steering made it hard to take the Genesis seriously versus sporty German rivals, and there were frequent complaints about the iPod interface and the center-dash info screen, which tended to be all but invisible in daylight.
Several drivers also noted abrupt throttle tip-in, making smooth getaways tricky. However, tip-in notwithstanding, all hands appreciated the silky performance of Hyundai’s homegrown 4.6-liter V-8, as well as the operation of the six-speed transmission in full automatic mode.
The next 60,000 miles produced similar results: Certainly not love-hate, but the responses were more polarized than we ordinarily see. And as time went by, mileage accumulation slowed, as fewer staffers signed out the Genesis for long trips.
Why was this? Familiarity breeding indifference? The “been there, done that” syndrome? It certainly seemed to be a contributing factor. But whatever the cause, as 2010 began winding down toward 2011, we found ourselves almost 40,000 miles short of our goal. This produced a program of epic drives aimed at rolling the odo numbers over the six-figure frontier before the car’s registration expired at the end of the year.
We officially began our “100K or Bust” blitz on October 26, with 61,121 miles on the odo. At that point, our number-cruncher calculated that we needed to drive only 500 miles per day, every day, to hit the finish line on time. Only.
Yeah, right. There were heroics—our friends Russ and David Ferguson logged 9302 miles, from Ann Arbor to multiple California destinations and back, with a little break out West for Christmas. Online editor Jon Yanca and a pal drove 1851 miles in three days, a trip that included a visit to the superb Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum just outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Online editor David Gluckman made a one-day, 1001-mile tour of Midwestern “World’s Largest” collections, and design director Nathan Schroeder motored 555 miles to get some new dermal art at Nick Colella’s Chicago Tattoo Company.
But for all the staff’s effort, there were also days when the Genesis accumulated only a few commuting miles.
The bottom line: Bust. The odo didn’t click into six digits until February 3. The Genesis made its end-of-term visit to the test track the next day, and we closed the books at 100,167 miles.
As with its performance throughout the first 40,000 miles, the Hyundai’s 100,000-mile service record was generally solid. During its 40K break-in, the Genesis made five scheduled maintenance stops and two unscheduled pauses, both minor.
That experience was paralleled during the following 60,000 miles—regularly scheduled stops (every 7500 miles) and infrequent unscheduled stops for minor problems (such as audio-system hiccups and a check-engine code that required an ECM reflash). But there were also some non-routine expenses that weren’t so minor. For example, at about 61,000 miles, a little windshield crack grew big enough to require replacement, a $624 repair. Then another crack developed, and we replaced the windshield again before returning the car to Hyundai: $599.
On the same post-test wrap-up visit, we also replaced three of the car’s wheels: $1302. Likely bent due to deteriorated roads, they obviously were not covered by warranty.
So our total cost for 13 scheduled maintenance sessions came to $2663, an average of $205 per visit, exacerbated by the $427 charge for the 60,000-mile service. And that total also omits $1528 for two new sets of tires and their installation.
Observed fuel economy over all those miles was respectable, at 23 mpg, slotting between the EPA forecasts (17 mpg city and 25 highway), and there were freeway stretches where the Genesis flirted with 30 mpg.
Engine performance at the end of the test was just as robust as it was in its first test-track visit almost 98,000 miles earlier: 0-to-60 mph in 5.3 seconds, the quarter-mile in 13.8 at 105 mph. We can’t say the same for final braking performance—175 feet from 70 mph—but that result was undoubtedly influenced by cold weather.
The final test session also provoked erratic transmission responses, which were put right by a chip reflash at the dealer. Beyond that, the Genesis held up well over our extended time with the car. As the miles mounted toward 100K, there were comments regarding the wear and tear of the driver’s seat cushion, in particular, which lost some of its resilience. The leather also showed the sheen produced by many butts polishing its surface over many miles. And when we listened carefully, we heard the hint of wind whistle coming from the sunroof and the occasional squeak from somewhere in the dash. But there was nothing out of the ordinary for a car of its mileage. The structure remained tight, and the only people who complained about the Genesis’s ride quality at the end of its stay were those who complained when it was brand-new.
We’re a house divided on the question of this Hyundai’s chops as a bargain-priced rival to the lords of luxury sedandom. But with 100,000 miles of Genesis motoring in our collective rearview mirrors, we’re united in our respect for Hyundai’s achievement, as well as its chutzpah. And judging by the company’s steady, across-the-board ramp-up, if the first installment of the Genesis was good, we have no doubt the next will be better.
