Early Owner Feedback

[mcornett]

Dumb question....why did you make the switch from Mercedes to Genesis?

Not dumb at all!

I am coming from an almost fully-equipped 2016 C300. I really enjoyed the C300--it is a very high-quality car--but my lease is coming up soon, so I've been looking around. I wanted to stay in the compact to mid-size four-door luxury segment, whether it be a hatch, wagon, or small SUV in about the same or lower price range. I have had my eye on the X3, A5 Sportback, XC60, V60, RDX, and the upcoming A-Class hatchback.

I had zero preconceptions about Genesis going in -- I had only read a couple of positive reviews of the G70. I have no allegiance to any luxury brand in particular. Ultimately, when I test drove the 3.3T, I was astounded by the drive quality compared to the C300. It had as much poise, but felt more surefooted, transmitted less road noise (owing partially to non-run flat tires, which I'd never get again), and had far more power. I felt confident throwing the G70 around whereas the C300 always felt a bit skittish.

I priced out the options, and by far the G70 3.3T offered the best value . For less than I could buy an A5 or 3-series (after options I'd want), I was getting a fully-equipped sports-luxury car with an engine almost equivalent to an S5 or a M-series. Pricing for the X3, XC60, V60, and RDX (though slightly different segments) seemed exorbitant by comparison. It felt like I was getting a deal -- so much that I decided to finance instead of lease. It also helped that five years of warranty coverage is included in Canada, so I wasn't so trepidatious about trying a newish brand.

It really came down to drive quality and bang for your buck. I got all the options I wanted (and some I didn't even need, like Nappa leather and the HUD) without having to compromise on price.

There are a handful of things from the Mercedes I will miss (park assist, more styled interior, slightly more rear legroom, slightly better sound system), but overall the G70 is a superior car. I hope that helps!

 

[devellis]

I don't think he is meaning that the V8 has turbo lag. He's getting at the initial press of the pedal does nothing for how ever long. Transmissions now-a-days have a learning curve. Any service advisor has that knowledge. Our Genesis/G80 is a luxury car, not a race car. Ease of use and sublteness are characteristics of our cars. If one is complaining about throttle response, go buy a car that is made for a track. If one is complaining about turbo lag, go buy a supercharged or NA vehicle. Throttle response and turbo lag are two totally different issues but mildy produce the same effect.

I hear what you're saying. But Genesis promotes the G70 as a sports sedan. Given that, I think it's perfectly reasonable to expect a responsive throttle with minimal delay, at least in Sport setting. The G80 is another matter entirely, as it has less of a claim on sportiness and leans more heavily toward luxury.

 

[thedisbeliever]

As a 3.3T Sport owner, I can also confirm that there’s lots of torque throughout the rev range with very little turbo lag.

In eco and comfort, they tune the throttle response to be much more gradual, so the torque builds up more slowly. This is to make acceleration from a stop more smooth, and I think it’s perfect for when you’re just commuting and don’t want any jerkiness. When you put it in sport, or in custom with Powertrain set to sport, it sharpens up a lot, making it easy to jerk you back if you’re not careful with the throttle.

I’m really happy with the throttle tuning. Each mode has its own character, and is ideal for its own situation. It’s easy and quick to change between them with the mode dial, so I do it often depending on the terrain, traffic and my own whim.

I also wanted to comment on manual shifting. In eco and comfort, you can use the paddles to change gears just by clicking which direction you want to shift, and it will hold that gear for a few seconds. After it notices you haven’t done anything, it’ll go back to Drive in auto mode. It will also upshift for you if you linger too long in the higher rev ranges without being on the throttle. This makes sense. After all, you’re in Eco and Comfort.

In Sport, if you activate the paddles it will hold that gear indefinitely, until you either come to a stop (when it will shift into D), hit the red line (I think it shifted up for me once, but I’ll have to confirm once I’m out of the break-in period), or if you pull the gear lever down to signal you want to go back to D auto. If you came to a stop and it went back to D, just hit down on the paddles and you’re back in manual 1, ready to go.

Hope that’s helpful to some people interested in the car. These were all things I was wondering about before buying.

 

[PD705]

As a 3.3T Sport owner, I can also confirm that there’s lots of torque throughout the rev range with very little turbo lag.

In eco and comfort, they tune the throttle response to be much more gradual, so the torque builds up more slowly. This is to make acceleration from a stop more smooth, and I think it’s perfect for when you’re just commuting and don’t want any jerkiness. When you put it in sport, or in custom with Powertrain set to sport, it sharpens up a lot, making it easy to jerk you back if you’re not careful with the throttle.

I’m really happy with the throttle tuning. Each mode has its own character, and is ideal for its own situation. It’s easy and quick to change between them with the mode dial, so I do it often depending on the terrain, traffic and my own whim.

I also wanted to comment on manual shifting. In eco and comfort, you can use the paddles to change gears just by clicking which direction you want to shift, and it will hold that gear for a few seconds. After it notices you haven’t done anything, it’ll go back to Drive in auto mode. It will also upshift for you if you linger too long in the higher rev ranges without being on the throttle. This makes sense. After all, you’re in Eco and Comfort.

In Sport, if you activate the paddles it will hold that gear indefinitely, until you either come to a stop (when it will shift into D), hit the red line (I think it shifted up for me once, but I’ll have to confirm once I’m out of the break-in period), or if you pull the gear lever down to signal you want to go back to D auto. If you came to a stop and it went back to D, just hit down on the paddles and you’re back in manual 1, ready to go.

Hope that’s helpful to some people interested in the car. These were all things I was wondering about before buying.

Just to add to that, two other details:

1) In manual mode, you can also get the car to revert to Drive by holding down the upshift paddle for longer than 1 second. Saves having to drop your hand down to the shifter.

2) In manual mode, with full ESC OFF and Sport drive mode selected, the car will not upshift automatically at redline.

 

[thedisbeliever]

Just to add to that, two other details:

1) In manual mode, you can also get the car to revert to Drive by holding down the upshift paddle for longer than 1 second. Saves having to drop your hand down to the shifter.

2) In manual mode, with full ESC OFF and Sport drive mode selected, the car will not upshift automatically at redline.

That’s awesome. I was wondering how to do both of those things, but hadn’t gotten around to digging into the manual. Thanks!

 

[Beefer]

Just to add to that, two other details:

1) In manual mode, you can also get the car to revert to Drive by holding down the upshift paddle for longer than 1 second. Saves having to drop your hand down to the shifter.

2) In manual mode, with full ESC OFF and Sport drive mode selected, the car will not upshift automatically at redline.

So for #2...you could in theory blow your trans I suppose.

 

[kmooney4]

As a 3.3T Sport owner, I can also confirm that there’s lots of torque throughout the rev range with very little turbo lag.

In eco and comfort, they tune the throttle response to be much more gradual, so the torque builds up more slowly. This is to make acceleration from a stop more smooth, and I think it’s perfect for when you’re just commuting and don’t want any jerkiness. When you put it in sport, or in custom with Powertrain set to sport, it sharpens up a lot, making it easy to jerk you back if you’re not careful with the throttle.

I’m really happy with the throttle tuning. Each mode has its own character, and is ideal for its own situation. It’s easy and quick to change between them with the mode dial, so I do it often depending on the terrain, traffic and my own whim.

I also wanted to comment on manual shifting. In eco and comfort, you can use the paddles to change gears just by clicking which direction you want to shift, and it will hold that gear for a few seconds. After it notices you haven’t done anything, it’ll go back to Drive in auto mode. It will also upshift for you if you linger too long in the higher rev ranges without being on the throttle. This makes sense. After all, you’re in Eco and Comfort.

In Sport, if you activate the paddles it will hold that gear indefinitely, until you either come to a stop (when it will shift into D), hit the red line (I think it shifted up for me once, but I’ll have to confirm once I’m out of the break-in period), or if you pull the gear lever down to signal you want to go back to D auto. If you came to a stop and it went back to D, just hit down on the paddles and you’re back in manual 1, ready to go.

Hope that’s helpful to some people interested in the car. These were all things I was wondering about before buying.

Just to add to that, two other details:

1) In manual mode, you can also get the car to revert to Drive by holding down the upshift paddle for longer than 1 second. Saves having to drop your hand down to the shifter.

2) In manual mode, with full ESC OFF and Sport drive mode selected, the car will not upshift automatically at redline.

I have always thought that it is simpler to just have a separate "gear" on the gear selector... kind of simplifies things and prevents from having to learn different actions and also from the car outsmarting itself depending on drive mode. I get that it makes sense to auto upshift in eco and comfort modes, but the whole purpose of paddle shifters is so the driver can pick his own gear. In my F-150 there is a separate "gear" that you pull the gear selector into and then the shifting buttons work; I have yet to have the tranny auto upshift on me. Granted it's a truck and I rarely redline it so I suppose there is a chance it would auto upshift...

 

[kmooney4]

Having said all that, it does seem like a very simple and intuitive system that is very efficient, smart, and easy to learn! Thanks for sharing, guys!

 

[thedisbeliever]

Having said all that, it does seem like a very simple and intuitive system that is very efficient, smart, and easy to learn! Thanks for sharing, guys!

Has anyone figured out a way to switch into manual while rolling without shifting gears. Sometimes I’m in the right gear, but want to switch into manual in anticipation of a pass or if I want to hold that gear on a downhill.

 

[kmooney4]

Has anyone figured out a way to switch into manual while rolling without shifting gears. Sometimes I’m in the right gear, but want to switch into manual in anticipation of a pass or if I want to hold that gear on a downhill.

Another advantage to having a dedicated "gear".... in my F-150 if I want manual mode I just drop it into manual mode on the gear selector and take full control of the transmission

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[danygenesis]

Another advantage to having a dedicated "gear".... in my F-150 if I want manual mode I just drop it into manual mode on the gear selector and take full control of the transmission

I can do that with my 2016 Genesis but with the new SBW selector on the G80 Sport and G70 you have no choice at all. Other thing you will loose is the ability to change gears with the selector which I like because it's more like the "traditional" way we used with a manual transmission.

 

[kmooney4]

I can do that with my 2016 Genesis but with the new SBW selector on the G80 Sport and G70 you have no choice at all. Other thing you will loose is the ability to change gears with the selector which I like because it's more like the "traditional" way we used with a manual transmission.

That's true... kind of like where you move the selector off to the side and physically move it up and down for upshift/downshift. Mimics a manual traditional tranny. HOWEVER, given the choice between solid paddles like the G70 has and a moving gear selector, I'll take the paddles EVERY time no hesitation about it!!

 

[Edmguy]

Just to add to that, two other details:

1) In manual mode, you can also get the car to revert to Drive by holding down the upshift paddle for longer than 1 second. Saves having to drop your hand down to the shifter.

2) In manual mode, with full ESC OFF and Sport drive mode selected, the car will not upshift automatically at redline.

I want to add that even with full ESC OFF and in sport mode, the car will still change to D when you come to a complete stop. It will downshift from 8 to 2 staying in manual mode, but if you don't select 1, it will change to D. I still don't like that setting as if you want it to be manual, it should stay manual. The auto shifting down as you stop is handy so you aren't wasting time hitting the paddle shifter for no reason, but shifting into 1st before coming to a stop is not all that smooth.

 

[devellis]

That's true... kind of like where you move the selector off to the side and physically move it up and down for upshift/downshift. Mimics a manual traditional tranny. HOWEVER, given the choice between solid paddles like the G70 has and a moving gear selector, I'll take the paddles EVERY time no hesitation about it!!

My current car (Infiniti) has an automatic transmission wit the lever-operated "manual" mode. It's not that natural because with a true manual transmission, it's an "H" pattern, so some upshifts involve moving the stick forward and others backward. With the automatic in "manual" mode, upshifts are always forward, downshifts always rearward. I actually find the system more likely to confuse (having driven manuals for the previous 46 years) than paddles (which my wife's Subaru has). When reaching for a lever between the seats, my instinctive impulse is to revert to the "H" pattern. No such interference with the paddles.

 

[kmooney4]

I want to add that even with full ESC OFF and in sport mode, the car will still change to D when you come to a complete stop. It will downshift from 8 to 2 staying in manual mode, but if you don't select 1, it will change to D. I still don't like that setting as if you want it to be manual, it should stay manual. The auto shifting down as you stop is handy so you aren't wasting time hitting the paddle shifter for no reason, but shifting into 1st before coming to a stop is not all that smooth.

I guess maybe they do this for two reasons:
1. to prevent people from forgetting they are in manual mode and then killing the engine and transmission; and
2. Genesis figures that manual mode should be used as more of a "race" or enthusiast time of driving, not stop and go so they made it cleaner?

Just some thoughts

 

[Edmguy]

Maybe, but my 335 and 535 didn't operate like that, and personally if I am in manual, I want it to stay there, not change automatically for me.

Again, seldom used so not actually an issue for me, I just don't follow the logic.

 

[thedisbeliever]

Since this is the right thread for this, I’ve been reading about some negative experiences on this forum, and wanted to weigh in with some positive ones.

I went the old school route and went to a dealership to buy my G70 3.3T. It was the Hyundai dealership where I live, and I dealt with the Genesis rep there, who treated my wife and I well, and was knowledgeable about the lineup and trims. No complaints there.

We really wanted the Siberian Ice, and were quoted about 3-5 weeks for the car to arrive, which made me sad. Nine days later, the car was in! (talk about under promise and over deliver). We got lucky, since it must have already been headed our way in transit when we put our order in (On that note, I feel for those that had to wait the quoted time, and especially for those in the states waiting for news about release dates).

The car was delivered super clean. I did a hand wax application a few days later, giving me a chance to meticulously look at every panel, and there was nothing wrong with anything. No rattles or loose parts inside. Everything feels solid so far.

From an ownership perspective, it’s only been a short while, but I don’t have any problems to report. I will when I encounter them.

I’ve done zero highway driving, only my commute to work, sometimes taking the scenic route. Mileage with this driving has been 9-10 L/100Km when in a mix of eco and comfort, and 12-14L/100km on Sport, with paddle shifting on, holding gears unnecessarily all the time, accelerating often, and just playing around. That’s well within what I expected. Again, I’ll post when I have more miles under the belt, and especially after some highway driving and propper mileage calculations after filling up at the pump.

That’s a long post, but I figure if few people report their good experiences, and only negative ones get seen, future buyers may start to assume the worst about the brand.

I’ll return once I’ve had run-ins with the service department and/or booking a pick-up at home, which I’ve seen has been a weak point in others’ experience.

 

[YEH]

In Alex on Autos review of the Stinger he stated the 0-30 time was quite slow and the 30-60 time was quite fast when compared to an Infinity car (and was done on purpose). What I took away from his comment was that the car is made slower initially to save on the drive train.

This.

Hyundai/Genesis has been known to do this (limit torque initially) across their lineup w/ more powerful engines.

Will be interesting to see if the new 10 spd AT gearbox will be more robust and suited for performance and/or if Genesis is working on a wet DCT for RWD application (Hyundai's N division is working on one for the i30N, Veloster-N and other forthcoming N models).

 

[KDX]

I don't think they will go to a dual clutch transmission. In some recent reviews I watched Audi and BMW were moving away from the dual clutch so I assume they are problematic in the long term.

 

[kmooney4]

I don't think they will go to a dual clutch transmission. In some recent reviews I watched Audi and BMW were moving away from the dual clutch so I assume they are problematic in the long term.

After asking a very reputable transmission service center.... STAY AWAY FROM DCTs!!!! If I remember correctly, they said Subaru are the only ones who seem to have figured it out. Other than that, don't trust any of them. Exceptions being maybe some of the high performance supercars but in terms of your average everyday car brands stay away from the DCT.