GripperDon,
My 2003 Accord with the 240hp V6 was a superb car. It was totaled when a texting teenager rear-ended me at 35mph while I was stopped on a dead straightaway behind a "Nervous Nellie" who needed a big break in traffic to make an easy left turn. She had about 5 easy opportunities in this driving rainstorm before she finally made her turn. Just as she turned, I saw these lights bearing down on me from behind and gripped my steering
wheel. The kid barely hit his brakes before creaming me, totally crushing the back end of the Accord. I walked away dazed and amazed. The car was a writeoff.
Anyway, the Accord had about 45000 miles on it, and was completely trouble-free for the entire 6.5 years I owned it. Replaced tires at 32000, battery at 40000, still had original brake lining.
Excellent performing car, very refined, turbine like engine got the car from 0 to 60 in about 7 seconds flat, averaged roughly 22 mpg. Not great road holding, I'd say about
.78g. Very nice solidity and integrity. Still not one squeak or rattle after 6.5 years of driving. Still not burning any detectable oil between changes. (I changed each 6 months, after about 3500 miles of driving).
I paid 21300 for the Accord, and State Farm gave me 13400 for the wreck. So you can see my cost of ownership was incredibly low.
The Genny seems much more solid than the Accord. Doors and trunk lid seem much heavier, and more solid. Paint quality is noticeably better, absolutely beautiful. 6 speed tranny is fine, although it gets a bit confused if I stomp the accelerator really hard, then back off really fast.
The combination of road holding (much better than the Accord) and great low end torque in the Genny V6 gets me up to entrance speed with far less gas and RPMs than the Accord. With the Accord's poorer road holding, I'd have to hold back on the curved part of the ramp, then wind it out on the straightaway. With the Genny, I just rev to about 2200RPM and it easily exits the curved part at 60, then pulls right up to 75 at the entry point to the highway. The result is my morning commute is an effortless, relaxed experience that is almost Zen like.
Did not subscribe to XM Radio. Their deceptive billing practices (hidden $24 a year "royalty charges" that should be declared up front) and bad reputation, plus the fact that I'm only behind the
wheel an hour a day and don't like to drive distracted turned me off. (after 6 years, you've saved a thousand bucks, assuming they have not gone bankrupt by then).
Ride is a bit strange (lurchy) at times, but very solid, and I actually like it.
Climate control is excellent. Braking superb.
Stock tires don't grip well on snow and ice. Better go really easy, or else stay off the road entirely.
Engine/exhaust noise (kind of raspy, metallic warble on acceleration), as I have said before on this forum, is the one most distinctive negative trait. It just doesn't sound right to me. Neither luxurious nor sporty.
Overall, the Hyundai seems to be a much better car than the 2003 Accord. I drove a top of the line 2010 Accord V6 before test driving the 2010 Hyundai. The 2010 Accord is smaller than the Genny, noticeably slower than the 2003 Accord (and of course not competitive at all with the Genny). It is substantially smaller on the inside, slightly smaller on the outside, and although it feels more substantial and solid than the 2003 Accord, it is no match for the Genny. I paid about $4500 more for my base Genny 6 than I would have paid for the Accord. I got an extra two years of warranty, and so far the Genny is getting better gas mileage than my 2003 Accord. (And it is well known that the 2010 Accord gets poorer mileage than previous generations, despite its use of cylinder-cutoff technology that drops you to 4 cylinders during highway cruising -- with a slight shudder I actually could detect).
Frankly, I don't know how Hyundai does it, and I am waiting to discover some horrible flaw in the Genesis. But after 3.5 months and 2000 miles, I have not been able to discover any serious flaws in the car.
