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Took delivery of my Black/Black 4.6 w/Tech late Wednesday afternoon. Almost 100 miles later, here are some quick first impressions (in no particular order):
1. Handling/Steering: Hyundai did an excellent job, just about the perfect balance between "one finger" and "upper body workout". Firm, but immediately responsive steering. And on tight curves (interstate off-ramp w/posted speed of 30mph which I took at 45mph), there was NO body roll or feedback from the car to tell me to back off. My 4 wheel drive VW wouldn't have behaved so nicely.
2. Ride: This is interesting, mainly because there's been so much written about it here. Yes, you can feel and hear road imperfections. Yes, there are some roads or stretches of roads that feel like a washboard, perhaps 2-5% of my total miles so far. On the other hand, taking the RR crossing at 35mph (for which most people slow to a crawl) wasn't even felt! Interstate, county roads, etc. were all smooth as silk. Bottom line, when you find one of those 2-5% "bad roads", avoid them if you can.
3. Media: Still learning, have AM/FM/XM/iPod/Phone pretty well mastered. Not much need for Nav and Maps in general, so will take my time learning those. There are some annoyances, such as the nag that warns of using ACC instead of idling. I want to tell it that the manual says don't idle for more than 3 minutes (first 600 miles) but I suspect it wouldn't listen to me anyway.
Was pleased to learn that the iPod on my iPhone DOES work with the magnificent sound sysytem! The phone gives a message of incompatiblity, asking if I want to switch to airplane mode. However, nothing bad happened by ignoring that. Sure sweet to have my favorite 1000 songs at the ready should I find nothing on XM's 200 stations... Speaking of XM: maybe we should have a thread of "least compressed XM stations"? I'd start with #74 for great audio, but you have to like blues.
4. Real test: As you married guys know, none of the above matters if your wife doesn't "share" your opinion. Well, Mrs. BTHBC (that doesn't look good!) put it through its paces last night. Combo of surface/interstate, and she loved it! She, of the 328CI, loved it! Said the steering was "close" to her Bimmer, but admitted that the Genesis had a better ride and infinite more power. She said she'd like to try it again this weekend, hope I didn't create a monster...
5. Dealer experience: The guys (and Melanie) at Pugi couldn't have been greater. From the personal touches (iPod cable on the house, rear badge ordered on the house, all paperwork done in less than 10 minutes!!!!) to pricing ($39,100 !!! Btw, I asked if I should keep that price quiet and they said feel free to blast away) they bent over backwards to make me happy (hmm... that doesn't look good either). I realize YMMV applies to dealerships too, but here's my thinking of Lux dealers versus Hyundai dealers:
There are some people that don't mind paying a $200 commission to buy 100 shares of Apple. For that kind of money you get your hand held by a live person. Then there are people who buy that same 100 shares of Apple through a discount broker or online for $5. They recognize the value that comes from saving $195 for the same end result. Those folks should have NO problem dealing with Hyundai because they came for the car/price and not the Armani suit. Like I said, to each his own. But I wonder how many professional reviewers who write about the "dealer experience" being lesser at Hyundai have actually ever been to a dealer, luxury or otherwise?
Oh well, that's it for now.
Happy Motoring!
1. Handling/Steering: Hyundai did an excellent job, just about the perfect balance between "one finger" and "upper body workout". Firm, but immediately responsive steering. And on tight curves (interstate off-ramp w/posted speed of 30mph which I took at 45mph), there was NO body roll or feedback from the car to tell me to back off. My 4 wheel drive VW wouldn't have behaved so nicely.
2. Ride: This is interesting, mainly because there's been so much written about it here. Yes, you can feel and hear road imperfections. Yes, there are some roads or stretches of roads that feel like a washboard, perhaps 2-5% of my total miles so far. On the other hand, taking the RR crossing at 35mph (for which most people slow to a crawl) wasn't even felt! Interstate, county roads, etc. were all smooth as silk. Bottom line, when you find one of those 2-5% "bad roads", avoid them if you can.
3. Media: Still learning, have AM/FM/XM/iPod/Phone pretty well mastered. Not much need for Nav and Maps in general, so will take my time learning those. There are some annoyances, such as the nag that warns of using ACC instead of idling. I want to tell it that the manual says don't idle for more than 3 minutes (first 600 miles) but I suspect it wouldn't listen to me anyway.
Was pleased to learn that the iPod on my iPhone DOES work with the magnificent sound sysytem! The phone gives a message of incompatiblity, asking if I want to switch to airplane mode. However, nothing bad happened by ignoring that. Sure sweet to have my favorite 1000 songs at the ready should I find nothing on XM's 200 stations... Speaking of XM: maybe we should have a thread of "least compressed XM stations"? I'd start with #74 for great audio, but you have to like blues.
4. Real test: As you married guys know, none of the above matters if your wife doesn't "share" your opinion. Well, Mrs. BTHBC (that doesn't look good!) put it through its paces last night. Combo of surface/interstate, and she loved it! She, of the 328CI, loved it! Said the steering was "close" to her Bimmer, but admitted that the Genesis had a better ride and infinite more power. She said she'd like to try it again this weekend, hope I didn't create a monster...
5. Dealer experience: The guys (and Melanie) at Pugi couldn't have been greater. From the personal touches (iPod cable on the house, rear badge ordered on the house, all paperwork done in less than 10 minutes!!!!) to pricing ($39,100 !!! Btw, I asked if I should keep that price quiet and they said feel free to blast away) they bent over backwards to make me happy (hmm... that doesn't look good either). I realize YMMV applies to dealerships too, but here's my thinking of Lux dealers versus Hyundai dealers:
There are some people that don't mind paying a $200 commission to buy 100 shares of Apple. For that kind of money you get your hand held by a live person. Then there are people who buy that same 100 shares of Apple through a discount broker or online for $5. They recognize the value that comes from saving $195 for the same end result. Those folks should have NO problem dealing with Hyundai because they came for the car/price and not the Armani suit. Like I said, to each his own. But I wonder how many professional reviewers who write about the "dealer experience" being lesser at Hyundai have actually ever been to a dealer, luxury or otherwise?
Oh well, that's it for now.
Happy Motoring!
