Just got back from my test drive.
It was a red 3.8 base car. None of the bells and whistles that would come with the GT. And no, I didn't throw my money down (no GT and no gray ones).
I REALLY enjoyed the ride. He really let me take it out. We went at least 10 miles all together. At first, the
wheel was really feeling the road. I mean with the vibrations. Maybe it was that particular stretch because I didn't notice it after a couple of minutes.
The cabin was MUCH quieter than my current car and I could talk to the dealer without raising my voice. I LOVED the leather! It was so soft and comfy. All the materials were nice. I read in reviews that the center console had "cheap" plastic. It felt fine to me. Even the plastic on the dash felt nice.
I didn't know how to slide the seat forward (no power seats) but I leaned back in the cockpit a little. I noticed that the
wheel is SMALL. That surprised me. At least small in comparison to my Equinox. But it moved the car on command with little effort. The car felt SOLID, which was a worry of mine. I don't know why, but I just thought the car would fell flimsy and age poorly. I want the car to look and feel just as good 5 years from now if I take care of it right.
Now the fun part. I've only ever driven two other sports cars and they were rentals. One the 40th anniversary Mustang. That car was "meh". The other was the 350Z right when it debut about 4 years ago. I remember hitting the gas in that car and it RESPONDED. It didn't have to think about giving me the thrust, it just did. The Genesis did the same for me today. Since I'm not used to it, we came off a red light and I gave the gas a good mash and jerked us both back in our seats! I was then coming onto a road and this jerk in a
buick wasn't going to let me merge, so I hit the gas and the car just jetted out in front without feeling strained at all. It just felt so good.
The braking was of course very sharp since they're brand new and I love the turning radius (again, after 3 years in an SUV, it's something to get used to). The stock stereo (remember, not the Infinity that'll be in the GT) was actually pretty good. The whole interior just felt so enveloping. And I LOVED the sight-line out the front. It's so wide open and you can see everything. That's one thing all the Camaro reviews knocked, poor sight-lines. The sight-lines were great out the front and the side but the back is really high. It's almost useless to turn around and look out the back, all you see is the sky. You have to use the rearview which gives you a great view.
All in all, I loved the test drive. I'm not buying the GT from them because they were being kind of pushy and ASSUMING I was gonna buy from them. I got a guy down in Annapolis ready to sell me the 3.8 GT in the color I want for $26,500 before tax and fees! So I just gave him my deposit. I'll be picking it up when he gets it in (they have to drive it from another dealer).
So that's that. I no longer long for the Camaro (I will miss OnStar though). It's the warranty that put Hyundai over the top. It truly is an awesome warranty package that GM can't even dream of touching. And all of the options. Proximity Key, parking sensors, auto-leveling lighting, Infinity stereo (10 speakers!), auto climate control and on and on. They even offered to replace the "H"
badge with
Genesis badges (though not the Genesis Coupe
badge).
I'm sold!
