North vs. South

[tarche]

Just got back from driving my mom down to the Ft. Myers FL area. Started in Philly and spent two long days on the road in a lowly Nissan Sentra. Not something I'd suggest to anyone but she'll be down there for three months and wanted her car. I'm one of us who finds the Genny ride to be harsh, and the trip down to Florida was eye-opening. The roads south of DC are remarkably better than what I drive around here. I've wondered how different owners seem to be mystified by others' complaints with the Genesis ride but now I have a different perspective. If I lived in North Carolina for instance, I'd probably wonder what all the fuss was about. The roads are so smooth, in town and on the highway. I have only driven my 2010 around Philly and up to NYC so my experience is limited to crappy northern roads affected by winters.

Ride quality discussions can get contentious and sometimes personal. Just wanted to point out that where you live can have a material impact on ride quality perception. I'm not about to relocate, but I'm jealous of those who drive the Genny from Virginia on south.

By the way, I was surprised to see very few Genny's on the trip. 4 or 5 tops. Probably saw over 100 Lexus ES 350's for the sake of comparison.

 

[msitter]

As you go further south the winters are less severe. Freeze/thaw cycles are very hard on roads and bridges. The roads in the midwest and northeast have world class potholes and limited funds to repair the roads. When I lived in those places there were no cars that rode well and after a certain period of time became rattle traps. Car and Driver magazine is always making reference to the bad conditions of Michigan highways. I love the ride in my 2010 Genesis but I live in the south.

 

[homeofstone]

You know now that you brought it up, I remember about 30 years ago drving from Georgia up to Dayton Ohio in an Olds cutlass and thought the roads were the worst I had ever been on.

 

[robthoke]

Someone recently released a study of all the roads in all the states and it stated that Georgia had the best roads (smoothest) and California had the worse. Florida's aren't that good either. Could've fooled me as they have been working on the same 20 miles stretch of Interstate for years now. But I've got no complaints about my Genesis's ride.

 

[OBCT]

Someone recently released a study of all the roads in all the states and it stated that Georgia had the best roads (smoothest) and California had the worse. Florida's aren't that good either. Could've fooled me as they have been working on the same 20 miles stretch of Interstate for years now. But I've got no complaints about my Genesis's ride.

Which kinda destroys the north vs. south argument, then, no?

In California, a road's smoothness is directly proportional to the wealth of the communities it's in. Here in the Bay Area exist some of the best maintained roads (mainly freeways) on the continent. CA-280 between San Bruno to Cupertino is the example that springs immediately to mind. It is no coincidence that this stretch of pavement closely borders well-to-do municipalities such as Hillsborough, Menlo Park and Atherton (the number of billionaires residing in these parts is staggering, or so I'm told). Of course, the Bay Area has it's share of **** roads, too ... and factoring in the rest of the state (namely L.A.), the results of this study aren't exactly shocking. We're a disparate state in many ways.

 

[tarche]

Just saw that study. Had Pennsylvania ranked 38th and Florida 39th. Having lived in South Florida for three years and in PA the last eleven, I question their evaluation. The roads in my area (422 corridor NW of Philly) are absolute crap. Miami has some bad highways, and cruising down the Palmetto last Thursday brought back memories, but in general the roads in Florida are much much better. It's really not a fair comparison because they don't get mucked up with snow, ice, salt, and cinders each year like northern roads.

I'd never driven a stiff suspension car prior to the Genesis and didn't notice road quality differences. Now I'm keenly aware. However, I'm dealing with the Genesis much better these days. I notice the harsh ride less and less as I'm now over 7k miles.