martin.1497
Registered Member
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2020
- Messages
- 19
- Reaction score
- 26
- Points
- 13
- Genesis Model Type
- Genesis G80 Ultimate
I really like the 3.8 engine. There are times when it feels ever so slightly underpowered but it's very minor and typically the power kicks in quickly. The engine does feel very smooth though. I'm sure I would prefer the 5.0 if I drove one which is why I didn't. Haha. I definitely find the 3.8 more than sufficient in most situations. I was trying to stay a little more practical with fuel economy and serviceability. I also went for a used car and found that the 3.8 Ultimates were going for just over the cost of a 3.8 base. The 3.3T and 5.0 were significantly higher unless I went for a 2015-2016 5.0. I wanted 2018+ for the LED headlights(which are amazing) and Android Auto.
I had my last car for 7 years and hope to keep this car as long. My last car was an Optima with a 2.0T which was a fun engine at times. It would give me stronger feeling bursts of power but I feel like the 3.8 gives much more consistent power. I have to watch myself more in the G80. It gets up to speed so smoothly that I don't always realize how fast I am going. I hate the way the 4 cylinder felt when coming to a stop and at idle and am glad to be back in a V6. On the down side, the 2.0T would average 34+mpg at 80mph on a long trip. I haven't had the G80 on a road trip yet but I anticipate it will not be as high. The G80 is way more comfortable and quiet which was my main reason for wanting one and one of the reasons I was willing to settle for the 3.8.
One thing I will say that was strange to me about the 3.8 Ultimate is that while it has almost every option that the 5.0 Ultimate has, I have found 2 small details it does not. The headliner is not the suede like liner and the door sill plates are not backlit. It's strange to me that they chose to omit those 2 minor details from the 3.8 top trim. My Kia had both of those features on the SXL trim. It doesn't really bother me because the Genesis approach lights are cooler than the sill plates on my Kia and the standard headliner material on the G80 is pretty nice. The standard Kia headliner felt very cheap by comparison so I was glad mine was the upgraded. It does seem strange to me though that they left off these options on a $50k+ top trim model that my $35k top trim Optima had.
I had my last car for 7 years and hope to keep this car as long. My last car was an Optima with a 2.0T which was a fun engine at times. It would give me stronger feeling bursts of power but I feel like the 3.8 gives much more consistent power. I have to watch myself more in the G80. It gets up to speed so smoothly that I don't always realize how fast I am going. I hate the way the 4 cylinder felt when coming to a stop and at idle and am glad to be back in a V6. On the down side, the 2.0T would average 34+mpg at 80mph on a long trip. I haven't had the G80 on a road trip yet but I anticipate it will not be as high. The G80 is way more comfortable and quiet which was my main reason for wanting one and one of the reasons I was willing to settle for the 3.8.
One thing I will say that was strange to me about the 3.8 Ultimate is that while it has almost every option that the 5.0 Ultimate has, I have found 2 small details it does not. The headliner is not the suede like liner and the door sill plates are not backlit. It's strange to me that they chose to omit those 2 minor details from the 3.8 top trim. My Kia had both of those features on the SXL trim. It doesn't really bother me because the Genesis approach lights are cooler than the sill plates on my Kia and the standard headliner material on the G80 is pretty nice. The standard Kia headliner felt very cheap by comparison so I was glad mine was the upgraded. It does seem strange to me though that they left off these options on a $50k+ top trim model that my $35k top trim Optima had.

