Refresh for Genesis Sedan in 2011

[Disaster]

According to this posting the Sedan will get a minor refresh in 2011, including an 8 speed transmission.

http://iguida.com/2011-hyundai-genesis

Spy pics and more info here.

http://www.leftlanenews.com/hyundai-genesis-sedan-2011.html

ZF claims their 8 speed can provide a 6% boost in fuel economy over their 6 speed. Hyundai is the manufacturing fuel economy leader in the U.S. and probably wants to keep that position (which helps explain the new Sonata not offering a V6 option.) Lexus has had its own 8 speed since 2008 and Mercedes uses a 7 speed. Wonder if Hyundai will be updating theirs or using ZF's.

http://puregreencars.com/Green-Cars-News/Technology/8-speed-transmission-for-fuel-economy.html

 

[Mark_888]

Wonder if Hyundai will be updating theirs or using ZF's.

I would assume that if Hyundai has their own 8-speed they will use it in the Genesis. Economics and cost control (manufacture in house vs. purchase) probably plays a bigger part in the decision than does fuel mileage.

I personally would be a little leery of buying a car with a brand new Hyundai built transmission, and the fact that the Genesis V6 came with an Aisin transmission (Aisin is 50% owned by Toyota and their transmissions used in some Lexus RWD cars in addition to many other auto manufacturers) was a big selling point for me on the 2009 Genesis. I suspect that the ZF transmission (used in German cars like BMW) was also a selling point for Genesis V8 buyers.

BTW, I would bet that one reason Hyundai is the US leader in average fuel mileage right now is that they don't sell pickup trucks in the US, and have fewer luxury car sales than Honda or Toyota.

 

[TJPark01]

I would assume that if Hyundai has their own 8-speed they will use it in the Genesis. Economics and cost control (manufacture in house vs. purchase) probably plays a bigger part in the decision than does fuel mileage.

I personally would be a little leery of buying a car with a brand new Hyundai built transmission, and the fact that the Genesis V6 came with an Aisin transmission (Aisin is 50% owned by Toyota and their transmissions used in some Lexus RWD cars in addition to many other auto manufacturers) was a big selling point for me on the 2009 Genesis. I suspect that the ZF transmission (used in German cars like BMW) was also a selling point for Genesis V8 buyers.

BTW, I would bet that one reason Hyundai is the US leader in average fuel mileage right now is that they don't sell pickup trucks in the US, and have fewer luxury car sales than Honda or Toyota.

The ZF tranny on the V8 was one of the reasons I went with V8 engine. Good friend has been a BMW mechanic for 10 years and says he has seen 2 ZF tranny's fail, and the rest have been bulletproof.
Have to agree with you on the fuel mileage thing. It's more about product menu than it is about technology or environmental concern. They just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

 

[JamesD]

From what I've read, Hyundai is designing their own 8-speed specifically to avoid the high cost of buying the ZF box. The reason they use the 6HP26 in the V8 sedan is that it was the simplest way to get a known good solution for a low-volume model...the Aisin box wasn't up to the torque requirement, and the 6HP is used in a number of high-end makes. But the difference in price between these two units is probably very high...ZF hardware has always been considered top-drawer, and has always been pricey. Since Hyundai is paying a premium price for a great component, they aren't bashful about telling the customer about it. One can only assume that the cost differential for the ZF 8-speed would be even greater, and, as their volumes increase, they'd want to get the costs out.

I agree with mark888...I would not want to be an early-adopter of a new Hyundai automatic, probably the most operationally-complex piece of hardware on the car.

 

[YEH]

Wonder if Hyundai will be updating theirs or using ZF's.

Hyundai will likely be using their own 8 spd which reportedly is lighter and has less moving parts than their 5 spd AT.

I agree with mark888...I would not want to be an early-adopter of a new Hyundai automatic, probably the most operationally-complex piece of hardware on the car.

While not quite the same thing, it'll be interesting to see how Hyundai's new 6 spd At holds up in models like the Sonata and the Kia Sorento - all the reviews have been pretty positive about the smoothness of the 6 spd thus far.

 

[wallymn]

A lot of us purchased Hyundai's first V-8 year one, I wouldn't have an issue buying the same car with a year one tranny.

Getting the ZF was a selling point, not a deal breaker for me.

If using an internally sourced tranny allows an 8 sp where a 6 used to be used at the same price, returning better fuel economy, seems like a win to me.

Since we originally heard the 8sp would come in the 2010 model , I assume an extra year of development and test has proven their design....

 

[Mark_888]

Since we originally heard the 8sp would come in the 2010 model , I assume an extra year of development and test has proven their design....

Those reports were simply erroneous since Hyundai never planned to have their own 8-speed tranny ready for the 2010 Genesis.