Test drove: '10 Volvo S80, '10 Jaguar XF, '08 BMW 550I, & '10 Genesis

[Driv200]

No surprise, the Genesis 4.6 took em all down today. Just comparing the market before I purchase. The Volvo leather was nice and soft, but tighter back seat. The Volvo was nearing $50k and then some when similar options were equipped like the Genesis. Of the 5 on the lot, none had all options or Nav?? The power was also weak in the Volvo in comparison. I told the salesman how I was comparing Volvo to the Genesis 4.6.

The Jaguar XF was at the Volvo store and it was a BLAST to drive.....but get this. The interior had cheap plastics among all the leather and the rear seat was tight. Something about the car reminded me Jaguar is owned now by some unheard of company....and I question the quality. But, the shift paddles and the 5.0 V8 along with the gadgets were impressive....and the car with only 17k miles was $49050 with 100k warranty. This was almost close, but still out of my budget. The new supercharged XJ next to it was a different story and made me wet my pants because of how sexy it was.....and seemed like a steal at $89k with only 1200 miles on it.

The Bimmer 550i was Stellar! Not a 5 series fan, so this fully loaded BMW 550i with M Sport, Tech and Convenience pckgs was mind blowing fun and superb even with 48k miles on the odomoter. The $43k asking price was absurd for a car with that many miles, but I was reminded how it listed for $78k. It also had a certified lease of 100k mile warranty. It was totally loaded with all 5 optional packages. Nice car, but could not beat a savvy shopper who knows a new 4.6 Genesis is amazing and fully loaded at $44k with ZERO miles and a full 100K warranty! Not to mention more power and more room.

A few seconds back in the Genesis 4.6 put any doubts out of my mind. Amazing this Genesis! WAY TO GO HYUNDAI!!!!! Wish me luck getting into one in the next couple of weeks.

 

[scotttisha]

I could see getting the BMW %%)1, but nothing else.
The crazy thing is that you can easily see a $44k price on the following cars:

Acura TL
Lexus ES ($41k but with a V6, front wheel drive, etc...)
Lexus GS (with V6 RWD came to $51k) Arguably, this is a decent looking car, but damn, you have to spend close to $60k to get the performance of the Hyundai 4.6)

The list goes on and on......Personally, I don't think anyone can get a similar car with similar performance and options without paying $10k more or even more than that.

I love my 09 4.6! I will surely get a new 2012 as long as they don't change the look too much.

Scott

 

[Gambler]

I had a similar experience before I purchased my Genesis. I spent several hours at Carmax trying out their used performance cars. I was close on a 550i, but I couldn't justify the price with no warranty left, and all those miles...

 

[robthoke]

Mentally that is where I was at when I bought my 4.6. There is simply nothing out there that compares to the Genesis for the money. So far this is the best car I've ever owned.

 

[homeofstone]

Check the Consumer Reports article below from this week. Asian companies have the highest reliablity. Currently BMW and Mercedes have the worst reliablity. Also, Toyota has recalled over 10 million cars(including Lexus) in the last couple of years, so Toyota has gone down hill. Hyundai is now number 1 in brand loyalty. Ford is also building world class high quality and reliable cars

here is link

http://pressroom.consumerreports.org/pressroom/2010/10/consumer-reports-2010-annual-car-reliability-survey-gm-makes-big-strides-while-honda-toyota-dominate.html

 

[ImInPA]

No surprise, the Genesis 4.6 took em all down today. Just comparing the market before I purchase. The Volvo leather was nice and soft, but tighter back seat. The Volvo was nearing $50k and then some when similar options were equipped like the Genesis. Of the 5 on the lot, none had all options or Nav?? The power was also weak in the Volvo in comparison. I told the salesman how I was comparing Volvo to the Genesis 4.6.

The Jaguar XF was at the Volvo store and it was a BLAST to drive.....but get this. The interior had cheap plastics among all the leather and the rear seat was tight. Something about the car reminded me Jaguar is owned now by some unheard of company....and I question the quality. But, the shift paddles and the 5.0 V8 along with the gadgets were impressive....and the car with only 17k miles was $49050 with 100k warranty. This was almost close, but still out of my budget. The new supercharged XJ next to it was a different story and made me wet my pants because of how sexy it was.....and seemed like a steal at $89k with only 1200 miles on it.

The Bimmer 550i was Stellar! Not a 5 series fan, so this fully loaded BMW 550i with M Sport, Tech and Convenience pckgs was mind blowing fun and superb even with 48k miles on the odomoter. The $43k asking price was absurd for a car with that many miles, but I was reminded how it listed for $78k. It also had a certified lease of 100k mile warranty. It was totally loaded with all 5 optional packages. Nice car, but could not beat a savvy shopper who knows a new 4.6 Genesis is amazing and fully loaded at $44k with ZERO miles and a full 100K warranty! Not to mention more power and more room.

A few seconds back in the Genesis 4.6 put any doubts out of my mind. Amazing this Genesis! WAY TO GO HYUNDAI!!!!! Wish me luck getting into one in the next couple of weeks.

Did you try the V8, T6, or 3.2 Volvo? I currently drive a 2009 S80 T6 and have never found it to be lacking power. I find it to be a bit quicker than the V6 Genesis. Certainly not as fast as the 4.6. The materials are all first rate and have held up well during my first 38K miles. Tires should go close to 50K (not too shabby for OEM tires). The AWD also works very well. I purchased the Volvo due to some pre-sales dealer issues with my local Hyundai dealer. I have found the Volvo to be one one of the best vehicles I have ever owned. ZERO problems. This is my first Volvo product, and, quite frankly is has been a very pleasant experience so far. Now, if I could get a decent Hyundai dealership in my area when I am ready to trade, I still would like to own a Genesis 4.6 (or 5.0 when available). Until the dearlership imporves that will not happen.

 

[rmorgan56]

I moved to Hyundai after having Volvos for 16 years (we still have two, in fact), and for a decade drove an S70 T5 MT. I was very close to buying a family member's intelligently-modded V70R 6MT, which has HP not far off the Genesis 4.6, but our experience with Volvos has been the same as the statistics show--while Volvos go on forever, they have consistently-excalating repair expense associated with them--$500 here, $1,200 there, etc. The S80s are being wildly discounted, but my experience was the mirror image of yours--the Volvo dealer we'd dealt with was a major disincentive to another one, while the Hyundai dealer was transparent and pressureless. The new S60 looks great, of course, but the dealers can't get them in . . . plus, first model year is risky and there's apparently no move to discount them . . . so Hyundai it is.

 

[ImInPA]

Parts for the Hyundai Genesis are certainly in the Luxury class with regards to costs. Of course there is the great warranty. The current S80 has been fantastic vehicle for Volvo. Very few problems. For me, I put so many miles on a car each year, the warranties offerred, even by Hyndai, generally don't apply by the time something actually fails. I think the important point here is that the dealer experience is critical. It kept me from buying a Genesis (the car I actually wanted) and the very same thing is keeping you from returning to Volvo. A warranty is useless if the dealer sucks.

 

[Driv200]

ImInPA, I drove the V8 which was the managers demo. Agree, it did not lack power, but it was not 385hp. My impression of the Volvo agrees with you! Nice car, nice interior.....but not as big as the Genesis. And, with options matching the Gen, $$$$'s soar. Love the new S60, but again, it's a smaller car. The S80 is probably one of the more equal cars for the money compared to the Gen. My favorite feature of the S80 is the folding back seats! This little point kills me everytime knowing the Gen does not do this???

 

[bradyb]

ditto on pretty much everything!

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[hwks1]

I would agree on the overall 'value' but the Genesis loses on ride by a fair margin. I didn't by the Genesis '10 or '11 MY because it just rides too darned hard for me. It rides similar to my Audi A5 but the A5 while firm - is more refined than the Genesis and rides better. I want the Genesis to ride like a 5 series!

 

[SimpsonTide985]

I probably would've gotten the XF...

Don't care much about rear seat room.

 

[TEF]

Technically, the Volvo S80 (and other sedans and wagons) are old - essentially dating back to 2000. Ford thought so much of Volvo's chassis design, it bought the company and uses it in the Edge, Taurus and a few Mercury's, but Volvo engine and drive train have not been seriously updated in years. Moreover, one gets either FWD or AWD in the Volvo and neither drives as sharply as a RWD Genesis. The more power one adds to FWD generally converts to torque steer at the front wheels and more understeer. Having owned five Volvo since 1976, I like the brand, but Ford pretty much gutted the company. It seems a given that one pays more for a Volvo and gets much less than he/she would with a Genesis. While I've been lucky with my V70 turbo wagon, Volvos tend to kill their owners with expensive and frequent repairs (generally out of warranty). In reading owner reviews, one is lucky to escape a repair at a Volvo dealership for under a $1000. Since the Japanese and Koreans began competition in the Asian market, I suspect that Hyundai engineers it cars on a Japanese model, whereas Volvo is built to a European one. For that reason, Hyundais will likely prove more reliable than Volvos, just as Lexus is likely repaired less frequently than a Mercedes.