Well I finally got to test drive a 4.6 V8 Genesis yesterday morning. I would never beat a brand new engine..........just the way I am. I could tell however a difference between it and the V6 I drove a few weeks back. I would almost say that the throttle is very touchy except that it is just something you have to get use to is all. I barely turned out of the dealerships driveway when I hit a red light immediately. When the light changed to green I barely pushed on the throttle and got a nice little chirp from the rear tires.
When I say the accelerator is touchy you have to understand I have not driven a car with 300 or more horsepower since my 1971 Pontiac GTO that I got clear back when I was in high school. It's simply a case of getting re-adjusted back into something with some horsepower to it. When I took the on ramp to get on to the interstate it was with such little effort to get up to speed it just made me smile!
My take on the Genesis ride was very smooth in the city at lower speeds. The interstate is rough with a constant wash board effect on it. The previous winter was very hard here in Iowa on all of our highways. There are very few that I can honestly say that are considered to be smooth. On that rough interstate stretch I did notice in the rear view mirror that my wife and son were being bounced around in the back seat quite noticeably.
I took a tire gauge along and was going to check the tire pressures before we left but I was so excited to drive the V8 Genesis that I forgot all about it.
The ride is a stiffer ride than my 2006 Azera for sure. Of course many people complained about the floaty feeling for that year of Azera. Hitting a large bump in the Azera with 4-5 passengers would be a softer jolt however you might get bounced up and down a couple of times from just one bump thus the floating up and down feeling.
The Genesis seems to have more of a harsh one time jolt but not the floating feeling afterwards. So how do I feel about the ride? I feel like with the short drive I took I can't make a fair assessment. I found myself wishing it was smoother at times although here again I was comparing it to my Azera which I had grown use to. The Azera on the other hand was not something you could push around corners. It just had to much body lean to it I always thought. The Genesis feels more stable through turns.
I guess I am thinking that they tuned the Genesis right where they said they were going to, sort of in the middle. I think since that seems to be the case that is why we are getting some comments that the ride is to rough and still others saying they would prefer a stiffer ride.
The car had the tech pkg. but that has been talked about quite a bit so I won't go into that at all. I will say I did notice the difference in the premium leather seats as my wife did as well. It's not that we could notice the difference just sitting in the seats but by touching them with your hands you find yourself running your hand over them. They are very soft and very smooth feeling to the touch. If you look at them closely you will see they don't have the rougher textured look (or feel) of the standard leather seats.
The engine was very smooth and quite. The transmission was so smooth I really could not feel shift points. As mentioned earlier the throttle response is instant and strong. The extra chrome on the side of this black Genesis looked very nice as did the different wheels it comes with. The wood steering
wheel like my Azera felt nice in hand. Ok I think its fake but still feels nice and smooth in the hands.
I felt the rear vents and no hot air coming out as some had reported even when set on cool. The lit up Genesis logos in the doors certainly isn't needed really but I have to admit looks very cool and is a nice touch. Well I guess that's about it. I'm just waiting yet for my dealer to locate my 4.6 Genesis
Yes, the Mustang will get to 60 quicker due to weight and gearing but I would guarantee that if we start at 60 and go from there that it would be a flat out race with Hyundai leading by a nose!! I dont think the mustang will make it to 160mph though!
Of course, I had to let off. From that point on, I had yet another HUGE smile on my face about the purchase of this car.
Especially to me...coming from a 4 cyl. 5-speed camry.
