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Architect and furniture-design dude Charles Eames once said "The details are not the details. They make the design." Seems like the folks who designed the Genesis agree, and the sedan's cabin is a more luxurious place because of it. Love the stitching on the doors, seats and dash. And the metallic accents seen throughout strike just the right tone -- subtle, never jarring.
Warren Clarke, Automotive Content Editor
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louiswei says:
01:20 PM, 08/20/09
The Genesis does have a spectacular interior for a Hyundai but it's really not THAT special. It's on par or a bit better than other cars in its price range.
toye says:
02:19 PM, 08/20/09
One detail that I love on the Genesis is the opening and closing wheel for the A/C vents. Not only does it feel refined but it "clicks" when you close the vent. That little detail and many others make the Genesis special.
huyracing says:
02:45 PM, 08/20/09
very pretty...
mopho says:
04:07 PM, 08/20/09
Mmmm, that really does look nice. I just want to run my hands and nose all over it.
hybris says:
06:33 PM, 08/20/09
Ok lets fast forward 5, 7, 10 years down the road and see where that fancy stitched dashboard is then.
bkochuk says:
08:39 PM, 08/20/09
you mean after mopho's nose has been all over it??
stingray454 says:
09:09 AM, 08/21/09
Was such praise bestowed on Edmund's 2008 Cadillac CTS? I don't recall that it was, and it had even nicer stitching on the dash and doors, a far more attractive interior design, and richer wood, than the Genesis.
wobbly_ears says:
09:16 AM, 08/21/09
@stingray454,
Nobody bestowed praise on CTS because it was as bad as the atrocious designed & poorly engineered '02 Z06. What an eyesore that Vette was.
Take it away, stingray!!!
altimadude00 says:
10:11 AM, 08/21/09
Stingray--The Genesis' dashboard is handsome in my book. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, just the fact that Hyundai offers a stitched leather dash should put it on a higher plain than say, Cadillac DTS, Toyota Avalon, and Chrysler 300. (Those are the closest competing cars in price, size, and engine AND that shoppers will compare them to, not a CTS.)
Agreed that the LT CTS offered an interior that was leaps and bounds better than previous interiors in GM's lineup, but the interior in the Genesis is similarly a leap over any product coming from Hyundai or any other non-luxury carmaker.
stoppre75 says:
11:29 AM, 08/21/09
Stingray454 - Looks like you're alone on this one.
That Genesis has a great interior with fine materials that are on par or better than the competitors it wants to be compared to.
Have you sat in a Genesis to get a full appreciation of the interior? I'm sure you will be taken aback by the quality of materials used.
Lastly, let me point you to this article: http://blogs.edmunds.com/strategies/2009/03/luxury-sedan-showdown-2008-cadillac-cts-di-v6-vs-2009-hyundai-genesis-v6.html
If you're too busy "working" I'll pull a few quotes for you; "Interior materials are top-notch, from the leather-trimmed dash (part of the Premium Plus package) to the extensive use of rich, pliable plastics"
"Perhaps the most striking fact about our landslide winner is that even if it cost the same as the CTS, it still would have won in a landslide"
"Takahashi: "I felt like a pampered Yakuza don in the back of the Genesis, but in the CTS I felt like I was being crammed into a high school buddy's Maxima"
In the words of my buddy Fez: BURN
stingray454 says:
01:57 PM, 08/21/09
"Have you sat in a Genesis to get a full appreciation of the interior? I'm sure you will be taken aback by the quality of materials used."
I have sat in a Genesis. Quality of materials: I'd give it a B+. Design: I'd give it a C.
My biggest gripe with the quality of materials is around the center stack and the center console. I think the silver plastic with silver buttons looks cheap. I know some areas are made with real aluminum, but most of it is plastic. It reminds me of a Japanese car from 1985. You don't see its competitors with this setup. The gauges are average at best too. The soft plastics are nice, and the leather is nice, I'll give it that.
The design gets a C, again because of that cheap looking center stack and console, but more importantly, the dashboard is very plain and lacks any style. Contrast the design with the CTS' dash, with its deep sculpting, twin pods, sweeping center stack that flows smoothly into the center console, and the dash that flows smoothly into the doors. It's dramatic, interesting to look at, rich, modern, sporty, and classy.
As for your Edmund's quotes, why the hell would I listen to them? The whole point of my post was to show how biased they are. I've sat in both cars, and I know which one has the nicer interior: the CTS. It's no contest in my mind. The CTS is Megan Fox, the Genesis is Roseanne Barr. Some people think Rosanne Barr looks better - beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I happen to think I have better taste in car interiors (and cars in general) than Takahashi, and most of the other Edmunds reviewers.
I think pictures say a thousand words. Draw your own conclusion:
http://z.about.com/d/cars/1/0/M/E/1/gm_08cts_int.jpg
http://image.motortrend.com/f/9634010/112_0808_13z+2009_hyundai_genesis+interior.jpg