2009 Hyundai Genesis: Another Long Distance Trip

I don't know if it has been discussed before, but does the Genesis have a sporty exhaust note?

@lebrain

Test drive the 2010 Genesis: the suspension has been "fixed".

"though I'd need something bigger (like the Flex) if we had another child"

Really? I have to give my mother kudos for her packing skills then. She managed to pack 4 kids, 2 adults and a dog in different station wagons during our 70's road trips. Have we (today's parents with young kids) lost our packing ability? Or do we have less discipline to tell our kids no, you can't bring everything on the trip?

Brent,

Is the Genesis really too small for a family of four on the road? I find that somewhat incredible.

I have a theory on this... no matter what size car you have you just automatically fill it up for your trip. If he had 2 kids (and didn't have a parking garage of cars to choose from) i'm sure they would cram everything into that genesis. My wife and I poke fun at my Brother in-law and his wife. They have 1 toddler and a 2004 Toyota Sienna mini-van. They remove one of the middles seats, stow the 3rd row and completely fill up the van when they travel places!!! It wasn't too long ago that my family used to make cross country trips in our 96 Plymouth Voyager (short wheelbase one too) with 4 kids and 2 parents and we made it work just fine!

Then again my wife and I play this game with our legacy wagon. We took a week trip to Texas and completely filled our car just because we could and we don't even have a kid yet. My wife said "Holy cow, when we have a kid and we make this trip we are going to have to get a bigger car or a car topper!" and I said "Uh no, we won't, we will just take less stuff! I'm sure we can manage to travel with 3 people and stuff in a wagon"

Scooby I think you are right on the money....you use what you got!

@lebrain
I haven't read the other test publications you referred in your blog comments from Donna's July post, but regarding what we've written about on our long-term car's ride quality so far this year, I'd say the overall reporting has been favorable. Whatever might not be ideal in terms of suspension tuing (or that it doesn't quite match the solid feel you'd get from a top German luxury sedan) is a minor issue. This is a comfortable-riding sedan that does very well on long-distance trips.

@06scooby
Good point. In my case, however, my wife dictated what had to be brought. :) We had a lot of baked goods and holiday presents in addition to the normal stuff one has to take for a five-day trip.

Brent

"She managed to pack 4 kids, 2 adults and a dog in different station wagons during our 70's road trips"

I remember doing the same in our 69 Fury wagon. Of course it can be done.

I also remember the car had vinyl seats (sucked in Ontario cold or heat) , no power windows, AC or even power steering. It's AM radio rarely worked and the lap only seat belts were always stuffed down under the seat somewhere so my brother and I spent most of our trips boucing back and forth from the back seat to the cargo area until my Dad got mad and reached back and smacked whoever was closest at the time.

No thoughts to safety or comfort .

You can do it the old way but there are better ways.

Between 1949 & 1959 my family went on five road trips from SoCal to Chicago & return.
There were at least six people in the car on all but one of the trips. All of the trips were no longer than 2 weeks each & took place during the month of June.

All of the trips were made without A/C or fwys and only an AM radio. Always went route "66". Lots of overheating, flat tires, potty breaks & slow trucks. No serious breakdowns, my father was a very good DIY mechanic.

1949 - Six of us went to Chicago in a 1936 Chevy 4dr., returned in a 1940 Dodge 4dr.
The youngest kid was only 2 months old. The Chevy died of old age while in Chicago.

1952 - My mother took us 4 kids in the '40 Dodge.

1953 - My father & I took the same trip in the '40 Dodge.

1956 - Seven of us made the trip in a 1951 Studebaker Land Cruiser V-8. My brother was 7
months old.

1959 - Last time the whole family, 6 of us, made the trip, we were in a 1950 DeSoto
2dr. Hardtop Coupe. It was the first time I got to drive cross country.

I was 8 years old on the first trip & 18 on the last trip.

par_avion says: Test drive the 2010 Genesis: the suspension has been "fixed"

I have test driven the 2010 Genesis and I would argue that one should not confuse "changed" with "fixed". As yet, I have not seen any professional reviewers comments about whether the changes in suspension in the 2010 Genesis result in an improvement in ride quality. Have you?

What's also interesting is that in initial ads for the 2010 Genesis, Hyundai mentioned on their website their supposed improvements in ride quality, but later removed such comments from their website when they saw that they would be legitimizing customer complaints about the 2009 Genesis' ride quality.

bromans says:

"I haven't read the other test publications you referred in your blog comments from Donna's July post, but regarding what we've written about on our long-term car's ride quality so far this year, I'd say the overall reporting has been favorable. Whatever might not be ideal in terms of suspension tuing (or that it doesn't quite match the solid feel you'd get from a top German luxury sedan) is a minor issue. This is a comfortable-riding sedan that does very well on long-distance trips."

There is a reason why Hyundai attempted to make improvements in the ride quality of the 2010 Genesis, as noted above. That's because ride quality is a problem area for many, many customers and professional reviewers.

Although you may not have read reviews of the Genesis in other publications, perhaps you did see the comments in Edmunds.com from customers about the ride quality. Problems are noted throughout the review and discussion areas. Further, since you HAVE driven some of the upscale competitiors to the Genesis, I wonder if you think the Genesis has comparatively better ride (versus, for example, the TL, Avalon, ES350, GS 350, RL, Avalon, etc...).

Comparing the ride quality of the Genesis to that of the Germans is something of a "straw man" argument. When the ride quality doesn't even measure up to a Camry or Accord, then that is far from a "minor issue".

The Avalon is the only thing that compares in regards to size price. The Lexus ES350 is smaller and still more expensive. Stepping up to a GS350 or RL pushes you into another price bracket. There's room for improvement for sure, but it still compares very favorably to it's competitors.

Humming along, v6, 76 at 2100 rpm in the fast lane. Where is your radar?