2009 Hyundai Genesis V6 Long-Term Road Tests Archives

Thanks to lowmilelude for this week's favorite caption. It was so exciting to ring the bell again. I haven't done that in a while.

Here are the others that made us giggle:

To donk, or not to donk; that is the question. (lowmilelude)
Dubz and Dubzer (ergsum)
Old School Donk-a-Khan (ergsum)
On the Origin of Dubs And the Descent of Mankind (e90_m3)
Old School meets Old Testament (ergsum)
Don't Donk and Drive (ergsum)
Snoop Dogg & Hunn Daze (mrryte)
Hip Hop versus Seoul (ergsum)
Which car brought the strippers? (ergsum)
I dub thee redonkulous (mnorm1)
And God said, Let there be dubs: and there were dubs (aleclance)
Introduction of IL Editor DeRosa's personal car: Chevy Caprice Classic with minor mods (dougtheeng)
Donk y Kong (bluepunk82)
...and then a guy popped up through the rear sunroof. (rick8365)

What was your favorite?

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

Scott took this photo of our Hyundai Genesis next to this big-wheeled beauty. You see these kind of wheels quite a bit around southern California.

We suggest: That's redonkulous

What is your caption?

We'll post our favorite this afternoon.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

This morning as I put my stuff into the passenger side of the Hyundai Genesis, I noticed this loose piece of trim around the door.

Luckily, it popped right back into place in about 3 seconds. Someone must have bumped it or knocked it loose with their hand.

This Genesis has been one solid car the entire year. As you know, we're not exactly gentle with our fleet. I was wondering how this affordable luxury car was going to hold up over time. Most cars are pretty nice when they are new. It's after you've had them for a while that they show their true colors.

Our Genesis definitely feels lived in, but we've had no major problems with it and no rattling bits. A bit of loose trim that pops back into place is nothing. Now, if it keeps popping out, that's another story and I'll let you know.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor @ 22,976 miles

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

Below are the fuel economy numbers for December 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.

As usual, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.

After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.

Continue reading...

Categories: 2007 Honda Civic GX,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 Audi A4 Avant,2009 Audi S5,2009 BMW 750i,2009 BMW M3,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Dodge Ram 1500,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Honda Fit Sport,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6,2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD,2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring,2009 Nissan 370Z Touring,2009 Suzuki SX4,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,2010 Honda Insight EX,2010 Mazdaspeed 3,2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD

Back in May of last year, Editor in Chief Oldham wrote a "Would I Buy One?" post that listed his opinion of each car in our fleet at the time. For the answer to whether he'd buy a Hyundai Genesis, Scott wrote: "Faster than you can say great sedan." I'd put myself in this camp, too. But then the next question would be: "What kind of Genesis?"

Like most of the Edmunds/Inside Line editorial staff, I'd be happy with the V6. It's got respectable power, sounds throaty when you get on it and helps keep the Genesis' price pleasingly low. The trickier question to answer would be what kind of options I think are worth the money.

Continue reading...

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

The more TPMS warnings in get in various cars, the more I'm thankful that this feature is now standard in every new car. I got a low-pressure warning in our Hyundai Genesis a few mornings ago for the left-rear tire. My wife had taken the Genesis shopping the day before; did she drive over some road debris?

The Genesis doesn't display the actual pressure, so I had to manually check the tire's actual pressure with a gauge. Thankfully, it was only a little low compared to the other tires, and I didn't see any screws or punctures during a visual inspection. So maybe the cold morning temperature dropped the tire's pressure enough to trip the TPMS. I filled the tire back to spec at a nearby gas station and have been keeping an eye on it. So far, no more warnings.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 22,645 miles

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

Like we've said in multiple past posts, our long-term 2009 Hyundai Genesis is a great highway cruiser thanks to its quiet interior, comfortable ride quality and solid V6 power. Yesterday I drove about five hours and 300 miles with my wife and two-year-old daughter to kick off our holiday break; the Genesis performed admirably. And even though we've complained about the latency in "real-time" traffic updates on navigation systems, I'll still take having the updates rather than none at all -- they helped me navigate though some of Los Angeles' slowest freeways.

I also packed the Genesis full of travel and holiday stuff -- you can fit a lot in a big sedan if you get creative, though I'd need something bigger (like the Flex) if we had another child. Even so, I'm quite pleased to have our Genesis over the holidays.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

We visited Cormier Hyundai the other morning to service our 2009 Hyundai Genesis. The 22,500-mile interval calls for an oil and filter change, tire rotation and various safety inspections. Our advisor called to inform us that all work was completed within two hours of our dropping it off. Maybe we caught them on a slow day. But still not bad considering we didn't have an appointment.

Total Cost: $78.20

Days out of Service: None

Mike Schmidt, Vehicle Testing Manager @ 21,605

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

I haven't seen too many copies of the Hyundai Genesis on the road, but based on sales numbers the car seems to be selling pretty well. As of the end of November, year-to-date sales were 19,535 units*. That's more than the Audi A6 (5,990, including the S6), the Lexus GS (6,367) and the Lincoln MKS (15,387). Better selling competitors include the Acura TL (30,453), BMW 5 Series (36,195) and Chrysler 300 (34,154).

Considering the Genesis is a new model from a brand not well known for premium or luxury cars, I'd guess Hyundai is pretty pleased with the car's success so far.

*EDIT: Editor Sadlier pointed out to me that Hyundai combines sales numbers for the sedan and Genesis Coupe. Therefore, the above 19,535 number can't be directly compared. Should I come across broken-out numbers, I'll make another update.

Brent Romans, Senior Automotive Editor @ 21,971 miles

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

I didn't drive the Genesis much this weekend [because 1) I was sick and 2) the already blogged-upon wet SoCal weather enticed me to stay home under a blanket with hot cocoa and a cookie]. But I did get in the car at night enough (read: one time) to notice that the overhead cabin lighting is cool toned rather than warm toned. It was striking. It's a bright, bluish white, and I kinda dig it. It was especially suited to the wintry weather we were having at the time, too.

When I looked around, it made the interior and everything in it seem really crisp and clear. Made me realize that sometimes the warmer interior lights of other cars give everything in the car a slightly muddled softness, making it hard for me to focus well in the cabin. But maybe that's just me. Is it just me?

By the way, this isn't a picture of the bright white interior light of the Genesis at night. I didn't get a good shot of it. This is a nice shot of the dashboard in daylight taken by Associate Editor (and much tortured Face-Off punching bag) Mark Takahashi. But you can see the front seat's unlit interior lights at the top of the pic.

Bryn MacKinnon, Senior Editor, Edmunds.com @ 21,653 miles

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

(Photos by Kurt Niebuhr. Sweet illustration by me!)

This comparison was thrown at me while I was back East for Thanksgiving. I was thrown for a bit of a loop as I thought, for the first five minutes of the conversation, we were talking Genesis Coupe. 

Here's some background:

Let's say your'e a young guy, whose current car is on the way out. You just graduated college and are currently in a Master's program at a school 20-30 miles from your house. 

Let's also say you live in the Northeast and have, for some reason, been brainwashed by your dad that the ONLY acceptable car has four-doors , rear-wheel-drive and a tankeresque curb weight.   

It's also not a Mercedes-Benz. BMW or Lexus. 

Ideally, it's a Chevy Caprice or its evil twin, the Impala SS. Acceptable, too, are the wagon variants of the B-body. 

So you'd think the G8 would be ideal, right? I mean, it doesn't get more perfect than that, right? 

Uhm, not quite; There are some sticking points: 

Continue reading...

Categories: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

A day without a tire-pressure warning is like a day without sunshine. At least for me lately.

Actually, with this week's weather in Southern California I've seen more tire pressure warnings than sunshine. The most recent came courtesy of our long-term 2009 Hyundai Genesis yesterday morning. I was up early and probably a good mile from the house before I looked down and noticed the "Low Tire Pressure!" message in the Hyundai's information screen.

Continue reading...

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

Below are the fuel economy numbers for November 2009. We've listed the best, worst and overall average tanks.

As usual, a couple of cars are out on the road or unavailable at the time of this writing. I'll continue to add them as they come in and let you know in the comments.

After the jump you can see the list sorted by best average MPG.

Continue reading...

Categories: 2007 Honda Civic GX,2008 Pontiac G8 GT,2009 Audi A4 Avant,2009 Audi S5,2009 BMW 750i,2009 BMW M3,2009 Dodge Challenger R/T,2009 Dodge Ram 1500,2009 Ford Flex Limited,2009 Honda Fit Sport,2009 Hyundai Genesis V6,2009 Infiniti FX50 AWD,2009 Mazda 6 i Grand Touring,2009 Suzuki SX4,2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS,2010 Honda Insight EX,2010 Mazdaspeed 3,2010 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD

On Tuesday morning at 6 AM, in the dark, I climbed behind the wheel of our long-term 2009 Hyundai Genesis and headed north to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. I was to arrive by noon to watch Dodge's Viper Team attempt to break the track record for production cars, which they did.

I drove back the very next morning.

That's a 600 mile round trip of interstate in 24 hours. Not nuts. But not exactly the kind of trip you want to take in a Smart Fortwo. No, the right car is key.

I chose the Genesis very carefully.

Continue reading...

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6

Yeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw...Happy Thanksgiving.

This year I give thanks for the high speed stability of our long-term Hyundai Genesis (it had plenty left in it). I also give thanks to our professional driver and the closed course in which this speed was achieved.

An now it is turkey time. 

Scott Oldham, Inside Line Editor in Chief @ 20,799 miles 

Categories: 2009 Hyundai Genesis V6