#CAS09 Judging by the number of people from competing car companies who showed up at today's press conference, the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe R-Spec has its competitors worried. Or at least very curious.
And they should be. This is the kind of affordable coupe import enthusiasts have been begging Honda, Nissan and Toyota to build for years. Who would have thought Hyundai would be the company to finally pull it off.
Jon Krafcik, Hyundai's current CEO, recited the usual lines about having true enthusiasts at the company making the decisions, but we have to give him some credit. This time he had the car to back it up. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor, Inside Line
Full Story: 2010 Hyundai Genesis R-Spec
jederino says:
03:24 PM, 02/11/09
I like it in black. So, is this the modern version of the Sylvia?
rtgarcia says:
03:26 PM, 02/11/09
This is some good stuff. $23,750 for:
RWD
2+2
Coupe
Turbo 4cyl
LSD
Brembo
Decent looks (although weird rear)
My MS3 is a fantastic value, but this car is likely to be the ultimate tuner value from a platform standpoint. I can't imagine how big this is going to be in the aftermarket.
rtgarcia says:
03:27 PM, 02/11/09
Definitely beat Nissan, their Silvia replacement is too late!
shaddai says:
04:08 PM, 02/11/09
Pictures fail. The first one at the bottom is the fugly Acura.
firstwagon says:
05:43 PM, 02/11/09
But does anyone by sport coupes anymore? This isn't the mid 90's now.
stovt001 says:
08:00 PM, 02/11/09
Why not? There are still people who like driving who aren't rich. I like it objectively, but it still isn't tugging at the heart strings. Still, I'll definitely check it out.
tmanz says:
09:13 PM, 02/11/09
so Hyundai, out Honda'd Honda.....
The main drawback I see is everyone would look at me like I was some punk idiot if I bought one because 90% of them will spend most their time going in circles with the tires smoking.
firstwagon, it will be intersting to see, since sport coupes didn't completely go away they just went to the $30,000 range. A lot of the crowd shopping for this won't be looking for the finese of the higher end coupes. The main question will be if it is priced right for the fans. And will the dealers have the lower priced ones or will they cater to the more fully loaded models and make the low end ones hard to find like happens so often.
I guess the final decision on if they out did the other companies that the kids used to look to for affordable fun will be in if enough of them pony up the $ for it. And is 24,000 the new 'affordable'?
estreka says:
07:34 AM, 02/12/09
"...the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe R-Spec has its competitors worried"
Who? I can't think of a single car this competes with. The closest competitor would be the Mustang, but even then I doubt anyone would crossshop the two. Another possible competitor would be the Miata, but I imagine folks looking at Miatas are pretty resolute.
Everything else in this price range is FWD. Hyundai has one helluva niche product here that I'm sure will sell like crazy.
estreka says:
07:35 AM, 02/12/09
Oh wait! There is the RX-8. That would be a direct competitor.
bbechtel16 says:
08:29 AM, 02/12/09
"Who? I can't think of a single car this competes with. The closest competitor would be the Mustang, but even then I doubt anyone would crossshop the two. Another possible competitor would be the Miata, but I imagine folks looking at Miatas are pretty resolute.
Everything else in this price range is FWD. Hyundai has one helluva niche product here that I'm sure will sell like crazy."
And that is exactly what everyone else should be worried about.
"But does anyone by sport coupes anymore? This isn't the mid 90's now."
You make an interesting point. As much as I wouldn't prefer an impractical coupe, I'm "forced" into it because there aren't any 5 door hatches available here that are at the same level of sport (think 5 door 128i, or preferably the Euro 130i). Thankfully I'm in a flexible enough time of my life when I really don't "need" anything more practical than a sport coupe.
sabastian says:
08:44 AM, 02/12/09
When I first saw publicity shots of this car, I have to say that I wasn't terribly interested. Seeing some actual pictures now, however, has me a bit more excited. I especially like the wheels.
intothewest says:
08:53 AM, 02/12/09
@estreka - I currently own an 06 Mustang GT Conv...and, this one is definitely on my radar for my next car. As much as I love the Mustang, I'm too much of a car fan to stick with the same car over and over...so, I'll at least be cross-shopping.
I've owned Honda Civics, a WRX, minivan (Odyssey), SUVs, etc...and so I know what I want in an affordable sport car for our second car - rear wheel drive, and the ability to put my son (2 years old) in the back seat. As good as some FWD cars have got, it just isn't the same...so, these are the only two on the market (370Z is too pricey in Canada, and is only a 2 seater).
Hyundai definitely has a market for this - and if the gas mileage/economy is better than the Mustang V8s (which, I'm sure it is), it's definitely going to get attention. It's hardware also gives it near-instant street-cred before any real road tests are done as well.
iskch says:
09:02 AM, 02/12/09
Looks like Hyundai was listening to the sport coupe crowd. Just a plain simple car to play with.
compliance says:
09:29 AM, 02/12/09
Pending road tests, this car has turned out better than I ever expected (and I don't mean this as a back handed compliment).
minibro77 says:
10:32 AM, 02/13/09
I would defintely consider owning one of these. Great looking and right in line with a kind of car that has all but dissappeared from the industry in the U.S. I would like to see an Eclipse/Mustang/RX8/370Z/Camaro/Challenger R/T comparo. That would be most interesting.