Sport coupe buyers with less than $30,000 to spend have had two choices in recent years. Either a Ford Mustang, or a front-driver based on a mainstream sedan. Want rear-wheel-drive for superior handling, but don't want a Mustang (or the recently re-introduced Chevrolet Camaro)? Then you had to find the extra cash for an Infiniti G35 or somethng German.

Now sport coupe buyers on a budget have a new choice, from an unlikely source: Hyundai. The 2010 Genesis Coupe starts at just $22,750, nearly $14,000 below the G37 Coupe's starting price.

So, what do you have to give up for the lower price? I had a chance to thoroughly evaluate the Hyundai Genesis Coupe at a recent media drive.

Why is this a Genesis?

The Genesis Coupe was preceded by the Genesis Sedan. Aside from the name and a rear-drive layout, the two share very little. The coupe is a size smaller and much less expensive, and the exteriors and interiors are totally different.

So why do the two share a name? Supposedly because Hyundai considered using them as the basis for a new Genesis luxury brand, then decided that setting up a separate brand for the cars would cost far more than it would be worth.

Even so, why didn't Hyundai at least add more than "coupe" and "sedan" to the name to differentiate the two? They ought to have at least followed the Lexus and Infiniti example of adding something like "C38" or "SC 380."

As it stands, the shared name suggests that the cars share much more than they do. This could both help and hurt the coupe. People will expect it to cost more than it does, but they also might think it is larger than it actually is or offers more features than it actually does.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe Styling

The #1 people buy a sport coupe is styling, so for one to sell well it has to look good. Here the Genesis Coupe largely succeeds. Its overall shape resembles that of the Infiniti G37, but with less bulbous curves and crisper lines. If anything, the Hyundai's exterior is both sportier and more elegant than the Infiniti's. 

One possible caveat: an odd beltline that dips downward after the B-pillar. According to one Hyundai employee, this novel detail was added to counter criticism that the company was simply borrowing from the designs of more established competitors. Viewed from an angle, this detail doesn't look bad, and some people might even find it appealing. Viewed directly from the side it doesn't work as well. For some reason, the rear window opening doesn't extend any further down than the front window. The dipping beltline merely results in extra blacked-out glass--so there's no functional benefit.

Two wheel sizes are available, 18s and 19s. The Genesis Coupe looks much better with the 19s.

The Hyundai's lower price point is more evident from inside the car. Interior styling isn't bad. There are no bizarre details that afflict many recent car interiors. It's just that, soft-touch IP upper withstanding, too many materials and switches are those of a $25,000 car rather than those of a $35,000 car. Perhaps they targeted the oft-criticized interior of the first-generation G35? Most notable: the faux-metal center stack trim just doesn't look "premium." Hyundai seemed to be aware of this shortcoming, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a revised center stack when the Genesis Coupe is refreshed in two or three years.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe Accommodations

As sport coupe cockpits go, the Hyundai Genesis's is airy and open. The cowl is fairly low, the windshield header is above your sightline, and the pillars aren't too thick. You don't feel like you're sitting in a bunker peering through a slit, the way you can feel in some coupes.

The front seats are comfortable and provide good lateral support. (Larger drivers might find the unadjustable bolsters too tightly spaced.)  A very welcome feature: the headrests have a fore-aft adjustment, so there's no risk of them forcing your head forward (an increasingly common problem).

All is not perfect on the seating front, though. Despite the shared name, the Genesis Coupe is aimed at a much lower price point than the Genesis Sedan, and this translates to a much shorter features list. The steering wheel only tilts--it does not telescope--and this adjustment is manual. The seat heaters are simply on-off, without multiple levels. No power recliner is available for the driver seat, even though this feature is available on competing Japanese sport coupes. No power adjustments are available for the passenger seat. Only the driver gets a lumbar adjustment, and it is again manual. Finally, no surprise given the limited number of power adjustments, no memory is available to store your settings.

Back seats in 182-inch-long coupes tend to be short on space, and this one is no exception. Passengers over five-foot-six will have to scunch down to avoid hitting their heads on the hatch glass. And knee room is similarly scarce.

The rear seat does fold in a single piece to expand a trunk that, at ten cubic feet, is already among the largest in the segment. It's not large, but should be large enough for two people on a road trip.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe Performance

The Genesis Coupe is available with two engines, a 210-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four and a 306-horsepower 3.8-liter V6. I sampled both.

The best that can be said for the turbo four in stock form is that you only hear it much over 4,500 rpm, and even then it doesn't make much noise or sound bad for a four. The not so good: though boost lag isn't excessive, power delivery surges and lags a bit in casual driving--a common turbo trait. Unlike with some turbo fours, this one has little punch at lower rpm, and is only adequate in the midrange. No worries, though: aftermarket companies love to offer power-enhancing solutions for turbo fours. It shouldn't cost much to bump power output over 250, and maybe even over 300.

Of course, you could always spend $3,000 more for the 3.8-liter V6. The V6 feels much stronger than the turbo four, especially below 4,000 rpm, but doesn't feel as strong as Infiniti's V6. At no point does it quite seem to "come alive" and rush for the redline. There's more engine noise than with the 2.0T, all of it from the throaty exhaust. No exotic mechanical noises here.

The shifter for the six-speed manual has moderate throws, and isn't the most precise. A few times it took me an extra moment to find the desired gear. The clutch requires a moderate amount of effort, and engages a little too abruptly just above the floor. Thanks to the V6's more linear power delivery, it's easier to smoothly shift the manual with this engine.

I also drove the V6 with its available six-speed automatic. You get paddle shifters with this transmission but, as with most manually-shiftable conventional automatics, shifts aren't immediate. In either mode, shifts are usually smooth.

More than anything else, I wondered how Hyundai's first rear-wheel-drive sport coupe would handle. Let's get one thing out of the way: in terms of agility and feedback, the Genesis Coupe is no sports car. But the same is true of its key competitors.

Considered as a grand tourer, the Genesis Coupe handles acceptably well. The steering firms up naturally as the wheel is turned and is neither too light nor too heavy. The car doesn't feel too large or sloppy with the base suspension, and lean is further reduced with the Track Package's sport suspension. There's a bit of initial understeer, and oversteer isn't too easy to come by even with the otherwise overly assertive stability control turned off. Even with the V6 you must push deep into the throttle to get the rear end to step out. Hyundai seems to have erred  little on the side of safety in tuning the suspension.

Though Hyundai had no complete explanation for it, the 2.0T felt significantly more agile, with quicker, more responsive steering. Supposedly the only difference is that the 2.0T has about 100 fewer pounds over the front wheels; suspension tuning is supposedly the same.

In the best cars I quickly feel a tight connection, and driving them becomes almost intuitive. This connection did not happen for me with the Genesis Coupe. The chassis generally did what I asked of it, but didn't talk to me the way the best ones do. More to the point: I found the Genesis Coupe to be thoroughly competent, but not an addictive thrill to drive. In the days since driving it, I have suffered no painful withdrawal.

On the flip side, the Genesis is smoother, quieter, and more refined than I expected it to be. Need to drive long distances without becoming fatigued? No problem. In this respect it seems aimed at more expensive competitors.

Some reviews have criticized the ride quality with the Track Package. I didn't notice a large difference, as might be expected since Track's spring rates are only 7 to 11 percent firmer. On the other hand, the 2.0T with Track Package did have a significantly busier, almost nervous ride compared to the 3.8 Track. Even in this case, though, the ride isn't harsh or irritating. Expansion joints don't effect a rhythmic bouncing the way they do with some firmly sprung cars. Overall, ride quality is very close to that of the Infiniti G37, which no doubt served as the primary benchmark.

Hyundai Genesis Coupe Price Comparisons and Pricing

As mentioned earlier, the Genesis Coupe starts nearly $14,000 below the Infinity G37. That's not apples-to-apples, though. Opt for the 3.8 and equip the cars similarly, and the price difference shrinks to $11,300. Adjust for the Infiniti's extra features, and it further narrows to about $8,900. Compare invoice to invoice, and adjust for feature differences, and you're at about $7,000. Half as much as the initial differnce, but still a sizable price difference.

Some people will look at the as-tested prices for the Genesis Coupe 3.8 and conclude that it's priced uncomfortably close to a 422-horsepower Chevrolet Camaro SS. Not really. Equip the cars similarly, and the Camaro is over $5,000 more. Compare the V6s of each, and the prices are often within a few hundred dollars.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, TrueDelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)
TrueDelta's page for the Genesis Coupe:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Genesis-Coupe.php

Last Words

The Hyundai Genesis Coupe doesn't have the handling of a sports car (nothing its size with a back seat does) or the features and interior ambiance of a luxury car. After spending much of the day driving various iterations of the Genesis Coupe, I found it surprisingly competent, but short of thrilling. Compared to my expectations before driving the car, it feels less sporty and more refined.

This understood, the Genesis Coupe offers much of what you'll get in an Infiniti G37, including the feel (if not quite the interior) of a premium car, for at least $7,000 less. There's a little irony here, since the Infiniti has been positioned as most of what you'll get in a BMW 3-Series, for thousands less. As it happens, the Hyundai comes closer to matching the Infiniti than the Infiniti comes to matching the BMW. Especially considering that this is Hyundai's first attempt at such a car, the Genesis Coupe represents quite an achievement.

So, why four rather than five stars? I'm very, very close to five stars. Offering a fully up-to-date rear-wheel-drive coupe at these prices is just about worth five stars all by itself. A bit more in the way of driving enjoyment and I'd be there.

A Note on Hyundai Genesis Coupe Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've been collecting my own data. Results are posted to TrueDelta.com, with updates every three months. Unlike other sources, TrueDelta clearly identifies what difference it will make if you buy a Genesis Coupe rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" stats.

To report results, TrueDelta needs reliability data on all cars--not just the Genesis Coupe--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. Non-participants pay an access fee.

Details here:

http://www.truedelta.com/reliability.php

Alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.
Amount Paid (US$): 30,250
Model and Options: 2.0T Track