A while back, I reported that my dad had likely totaled his 2011 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 and was shopping for a new car. Well, here it is. He’s now the proud owner of a brand-new Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Ultimate in Pamplona Red over tan.
For those of you who are really eagle-eyed, you’ll already be confused. Notice I said brand new, but still referred to it as a “Hyundai Genesis” and not a Genesis G80. Well, if you’ll remember, Hyundai/Genesis wouldn’t even let us look at a new G80 for a silly reason. However, he found a local dealer selling a 2015 Genesis -technically still new as it had been a demo car- at a *steep* discount (half of MSRP). He had really been looking for a 5.0, but this deal was far too good to pass up. Normally I’m a bit hesitant on the idea of a dealer demonstrator, but this one checked out, has more than 85,000 miles of warranty left, and, I will reiterate, was bought for half of the MSRP. Also, that color is phenomenal.
My first impressions from driving it are great. It’s no secret that I did not like the old Genesis at all, but this new one is a world away. It has a distinct, stylish exterior. The interior looks and feels like that of an actual luxury car. Everything feels high-quality, and I love the piping on the leather and the matte-finish wood. The iDrive-looking thing (unique to only the top-trim Ultimate model) looks better and works well. The dopey shifter is replaced by a solid straight-line unit. The ride, which was extremely bouncy in the old car, is now very smooth. There are comfortable places to rest both of your arms while naturally holding the wheel, which addressed a huge complaint I had with the old car. The issues on the old car with the radar cruise, adaptive lights, backup camera, and front passenger seat have all been dealt with, and a whole boatload of other features have been tossed into the mix. Bottom line, it doesn’t feel like a phoned-in attempt at a luxury car, or some kind of cheap knockoff. Unlike the old Genesis, you don’t need to make excuses or apologize for it. I’m sad we didn’t end up with the 420hp 5.0 V8, but the V6 in this with its 311hp does just fine. Hopefully it will serve him well for a few years, and now I’ll actually enjoy trading cars with him.