My last encounter with a sport coupe from Hyundai was brief, uneventful and very long ago. Either in size or in the size of the engine, this one wasn’t comparable. Whatever little was left of that memory was startled to scatter as the Hyundai Gensis Coupe came to life with its track-style vroom.
Drive: 3.8L engine / 299 bhp@6300rpm / 361 Nm@4700rpm / 240 km/hr / 8 Speed Automatic transmission / Rear Wheel Drive / 0 – 100 in 6.7 sec
UPSIDE: Powerful engine, Awesome styling, Sedan-like rear comfort, Superb value
FLIPSIDE: Handling skills should improve, Unnaturally tight steering feel, Late pick-up
FEATURES: High Intensity Discharged (HID) headlamps with washer and auto leveling function, Rear spoiler with high mounted stop lamp
PRICE: AED 123,000 currently (reduced as in May 2013) Super-value!
Powerful and awesomely designed as a sport coupe, the Genesis Coupe stops short of impressing with its handling skills.
Sporty in design and cabin dynamics
There are many things likeable about the Hyundai Genesis Coupe – and they begin with the presence. Arched in an almost conventional sports car styling, the car stands out with its narrow bling-wrapped eyes in front as well as the faux vents on the bonnet.
Something else that caught my fancy, and every person that took a ride with me inside the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, was the three dials on the dash, just below a multitude of buttons governing the climate and the radio – three sporty utilities displaying oil temperature, acceleration share and torque. It was interesting to see on record how quickly and easily was a good part of its torque made available without having to crash through the floor. Depressing the pedal about halfway to skim through 3000 rpm generates all the torque you need and that is the way to drive this Sport Coupe.
Depressing the pedal about halfway to skim through 3000 rpm generates all the torque you need and that is the way to drive this Sport Coupe.
The Drive
The 3.8 L V6 seems to make 299 bhp of power for the car and impresses with a G-force experience as you take off. Though it was often hesitant at the start, the Genesis Coupe picks up its mettle shortly after take off.
The Brembo callipers in red show off their merit both through the wheels and during braking. Along with the 19” wheels, they offer a decent ride with prompt and reliable braking.
The Hyundai Genesis Coupe has space almost like a sedan in the rear and the boot - making it a perfect family choice!
Any sporty experience has an accompanying S word that completes it. The ‘sound’ of the new Genesis coupe is the kind that nicely echoes in tunnels, announcing its lead margin to gentlemen at the far end of it. A slow ascend of the rpm makes the most of the sporty growl with its raspy undertone, because the car tends to scatter its sonorous notes on sharp throttling.
A slow ascend of the rpm makes the most of the sporty growl with its raspy undertone, because the car tends to scatter its sonorous notes on sharp throttling.
Cabin Comfort
The Hyundai Genesis Coupe is one sport type with space in the rear for proper people – not midgets – with wider seats than many sedans have. And while the sloping roof looks as though the glass is going to either graze those heads or bring the sun down on them, none of that happened and my rear seat riders traveled rather comfortably. Not something many sport coupes can claim!
CABIN FEATURES: Leather upholstery with colour choice, Blue tooth with steering controls / Glass Antenna / Infiniti music system with AUX input option with USB port + cable
The leather seats are kind of coarse but as the car is not priced to give you Napa leather or Alcantara, you have no right to frown. Instead, be happy they don’t give you a stiff neck or a sore back. The heater for front and rear glasses was a blessing on misty nights.
Storage inside will take care of itself though the glove box has space for little else than the car’s manual. The boot isn’t small for a coupe either – our baby tricycle cuddled into it without looking grumpy.
What I liked most in the cabin was the Infiniti music box inside the Genesis Coupe, with its clear tenor and boxy acoustics.
Strong likes, and dislikes
As I said, there are many things likeable about the new Hyundai Genesis Coupe but the steering isn’t one of them. Tuned to ridiculously tight proportions, the resistance can be described as ‘testing’ rather than sporty. And to make things worse, it is almost precariously placed on the pivot, fidgeting to stay right there. Occasions of oversteer were plenty in this rear wheel drive car – this one will never make the German cut of tracing an impeccable arc.
The steering feels too tense and thus makes for the only major blotch in the sporty experience.
But for the ironic case of a wobbly yet tight steering, most other drive specs are well endowed and the powerful engine makes up for most foibles, and all the resistance evaporates when you’ve heard the price! While the sunroof and the auxiliary sound support complete the frills, the sporty bent is further satisfied by a paddle shift.
The Hyundai Genesis Coupe headlamps have an automatic levelling function along with washers.
The essential Hyundai Genesis Coupe
In styling and power output, the Genesis Coupe scores high but it settles for ‘fair enough’ in the department of handling. The low profile keeps body roll to the minimum but throwing about this car wasn’t exactly my idea of fun. But then, there are few other sport coupes that give you a genuinely powerful experience at this price, and also allow your backseat rider to enjoy it comfortably.
The price has been reduced by more than 10K, in order to make it competitive in a segment shaken up by the Toyota 86!
Drive Courtesy: Hyundai and Juma Al Majid Auomobiles
Pictures: Sudeep Koshy
