Review: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track

The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe isn't the fastest sporty coupe on the market and its handling isn't in a class of its own, but it combines power, agility, and decent value for the money and wraps it up in an attractively designed package. See more photos of the Genesis Coupe in today's slideshow. 

Had it come out one year earlier, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe would have been the hottest car on the market, joining only the then-aging Ford Mustang and the overweight reborn Dodge Challenger as stylish coupes with lots of power and rear-wheel-drive under $30,000. 

But that timing was not to be. Instead, the 2010 Genesis Coupe – which ended its week with the DC Car Examiner last Thursday – came out at the same time as a redesigned and greatly improved Mustang and an overachieving new Chevrolet Camaro. The comparisons were inevitable. 

But as convenient as the timing is for comparing this Hyundai against the Big Three’s retro muscle cars, the Genesis Coupe faces other competition as well. Sporty front-drive coupes like the Mitsubishi Eclipse and the two-door Honda Accord or Nissan Altima are easy to ignore when your spec sheet matches that of the long-awaited Camaro, but they shouldn’t be forgotten. 

At least, you should not forget to compare them to the Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Whether you forget those cars once you have depends on what you want from your coupe. 

To begin, what is the difference between these two coupes:

On the left, we have the Mitsubishi Eclipse, actually a liftback based on Mitsubishi’s Galant midsize sedan, which can be equipped with a 3.8-liter V6 that offers 265 horsepower. An engine that is the highlight of that car’s driving experience yet that is still flattened by the Hyundai’s 306 hp, 306 hp that appear on regular gasoline rather than the Eclipse’s premium at that. 

On the right we have our Genesis Coupe, this particular car a loaded 3.8 Track model. With suspension tuning and powerful brakes that are designed for more than public streets, its underpinnings defy any passing similarities to what Hyundai USA’s CEO refers to as “sporty FWD pretenders.”  

The V6-powered Genesis Coupe – as opposed to the standard 2.0T 4-cylinder turbo models – blends the basic styling themes of these “pretenders” with performance and body layout not unlike a significantly pricier Infiniti G37 coupe, creating the Hyundai that’s thrown into comparisons against the latest American muscle. 

How does it stack up there? 

To be sure, this Hyundai does not throw in the V8 that these cars do. Hyundai’s new 4.6-liter V8 is found in the Genesis sedan – a large luxury car that shares some mechanical components and the V6 engine (pictured) with this coupe, but not as much as its name suggests – but the V6 is the flagship in the coupe line, albeit a V6 with nearly the power of a Mustang’s V8. 

In spec-sheet wars, this Hyundai looks doomed for maxing out at six cylinders. The eight-cylinder Mustang GT, Camaro SS, and Challenger R/T have beaten its acceleration easily in track testing by various publications, and even the V6 Camaro comes close. 

So where the Genesis Coupe must hope to beat these cars is at their traditional weakness: cornering agility. Unfortunately for Hyundai, the updated 2010 Mustang has become surprisingly agile. It’s bigger than the Genesis Coupe but no heavier – each is much lighter than the Camaro or Challenger – and has newly responsive steering and improved suspension control to go with it. The Mustang even feels friskier than this Hyundai, whose handling was described last week in this space as displaying “a high level of competence” more than “a sense of eagerness”: 

Throw the Genesis Coupe around a curve, and it seems to yawn and ask "is that all you'll do?" Some sporty cars, on the other hand, would sooner have shouted "that was fun; let's do it again!"

The Genesis Coupe – especially in this stiffer-suspensioned Track version – also has a harsher ride than the Mustang, or most other cars on the market. It’s a bit busy even on smooth highways and can slam over bumps, especially at low speeds where there isn’t enough momentum to carry the car quickly past the upset point. The car is at its worst on poorly maintained back roads that are bumpy but not necessarily cracked, where the road surface is consistently uneven. The car never settles down there, and is constantly jostling. 

While some reviews have said the Genesis Coupe Track’s ride is worse than it is, a 3.8 Grand Touring model is a bit smoother without giving up any handling abilities that are apparent on public roads at speeds anywhere near legal, and it’s less expensive to boot. 

One thing you won’t want to give up, however, is the V6 engine, which is not only much stronger than the 2.0-liter four-cylinder (read a review of the Genesis Coupe 4-cylinder) but has a far superior note that sings when it’s asked to yet vanishes in gentle driving where it’s not demanded. You can leave an echoey parking garage unobtrusively if you want in the Genesis Coupe; try that in a V8 Mustang. Overall, despite some notchiness to the short-throw manual shifter and a bit of excess heft to the clutch pedal, the Genesis Coupe is quite easy to drive either hard or gently. 

Read the full details on the Genesis Coupe's driving dynamics

Read the full review of the 2010 Ford Mustang GT

The Mustang is the leader inside the car, however. The Genesis Coupe has a slicker, more modern look, but most plastics are hard and some trim pieces on this test car didn’t line up properly, and a display at the top-center of the dash, below, does not include the latest in graphics technology. 

The Hyundai’s six-speed shifter has reverse to the left of first gear, but its only lockout feature is demanding a hard yank to reach that gear, rather than pulling up or pushing down like on many other cars, including other Hyundais. An annoying chime greets a victorious move into reverse for drivers who were actually seeking first. The Mustang’s five-speed shifter also has no lockout for reverse, which is found to the right of fourth. 

The Mustang also has a usable rear seat by coupe standards; the Genesis Coupe’s rear is more like that of an extended cab compact pickup truck, but harder to access and with far less headroom. Your legs will be sideways and your head bent forward, and you’ll still be pushed against the front seatback and the roofliner. The Hyundai’s well-bolstered front seats are more comfortable, however, at least for the first hour or so. 

Read the full details of the Genesis Coupe's interior

This may leave a reader with the impression that there is no reason to buy a Genesis Coupe over the Mustang, an impression that would be inaccurate. 

The most obvious difference between the two is the styling, inside and out. Retro looks aren’t for everyone, and the Mustang’s extra physical size adds visual mass if not extra weight over the Genesis Coupe. 

The other difference might also be obvious, but it’s hidden in plain sight under this unusually sporty and distinctive-looking Hyundai: the Korean brand’s traditional price advantage. Pricing site TrueDelta.com pegs the V6 Genesis Coupe’s advantage at more than $3,800 compared to a comparably-equipped V8 Mustang. Beyond a navigation system that was added since this test car was built, uplevel Genesis Coupes also include a slick keyless entry and starting system that the Mustang lacks.

The Genesis Coupe is also rated to return slightly better gas mileage than the Mustang; the test car drank 18.5 gallons of regular unleaded over 471 miles in its week with the DC Car Examiner, working out to 25.5 miles per gallon. The EPA rates it for 17 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway, and your observed mileage will plummet as you find more opportunities to put your foot down and go. 

(Chevrolet’s and Dodge’s retro coupes were absent from this discussion for being more dissimilar to this Hyundai than the lighter, nimbler Mustang. Tight supplies of the Camaro also limit its comparability to widely available Mustangs or Genesis Coupes for now; when demand settles, comparisons will be both possible and interesting.) 

And against the “sporty front-wheel-drive pretenders,” the Genesis Coupe offers truly sporting driving dynamics and sharper looks at similar prices, though it does make a cramped Altima or Accord coupe’s rear seats seem almost spacious. 

So even if Hyundai might have liked to have come a year earlier, its slick and sporty Genesis Coupe is still a strong choice even in the face of its big-name competitors. 

See more details and photos of the Genesis Coupe's week with the DC Car Examiner at the links below:

Day 1: Introduction
Day 3: Interior details
Day 5: Driving dynamics and fuel economy
Full review

Vehicle tested: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 
Vehicle base price (MSRP): $22,000
Version tested: 3.8 Track
Vehicle price as tested (MSRP): $30,375
Estimated transaction price as tested: $28,875
Odometer at beginning of test: 5,171 miles
Odometer at end of test: 5,648 miles
Test vehicle provided by: Hyundai Motor America 

Key specifications: 
Length: 182.3 inches
Width: 73.4 inches
Height: 54.5 inches
Wheelbase: 110.0 inches
Weight: 3,389 pounds
Trunk room: 10.0 cubic feet
Turning diameter: 37.4 feet
Engine (as tested): 3.8-liter V6 with 306 horsepower
Transmission: 6-speed manual
EPA city mileage: 17 miles per gallon
EPA highway mileage: 26 miles per gallon
Observed in test: 25.5 miles per gallon

For more info:
http://www.hyundaiusa.com/vehicle/GenesisCoupe/GenesisCoupe.aspx