A week in the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe: Day 3 (interior details)

The 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe is comfortable for the driver, but not opulent for the price. See detailed photos of the car's interior in today's slideshow, and more photos of the exterior in the slideshow from Thursday's introduction. 

You don't buy the 306-horsepower Hyundai Genesis Coupe -- especially its sportiest Track model, which is spending a week with the DC Car Examiner -- for its interior. But after you've chosen your sporty performance car, you'll be spending quite a bit of time in there, so it's important to know what you'd be getting yourself into. 

You're first getting into wide, well-cushioned front seats that are very comfortable at first but start to fade a bit over time. The seats' bolsters offer good but not great lateral support by the standards of its class; the sharpest turns will leave drivers wishing they were being held a bit more snugly.

As-is, the seats are a fine compromise between lateral support and no-strain entry/exit, but this Track model isn't really supposed to be about compromising in the name of daily use. (The Genesis Coupe Track offers such changes over other versions as an even stiffer suspension and brakes that are more resistant to fade after repeated hard stops on a race track; more on that over the coming days.) 

There is plenty of front seat space, and forward visibility is impressive for a low, sporty car. Visibility straight back is acceptable, unimpeded by the Track model's spoiler, but a sharply raked beltline leaves only tiny peepholes over the shoulder. Don't let the view of the "kickdown" rear window fool you -- you'll have a large blind spot to monitor. (See photos of the view out in today's slideshow.)

However, you probably won't be getting yourself into the Genesis Coupe's rear seats, and even any passengers you have will struggle. The bar isn't high for style-focused sporty coupes, but this car is below even the class norm. A Ford Mustang, whose rear quarters were described by one reviewer as "inhospitable," feels spacious in comparison. You may have to squeeze your way into the back of the Mustang and your knees may be pressed against the seatback in front of you, but at least you don't have to turn your legs sideways in the Mustang to even jam them in, your legs aren't jammed against solid plastic, and your head isn't forced far downward. As it is in the Genesis Coupe.

Hyundai offers two seatbelts for the steerage class; as long as they're joking around like that, they might as well have stuck in a third. Actually, the car is physically wide enough for a middle person, and a small child could likely fit there, unlike in most "2+2" coupes. One slight nod to rear seat passenger comfort is a small armrest under each window fashioned out of the hard plastic trim. There is no center armrest, however. 

But Genesis Coupe drivers are more likely to face the car's dashboard than its rear seat anyway, and things are a bit brighter here. The car's interior styling is clean and attractive, and there are no retro design flourishes to detract from its usability -- unlike two of this Hyundai's direct competitors. 

However, although this loaded Genesis Coupe is a $30,000 automobile, its interior appointments don't really look or feel near-luxury. The leather seats feel nice and the material looks sturdy, but most panels throughout the interior are hard plastic. The top of the dash is softer, but little of the nicer material is on a high-contact surface. The driver's seat has a mix of manual and power adjustments, and the front passenger seat's manual fore-aft adjustment is less than smooth. The manual shifter vibrates visibly and significantly at idle, and lacks a true reverse lockout; drivers must give the shifter a good yank to get it past first and up, and are rewarded with a loud beep in case they actually wanted a forward gear. Many transmissions -- including some from Hyundai -- are either pushed down or pulled up on to select reverse, a far more elegant solution. 

See more photos of the Genesis Coupe interior in today's slideshow

There are also a few ergonomic foibles in the Genesis Coupe's instrument layout. The symmetrical controls along the center stack look nice, but it puts half of them on the far side from the driver. They're neither convenient to reach nor easy to identify -- they're all just smooth silverly plastic -- and some control menus. Furthermore, the options in these menus are shown on a screen high above the buttons at the dash's top center, adding further complication. The screen, too, lacks the slick look of a $30,000 car; its readouts look more like those on a $3 calculator. 

Other minor issues include trunk and fuel-door release switches mounted on the driver's door panel rather than in the conventional location on the floor, and they're a bit too far back to be easily reached. And the front seatbelts that hang on the car's b-pillar well behind the driver's seat can be hard to reach, as the Genesis Coupe doesn't have any component holding them closer to the seats -- unlike in a Ford Mustang or some other coupes. 

One feature that's definitely premium-worthy for this Genesis Coupe is its "smart key," standard on all but the base models of the 4-cylinder and V6 cars. Drivers can keep the key in their pockets while unlocking the cars -- the car senses the key nearby and will unlock at the touch of a button on the door handle -- and starting them -- by pushing a button on the dash. Warning chimes sound if the key gets too far from the running car, and the car will not let you lock the doors if it senses the key is still inside, and a conventional metal key is hidden inside as a backup. (see photo at right)

The smart key doesn't open the trunk, however, and the spoiler is not the tempting grab handle it looks like. The trunk is small and shallow even for a sporty coupe at 10 cubic feet, and while the rear seat folds to expand the volume, the pass-through area is only a few inches high. 

Overall, the Genesis Coupe's interior is a comfortable place for two people, but not as luxurious as some other $30,000 cars. Was the savings invested into making the car a far better drive than other cars at this price point to make up for it? Check back over the next few days to find out. 

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 as of this writing: 5,404 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

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