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Road Test: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track, it's different
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Quick, here’s how to tell the Track edition of the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe from its lesser brethren.
- The Hyundai Genesis Coupe Track has a “black-out” lower front fascia.
- The Hyundai Genesis Coupe Track has “staggered”—wider at the rear—alloy wheels, with a gunmetal finish and 19 inches in diameter.
- The Genesis Coupe Track has Brembo brakes front and rear with red-painted calipers.
- There’s that big ol’ wing hanging out over the Genesis Coupe’s trunklid.
However, the Genesis Coupe Track is available with a 2.0-liter turbo four cylinder engine and a 3.8-liter V-6. So to further refine our Genesis Coupe spotter’s guide, the 3.8 has turn signals in the side mirrors and there’s the little badge at the back of the car.
But if it’s screaming zonker Interlagos Yellow, that sucker’s a 3.8, because for 2010 the only model to get the is-it-morning-already color is the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track. Is this yellow intense? It is to pastel what a brick is to a marshmallow.
Fortunately, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track isn’t as extreme as the color, and for road use you wouldn’t want it that way. But the 3.8 Track is the most intense model of the Genesis Coupe lineup that has a variety of engine and trim combinations sufficiently complex that a diagram was used to explain it at the press intro. Or perhaps that a sign of what Hyundai p.r. thinks of automotive journalists. Whatever, we’re not going to outline the lineup here.
Instead, we present the 2009 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track. In Interlagos Yellow. In what has become a Hyundai tradition, the Genesis Coupe Track is highly contented, which is auto speak for it comes with a lot of stuff. From the Grand Touring trim level, there’s:
· Heated driver and passenger seat
· 360-watt AM/FM/XM/MP3/CD-changer Infinity® premium audio system with 10 speakers including DVC subwoofer, eight-channel external amplifier, and diversity antenna
· Proximity key with push-button start
· Xenon HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps
· Auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink and compass
· Heated mirrors with outside turn signal indicators
· Backup warning system
· Power tilt and slide sunroof
And then there’s what the Genesis Coupe gets for being a Track model:
· Black leather seating surfaces
· 19-inch gunmetal finish alloy wheels with staggered high-performance summer-compound Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires (225/40YR19 front, 245/40YR19 rear)
· Brembo braking system with 13.4-inch ventilated front rotors, 42mm four-piston fixed front calipers, 13.0-inch ventilated rear rotors, 32mm+28mm four-piston fixed rear calipers
· Special “track-tuned” suspension, with higher-rate coil springs, firmer shock absorbers, 25mm front stabilizer bar, 22mm rear stabilizer bar, strut tower brace
· Torsen-type limited-slip differential
· Aluminum pedals
· Aero wipers
· Lightweight temporary spare with aluminum wheel (T135/80D18)
The Track models also have sport seats with good side and hip bolstering. Skinny folk would prefer a tighter fit, but the seats—plus a large dead pedal—are more than adequate for sport driving. The only reason to hang on to the meaty leather-covered steering wheel is to steer. That’s good.
See more 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe pictures in the slide show below.
Also good: The 3.8-liter double-overhead cam V-6. Rated at 306 horsepower and 266 lb-ft of torque, the all-aluminum engine launches the Genesis Coupe to 60 mph in “under 6 seconds,” according to Hyundai. Close enough for us. Hyundai also set a fuel shut-off speed limiter at 149 mph. Aw, gee, Officer Krupke, can’t we like have just one more mph?
Not that it matters, of course unless, of course, your daily commute includes a lap or two at Talladega. What’s more important is the punch at double digit speeds and there the Hyundai Genesis Coupe excels, twisting the needles around with a fluid whoooop.
Our test Genesis Coupe was equipped with the ZF six-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission—a six-speed manual transmission is also available—and left to its own devices, it snapped off upshifts at about 6500 rpm. At full throttle in manual mode, it still snaps those shifts at the same point if the driver hasn’t used the paddle first. Tip: For max acceleration, let the trans pick the upshift time, even when shifting manually.
Like the sedan, Genesis Coupe has rear wheel drive—Genesis, we’re told, means rear-wheel drive in Hyundai-speak—so hard acceleration means no torque steer or other histrionics of a front-drive car. In the limited time on winding roads we had with the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track, we could feel the front end bite into corners and, like a good sports coupe should, rotate the chassis in response to a lifted throttle in a turn. Give it the gas coming out of a corner and it unwinds nicely. If the preceding is mumbo-jumbo, slow down and/or go to performance driving school. Otherwise, enjoy.
The Coupe 3.8 Track stays flat in corners and handles bumpy and broken pavement well, though there’s a pilot’s “light chop” over seams and such and we bottomed it hard over railroad tracks we obviously hadn’t considered such a big deal.
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We didn’t get a chance to make those big brakes even think about getting warm. The best use most drivers will get from them is looking pretty peeking between the wheel spokes. The Brembo brakes will get a workout only from those who participate in track days.Headroom will be a problem for most who do take a Genesis Coupe onto the track, however. Due to production necessities, a sunroof is mandatory on Track models, and the extra thickness of the roof combined with the thickness of a racing helmet will result in two objects attempting to simultaneously occupy the same space. The better solution, at least from a track driver’s standpoint, would be a sunroof that opened outwards and back rather than down and in. Alas, actual track drivers are likely not Hyundai’s top priority. Welcome to real life.
The back seat, not surprisingly, has limited headroom. Limited? The back seat would be more comfortable to average-sized adults if they have detachable noggins. The Genesis Coupe’s trunk is surprisingly huge for a sports coupe, however, at 10 cubic feet. It’s even usable space.
That’s perhaps not the most important factor in a sports coupe. Most sports coupes are bought with barely a nod in that direction and it’s likely that the Hyundai Genesis Coupe’s buyers will be no different. There was a time—does anyone remember the Hyundai Scoupe?—when enthusiasts only had to tell a Hyundai from a real sports coupe. Now they have to learn which Hyundai Genesis Coupe is hot, which is hotter and which is hottest. Here’s a hint. One of them is Interlagos Yellow and it’s called the 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track.
Illustrations: 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track. Photos by John Matras.
| Engine | 3.8L/306-hp DOHC 24-valve V6 |
| Materials | Aluminum block and head |
| Displacement, cc | 3 |
| Horsepower @ rpm | 306 @ 6300 |
| Torque, lb-ft @ rpm | 266 @ 4700 |
| Suspension, front | MacPherson strut dual link with springs, gas shocks, 25mm anti-rollbar |
| Suspension, rear | Five-link with gas shocks, 22mm anti-roll bar |
| Steering, type | Hydraulic rack-and-pinion, engine-rpm sensing |
| Overall ratio | 14.9:1 |
| Turning circle dia., ft. | 37.4 |
| Brakes, front | Brembo, 13.4-in. disc, 4-piston calipers |
| Brakes, rear | Brembo, 13.0-in. disc, 4-piston calipers |
| Tires, size, front / rear | 225/40R19 / 245/40R19 |
| Wheels | 19-inch alloyo |
| Dimensions & capacities | |
| Wheelbase, in. | 111.0 |
| Length, in. | 182.3 |
| Width, in. | 73.4 |
| Height, in. | 54.5 |
| Cargo volume, cu. ft. | 10.0 |
| Fuel tank, U.S. gal. | 17.2 |
| Curb weight, lbs. | 3,397 |
| Performance | |
| MPG, EPA est, city/hwy | 18/26 |
| Acceleration, 0-60 mph | "Under 6 seconds" |
| Top speed, mph | 149, limited |
| Base price | $31,000 |
| Comfort and convenience: leather seating, heated front seats, power driver's seat w/ lumbar, power sunroof, Xenon headlights, foglights, proximity key w/button start, automatic climate control, heated mirrors with turn signals, aluminum pedals, AM/FM/XM/MP3/CD Infinity 10-speaker audio, iPod/USB/aux. port, Bluetooth, steering wheel audio/cruise control, auto-dimming inside mirror w/ Homelink and compass | std. |
| Safety: Electronic stability control, antilock brakes/electronic brakeforce distribution/brake assist, front/front side/side curtain airbags | sttd. |
| iPod cable | 30 |
| Carpeted floor mats | 95 |
| Destination | 750 |
| Total MSRP | $31,875 |
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