Hyundai Genesis Coupe - Moving Up Again

Photo: Victor Llana (www.boundlesscaptures.com)

Hyundai, and its sister division, Kia, have been on a happy upswing for a while now. I like to think that they took Toyota and Honda as the models of success, although whether there's an actual correlation between the two Korean brands and the two Japanese ones is debatable.

Think of this. The first Hyundai in the U.S. was the Excel. Excel is something it didn't do--it was pretty poor. It was cheap, though, and you got what you paid for. But then, the cars got progressively better and better, and better looking, too. The Koreans at Hyundai studied the Japanese models just mentioned. So now, you have the excellent Hyundai Accent and Kia Rio at the bottom, the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte a step up, then the midsize Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima. All are doing very well, thank you. I've driven them all.

But what about moving upward? What about giving more performance and luxury? Ask no more. From Hyundai, you can get the Genesis sedan or coupe. Think of it as the Korean Lexus--or Acura. But, unlike those to esteemed brands, there is no separate showroom. You can go into any Hyundai dealership and pick one up today. That saved Hyundai a wad of cash--and the positive vibes rub off on all of the other, more modest vehicles in the fleet. Smart.

I just spent a week with the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe, specifically the 3.8 R-Spec. It impressed the heck out of me with its mighty 3.8-liter 348-horsepower V6 driving the rear wheels. The solid shifter action reminded me of a Nissan 370Z I drove not long ago. The clutch was a little tricky, with quick takeup, so I did stall it a few times at first.

Who would think you could get this kind of entertainment from Hyundai? The sedan exudes Mercedes-like elegance, but this coupe is a brawler. 348 horsepower is more than many Corvettes offer with their V8. And how about 20.4 miles per gallon? Official EPA average is 21 mpg, with 18 City and 27 Highway.

My Becketts Black tester mysteriously did without automatic climate control, which is probably standard in the Sonata, and the USB port is tucked away in a teeny little cubby up front--nice--but without enough room for the iPod, which has to hang out in one of the console cupholders. But despite that, and including lovely red leather bucket seats, the price came to $29,625--including shipping. That feels like a heck of a deal to me.

And now, how about the new Hyundai Equus? It's $60,000! What will they think of next?

Kia Forte 5-Door - Mostly Great

I was looking forward to my week with the Kia Forte 5-door for a while. It seemed like the perfect car for me--compact, reasonably agile and fun to drive, and with a rear door and dropping second-row seats, ideal for bass-hauling. Now that week is ending, and the car mostly met the mark.

The 2.4-liter, 173-horsepower inline four-cylinder engine feels energetic, especially if you turn off the ECO setting. I normally keep cars in any position that helps them achieve maximum fuel economy, but the car felt like it dropped its lead shoes when I removed the ECO. Maybe it's the later upshifts. As it was, the car's EPA ratings are 23 City, 32 Highway, and I averaged about 23 miles per gallon on regular, which is decent if not especially outstanding. A 156-horsepower, 2.o-liter engine is also available in some Forte models that gets 26/36.

The scores in the EPA Green Vehicle Guide, which rates cars on a scale of 1-10 (10 is best) for greenhouse gases and air pollution, gives the car two 6's--just enough to qualify it for "SmartWay" status. One may wonder if the manufacturers build to a "12 total" standard.

Living with this car proved to be as I expected--comfortable and quiet, and the interior feels substantial and looks competitive. The exterior appears well proportioned and even a little elegant in Ebony Black.

A few annoyances, though. The automatic climate control didn't heat that well much of the time. I didn't freeze, but I had to crank the knob to 80 degrees and pray. Also, the CD player skipped. And when I went to use my iPod I needed to use a special cable from Kia (thankfully, supplied) that used both the AUX and the USB ports. My friend Fred describes this as a "cheap" setup. It did work fine, however, although if I wanted a "Random" shuffle setting I had to re-enter it each time I started the car. I've noted this in other Kias. Lastly, when I folded down the second-row seats, it didn't create a flat load floor.

My test car, an SX model, was upgraded with a $1,000 leather package, $750 power sunroof and $1,800 Navigation package, which pushed the bottom line to $23,640. No econobox this. The 2012 EX model 5-door starts at $18,850.

If I had faith that my troubles with the heating system were unique to this car I could see buying one, although there is a pretty nice selection of small wagons out there now.

Photo by Chris Kidwell.