CDailey's 2012 Hyundai Genesis Sedan Update 8/6 More pics and video!

[CDailey]

Well...pretty big update here. I traded the Abarth in for something...a little bigger. Unfortunately circumstances dictated that I either refinance or trade the Abarth in and I went for the second option.

With that said, I'd like to introduce my new car. A 2012 Hyundai Genesis sedan 3.8. It's roomy AF compared to the Abarth, naturally lol. Very luxurious inside. Incredibly smooth ride. The power delivery is so smooth. It's like you just get wafted along. Not super fast, but fast enough. Faster than the Abarth too with 333hp and 291 lb ft of torque. Not a whole lot faster since it weighs near enough to 4000lbs lol. Quicker than my friends new edge Mustang which is fine with me.

First mods were taking the dealer stickers off and those stupid pin stripes off the side. Next mods will be removing the front license plate once I get some bumper plugs, and removing the Hyundai badges and replacing them with the Genesis wings.

Picture overload:

The final picture of Tess the Abarth:

And here's Ginny the Genesis!

Guess I need to start figuring out some VIP style mods.

 

[Anthony]

I really love these cars. Partly because I work for Hyundai-Kia, but also because they're absolutely incredible value for the money.

Hope it serves you well.

 

[homeforsummer]

Nice choice, if an unusual one after the Abarth! What prompted you to go for something so completely different?

Also, this:

 

[Joey D]

I've liked these since they came to the states, they don't seem overstated but at the same time they have a really handsome design. I do think a nice set of slightly larger wheels with a better offset would really suit the car nicely.

 

[CDailey]

Nice choice, if an unusual one after the Abarth! What prompted you to go for something so completely different?

Long story time:

It kind of fell into my lap/it was my only choice. I'm going through a divorce and the wife wanted her name off the car loan (which is understandable) and I needed a cosigner, so while I was down visiting my mother, we were talking about it and she said go ahead and look and if we find something good she would cosign with me. I was searching all the dealerships in the area for anything used that was interesting and honestly most of it was crap. The Genesis was about the only good thing I found other than a 2005 Lexus LS430 with some big wheels on it. I originally went to check out a 2009 model that was silver with brown leather interior and was fully loaded but someone had bought it the day before. They brought out two other used Genesis sedans, the one I bought, and a 2013 that was fully loaded, but $5k more. Both in the same pearl white. I took it for a quick test drive and liked it. I had always liked their understated looks ever since they came out and my first love of cars are big luxury sedans. My first car was a Chrysler 300M Special, so big sedans hold a special place in my heart. Anyway, the dealer gave me almost 4k more on trade for the Abarth than a local dealer offered and I liked the car and that's about it.

I miss the Abarth but at the same time I don't. I love how much fun it was to drive and throw into corners. I miss the manual gearbox and the raucous exhaust note. But at its heart, it was a tarted up $14k car. The interior was cheap and poorly thought out. Materials were hard and not pleasant to touch. The seat was incredibly uncomfortable on long trips. The stock stereo was terrible. After a year and a half of ownership and only 26,xxx miles, it had so many rattles and squeaks it was unbelievable. I chalked it up to being your typical Italian car. Tons of soul and passion, not a whole lot of build quality. The Genesis on the other hand has 44k on it currently and it's still buttery smooth. It's quiet. It still runs great and it's quicker than the Abarth, at least in a straight line. The seats are like sitting on your favorite couch. The rear seats have incredible leg room and have air conditioning in the middle and on the B pillar right below the window. It's incredible. How Hyundai sell these things as cheap as they do is beyond me. People who skip over them just because they are a Hyundai don't know the bargain they are missing.

Also, this:

Hnng. One day. Bags and 20s...bags and 20s....

Pretty soon I will be ordering the wing badges for the hood, trunk, steering wheel and center caps on the wheels.

 

[Doog]

The Genesis was about the only good thing I found other than a 2005 Lexus LS430 with some big wheels on it.

You turned down an LS430?!

Just kidding. Sorry about your circumstances.

 

[homeforsummer]

After a year and a half of ownership and only 26,xxx miles, it had so many rattles and squeaks it was unbelievable. I chalked it up to being your typical Italian car. Tons of soul and passion, not a whole lot of build quality.

Thanks for the detailed reply, and sorry to hear about your divorce.

The quote above I'd put down not so much to the car being Italian, but American 500s being built in Mexico rather than Poland like the ones we get over here. It's one of those subtle difference things that seems to make much more real-world difference than you'd think.

Same deal as Mexican-built VWs having worse materials and more problems than German-built ones, or the Hyundai rental car I drove out there a few years ago having essentially the same design interior as the ones we get in the UK, but just made from worse materials. It makes me feel less bad about cars being so much cheaper in the States as usually, even like-for-like cars simply aren't as high quality as they are in the European market. I guess that's the price of the quantity cars are sold in out there compared to in Europe.

Whenever I've driven 500s in the UK they have one of the nicer small-car interiors - up there with MINI, just about. And my old Panda 100HP (essentially the car the 500 is based on) had done over 50k miles by the time I sold it and didn't rattle at all. Modern Italian cars are generally pretty good for fit and finish, quality etc.

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

For what its worth, my mum's Abarth has the same issues, if not worse, and that's a UK market car. We've had an odd squeak from the front left wheel ever since it was new, which was still there after the problem was supposedly resolved. We checked with the dealer again and found that was 'just how it is' (their words).

It's a good thing you traded it in now to be honest. Due to an apparent design flaw, Abarth's tend to munch their own shock top mounts when going over bumps after about two years, so unless you live in an area with completely flat roads, you're pretty much screwed and it would actually end up being common maintenance. This same design issue is what makes it eat the inner edges of the front tires as well. She's actually getting shot of it before any other issues arise.

What you've said is true; its a lovely thing, but they just don't seem to be built up to scratch. Then again, we've had two plain-jane 500s before the Abarth and they didn't seem to have any quality or maintenance issues at all. Might just be an Abarth thing.

 

[CDailey]

You turned down an LS430?!

Just kidding. Sorry about your circumstances.

Well actually I never even looked at it. But I still think the Genesis was the better choice. Thanks for the kind words.

Thanks for the detailed reply, and sorry to hear about your divorce.

The quote above I'd put down not so much to the car being Italian, but American 500s being built in Mexico rather than Poland like the ones we get over here. It's one of those subtle difference things that seems to make much more real-world difference than you'd think.

Same deal as Mexican-built VWs having worse materials and more problems than German-built ones, or the Hyundai rental car I drove out there a few years ago having essentially the same design interior as the ones we get in the UK, but just made from worse materials. It makes me feel less bad about cars being so much cheaper in the States as usually, even like-for-like cars simply aren't as high quality as they are in the European market. I guess that's the price of the quantity cars are sold in out there compared to in Europe.

Whenever I've driven 500s in the UK they have one of the nicer small-car interiors - up there with MINI, just about. And my old Panda 100HP (essentially the car the 500 is based on) had done over 50k miles by the time I sold it and didn't rattle at all. Modern Italian cars are generally pretty good for fit and finish, quality etc.

Again, thanks for the kind words. You are probably right as far as the built in Mexico vs Poland part. I've never driven a UK 500 or Panda to compare (obviously), nor have I driven any VW, but I have heard similar complaints as far as build quality goes.

Like I said, I loved it and I hope FCA does well. The new 500X is supposed to be pretty good as well as the new Jeep Renegade. Here's hoping the Alfa Romeo Guila they are releasing over here will be good, as well as the 124 Spyder.

 

[CDailey]

Small update. Wondered if it could do donuts.

It can.

Also, glamour shot:

 

[CDailey]

Some boom in my zoom. This took too long and I've realized something after having it installed for 2 days. I'm too old for this ****. Lol.

The before/install phase:

And after:

Something I learned (as you can see from the pic) the Genesis is incredibly well insulated. Better than any car I've ever owned.

 

[CDailey]

Another small update. Wondered if it could do a burnout.

It can.


Also, dirty car mini photo shoot:

 

[Doog]

I love your car.

 

[CDailey]

Thanks!

I am having more fun with it than I had anticipated. My only two gripes at the moment is that it is a royal bish to keep clean because of where I live (I have to park on grass/dirt and drive down a gravel drive way) and the wheels need to be bigger. Since they are only 17", they make the wheel wells look huge, but they aren't going anywhere any time soon because it has great tires on it and they are brand new.

 

[20832]

Beautiful car, CDailey!

I really have a sweet spot for Hyundai and Kia recently, very good pricing without sacrifising too much in terms of quality and/or equipment. The Genesis is just another proof that the Hyundai and Kia bad past of yesteryear are past.
A buddy of mine owns a Veloster Turbo and it seriously is one of the nicest, sportier cars I've driven to date.

 

[CDailey]

A little montage of some shenanigans.



I was actually surprised by the stock exhaust note and the little burble under 3k rpm. The cabin is so quiet that you can't hear it from inside so that was a pleasant surprise.

 

[20832]

Yeah, at least they don't amplify the sound through the speakers! That Genesis does sound rather nice!

 

[CDailey]

Yeah, at least they don't amplify the sound through the speakers! That Genesis does sound rather nice!

It's a good mix between mechanical engine noise and throaty V6 exhaust. I think It would sound pretty much perfect with some silencers deleted or just a muffler replacement. Now if only I didn't have to deal with the soot above the exhaust that is all too common with GDI engines.

 

[Ibonibo]

Sad that your nice Fiat is gone, but this looks like a fun tool too.

Is that one of those light grey,silver colour that look white in certain angles. Hard to make out from the pics?

You gonna leave the chrome chrome or something else?

More vids are mighty welcome

 

[CDailey]

Thank you. The color is called "White Satin Pearl." The pearl isn't really noticeable unless you're right up on the car which is unfortunate. The chrome will stay chrome, as it is impossible to match the color with anything other than automotive paint and I don't have that kind of scratch. I've been toying with the idea of blacking out the grill, except for the chrome bits on the leading edge. I've seen what it looks like with paint and it looks damn good. I was going to try it out with plastidip first to see how it looks with the white.

 

[Ibonibo]

Or smoke plasti dip it, so it's a darker chrome. Plasti dip might be a good intermediate solution 👍

 

[Hayden]

A little montage of some shenanigans.

Sounds great and it's being driven like it wants to. That video really put a smile on my face man! I definitely support the idea of more videos! 👍

 

[CDailey]

Sounds great and it's being driven like it wants to. That video really put a smile on my face man! I definitely support the idea of more videos! 👍

Thanks! There aren't many curvy roads around here and it's definitely not a canyon carver, so I'll have to come up with some good ideas if there are to be any more videos.

 

[CDailey]

Alright, another video.



RWD is fun

I've got a few more ideas for videos so they will be coming when I have time to film them.

I washed and waxed her the other day and wow, does the wax make a huge difference in the finish of the paint. The pearl shows up much more and it looks so good.

Here's some more photos. These are some of the best photos I've taken IMO.

(This one is my favorite)

(I can't wait till I start my new job so I can buy the Genesis wings and some plugs for the holes left in the bumper by the stupid front plate mount)

(My second favorite. I love the rear end on this car)

(I love these LED accents in the headlights. So cool)

Bonus landscape shot near where I have taken all the videos

 

[Katiegan]

I gotta say, at first I wasn't too keen on this, but that's probably because I was too heartbroken you got rid of the Abarth. Now, however, I'm really digging it! Can't wait to see what plans you have.

 

[Hayden]

Those photos

Someone's really coming around to the joys of RWD, particuarly burnouts

Keep up the good work mate 👍

 

[CDailey]

Well burnouts are about all I can do unfortunately. The V6 model you can turn traction control off, but not stability control, so as soon as you get too sideways, it kills the power. You can notice this after the POV burnout in the last video where as soon as I let go of the brake, it kills the power before I can take off again. In the V8 Gennys, you can pull a fuse to disable stability control, but not so on the V6 Otherwise, I'd be an automatic tranny drifting fool

 

[SilverSE102]

Awesome pictures, what kind of camera do you use?

 

[CDailey]

Awesome pictures, what kind of camera do you use?

Thanks! I use a Canon XSi and Adobe Lightroom to edit the photos.