Roomy rear seat

Last Thursday, I gave a ride to a couple of colleagues for lunch. They were two older gentlemen (some of the nicest people I've met) and one of them asked about the Genesis. First question was of course, what kind of car is it? When I told him it's a Hyundai, he asked about the reliability. While I have had some minor fit and finish issues with the car, everything mechanical and electrical has been flawless so far.

Even with the flurry of media hype and Superbowl commercials, the Genesis definitely remains a mystery car to non-car folks. The same goes for the whole reliability issue as well. Although Hyundai and Kia have made unprecedented strides in improving their reliability and image, some people still cringe and think they're unreliable. Perception can be a very difficult thing to change. If I had gone with a BMW or Mercedes, he certainly would not have had to ask what kind of car it was or how the reliability is (even though they are notoriously unreliable and expensive to fix, but maybe people know this already). Overall, I think my new passengers were pretty impressed with the rear seat room and refinement of the car. I even got to show off the automatic rear sunshade.

Speaking of reliability though, yesterday, I washed and waxed my Genesis and found the paint on the doors below the chrome strips were showing some orange peel roughness. The passenger side front door is the most noticeable, but since it's all under the chrome strip, it's hard to see unless someone gets on their knees and takes a closer look. I suppose I could try sanding/polishing, but because it is at the bottom parts of the doors, it would mean laying out on the driveway for a while. Otherwise, the rest of the car looks fantastic after a fresh coat of wax.

Mileage update

Since my last long road trip, I've been mostly commuting and taking a few short trips in town. The mileage reflects the lack of highway travels.

5/20/11: 294.9 miles / 17.713 gal. = 16.65 mpg
5/29/11: 273.3 miles / 16.446 gal. = 16.62 mpg (17.5 mpg on trip computer)

What can I say? It's hard to keep a light foot in this car because it accelerates so effortlessly. At certain times, I find myself way ahead of the traffic after starting from a red light, even though I thought I was being light on the throttle. At least gas has gone down below $4/gal. for now.

The mileage is actually a bit disappointing, but the truth is, the EPA tests based on known acceleration/deceleration rates. In the Genesis, I am probably accelerating faster than I would have in my old Solara. Plus, a big V8 is simply not as efficient in stop-and-go traffic as a 3.0-L V6. So, even though the two cars have the identical EPA ratings, real world numbers suggest otherwise (the Solara used to get ~19-22 mpg under the same use). It could also be that the Genesis is still getting broken in

Seeing that my mileages are a tick below the EPA city ratings, I've been debating whether it's worth getting a beater commuter car to drive in town. If there is a decent 4-cylinder car that can get ~24 mpg during my daily commute, and the Genesis is used only for weekend trips, the numbers break down to something like this:

commuter car: 5.4 gal. for 130 miles @24 mpg
Genesis: 6.67 gal. for 140 miles @21 mpg
12.1 gal total
4.5 gal saved (vs. latest fill-ups) = $18/week saved @ $4/gal

~270 miles/week = 14040 miles/year
~$939/year saved

There is also a matter of preserving the car's resale value and slight decrease in insurance premium for lower miles driven on the Genesis. However, these costs may also easily be offset by repair costs on a used car.

As for that commuter car, the last generation Prelude would be fantastic, but they are either salvage titled because wanna-be street racers have modified them to death and eventually crashed into stuff, or they are rather expensive and have a lot of miles. Otherwise, something more practical in the shape of a small wagon might also serve well.

Extended weekend getaway

It was about time to visit my home town last weekend for a nice getaway from the daily grind, so I hopped in the Genesis and logged in close to 1200 miles in 5 days! You can see my vast bug collection on just about the ENTIRE front section and side mirrors. Yikes... Other than the bugs, it was a flawless drive up the I-5. I got to avoid all the usual traffic by going on a weekday and had the cruise control on for most of the trip. Again, the adaptive cruise control is very helpful on such long stretches. It certainly errs on the safe side when a car ahead slows down, i.e., does its best to maintain the set distance. Regardless, keeping a constant speed and minimizing rest stops,  mileage was right in line with the EPA estimates:

LA --> Gilroy: 316.7 miles, 12.741 gal. = 24.9 mpg
Gilroy --> San Francisco --> Monterey --> San Jose --> San Francisco: 427 miles, 19.256 gal. = 22.2 mpg
San Francisco --> LA: 393.1 miles, 15.481 gal. = 25.5 mpg

Certainly, the biggest shortcoming of the Genesis is the suspension tuning. It does very well to keep the car from crashing down (like my old Solara used to) when going over large bumps (railroad tracks especially), but it becomes unsettled when there are multiple waves or when there are rough patches on a corner. I still can't quite seem to put a finger on when the car gets out of shape – sometimes it glides over bumps, other times, it doesn't know what to do. It could be that the rear suspension is too firm, and it did kind of feel a bit bumpier from the backseat. Still, the car drives with a presence and weightiness that mimics an E-class. Just wish that the suspension was better sorted. Also makes me wonder how well the new Equus rides, since it is built on the same platform.

Anyways, this post has been way overdue and I am rambling on. A week later, the bugs have been cleaned off, and life is back to normal. Much much more to come later!

Short Impression of an Infiniti G37

One of the main competitor cars I've looked at while shopping was the 2010 Infiniti G37 sedan. In terms of pricing, it is very much in line with the Genesis. I was offered ~$34K for one with premium + navi packages, and ~$36K for one with premium + navi + sport packages. The G really does handle very well and still rides better than the Genesis. It's steering also has a more natural feel and the 7-speed slushbox felt more decisive. But obviously, there were a few issues that ended up being deal breakers for me. 

My biggest gripe was that the interior felt absolutely cramped compared to the Genesis and the Acura TL. Up front, I barely had any head room with the seat set as low as possible, especially when equipped with the moonroof. The front seats in the sport package car felt a bit too narrow for my derrier, but the seats in the standard car felt roomier. The front seat (dis-)comfort factor alone was enough to dissuade me from the G. The backseat was even more cramped. With the driver's seat set to my best setting, I barely fit behind it. My head was pressing into the headliner, the knees were scraping the seat back, and my feet had nowhere to go! It's really amazing how little room these FM-platform Infiniti products offer (EX, FX, and M included).

Anyway, a few coworkers and I were chauffeured to lunch in a 2010 G37 sedan because one of my colleagues got a loaner vehicle from the dealer (he has a 2004 G35 sedan). Aside from the overpowering scent of air freshener, I noticed that the interior just wasn't as nice as I remembered it to be. All the trim pieces fit pretty well, but things really didn't feel or look a whole lot better than what you might find in an Altima or a Maxima. Finer details such as how the aluminum dash trim meets the aluminum trim on the door panel, or the look of the plastic buttons left a bit to be desired. If you compare the Genesis and the Sonata or Azera, on the other hand, you will find a pretty substantial difference in the quality. The engine note was as coarse sounding as these big VQ V6's are notorious for (far from the muted V8 intake rumble of the Genesis!). The ride was a bit softer than in the Genesis, but not by much, and the car didn't quite have that substantial feel that the Genesis offers. 

Yes, I'm a biased source here, but I certainly do believe that for most people, Genesis does offer more bang for the buck than the G37. It may not have the sporting credentials, but the Genesis is really intended to be a bargain Infiniti M or Mercedes E-class. While it may fall short of those vehicles, it certainly does well to define a class between the entry level luxury models and the mid sizers. 

First oil change

After about 4 months, I've hit the 5000 mile mark. I know the manual calls for oil changes every 7500 miles, but also says every 5000 miles under "severe" driving conditions. I do make a fair bit of short trips and when I checked the oil, it was starting to look a little brown, so it was time. One thing to note is that the Genesis requires a cartridge type oil filter (I think I've seen something similar with Mercedes), which, apparently, is not common enough for typical oil change places to keep in stock. I did eventually find a Firestone Auto Care center that said they could have one within an hour on Saturday morning. All told, with an online coupon, it was about 22 bucks with tax. What a deal!

I've also had a couple of minor issues that the dealer more or less took take of, but I'll get to that in another post.