mileage update

It's been a while since the last post! After a very nice and long weekend, I filled up this morning:

327.3 miles
17.721 gal.
=18.5 mpg

It looks like the mileage is slowly, but surely improving as the engine breaks in (I just passed 4200 miles). Good thing, it's getting juts about impossible to find gas below $4/gal.

BTW, my XM trial subscription ended a couple weeks ago, but I can't say I miss it much. The radio is mediocre and getting the best of Sirius package to get Howard Stern and other more noteworthy shows requires a ~$16.99/mo. package. With available HD radio w/ simulcast, as well as the iPod integration and MP3 CD/DVD 6-disc changer, it's really hard to justify a paid XM subscription.  I've also found XM traffic too slow to respond to changes. It's a nice idea, but given the costs, to me, XM seems like a waste. More cars need to adopt the free FM-radio based traffic info like the ones on the Garmin portable nav units, but I digress.

Trip to Indian Wells

This weekend, I made my way out to the Indian Wells Tennis Center to watch some the world's best play. That meant clocking in ~280 miles roundtrip on the Genesis. As usual, the trip was comfortable and pleasant. Because the whole daylight savings, we were running a bit late. Let's just say I'm glad the CHP officers must have also felt the effects of the lost hour and decided not to show up on their sunday morning shifts.  Yes, the ride is firm, but the car just seems to settle in as speeds increase and the trip was quick, quiet, and comfortable. The XM/iPod combo kept us entertained and my recently acquired tinted windows (30%) and power rear window shade kept things cool even with the desert sun beating down. Despite the somewhat hilly terrain and the... um... motivated driving, the trip computer was also showing 25 mpg average. All in all, the drive was pretty enjoyable and well worth it to watch some of the favorite players all day long.

Motor Trend comparison test

Yes, they were being a little corny, but this might be the only comparison test I've seen on the Genesis 4.6. The new 300C is certainly nice and MT pretty much points out a lot of the pros and cons of the Genesis that I thought were dead on (in the written article). I still prefer the Genesis's design, but Chrysler certainly did a good job on the 300C. I expect Hyundai to make a similar leap in quality and performance with the next generation Genesis, as Chrysler did with their new 300C.

mileage update

After several jaunts on the open freeway over the weekend, I was left with the gauge pointing to less than a quarter tank left. Here are the latest mileage figures:

273.3 miles / 14.384 gal. = 19.0 mpg
As always, the trip computer was a bit optimistic at 20.3 mpg.

rainy night

All this sudden downpour in socal is really putting a damper on the long weekend plans. =( Since I was bored at home, I just wanted to take some night time shots of the Genesis.

  

been too busy for blogging!

I'll get back into making more significant updates and definitely get some videos posted!

In the mean time, here's the latest mileage figure:

272 miles/16.762 gal. = 16.23 mpg
trip computer showed 17 mpg.

That's right... back to the stop and go traffic. These numbers are estimated since I forgot to reset my trip odometer last time. Good thing the Genesis takes 87 octane. The cheapest gas station I found was $3.45/gal.! =(

BTW I stopped by the dealer bright and early Saturday and all I got for an answer on whether the car should have a bit of a lag starting from a creep was, "probably." I have gotten pretty used to not duplicating this issue, but really, why should something like the throttle response be a non-intuitive operation? It just goes to show there's just too many computer chips running cars these days.

Laggy throttle

Ever since the first couple of weeks of ownership, I've noticed that the throttle response on the Genesis is a bit laggy. After almost 2 months, I've narrowed down a common scenario of when the throttle/transmission decides to fall asleep. The most obvious moments are when slowing down to a crawl, e.g., not quite coming to a full stop, and then pressing the gas pedal results in about a half a second delay and then a pronounced kick in the back from a very sudden and unexpected surge of power. Looking at the tachometer, the engine speed increases ever so slightly when I press the gas and then jumps up to 1500 rpm or so. It almost feels like the transmission is slipping and then catching, but if the transmission was really slipping, then the engine speed would not creep and jump suddenly (at least I wouldn't think). Again, just qualitatively, it feels like the transmission is in the middle of downshifting to 1st when I apply the throttle, and once it gets into 1st, it surges forward.

As an experiment, I've tried going into manual mode and this problem seems to subside for the most part, but it's a bit unclear as to whether manual mode solves the problem fully. I tend to think this may be a transmission logic issue and a dealer reflash may be necessary. I'll find out more this Saturday when I go in.

UPDATE: So I paid extra close attention today to this issue and I could not quite duplicate this behavior for some reason. I'll still go in and ask the service tech and maybe even try to test drive the same car on the lot for comparison. Stay tuned...