Review Car

According to Hyundai America CEO John Krafcik, 2011 marked the highest calendar-year sales ever for the Genesis coupe. The self-confessed factoid freak calmly references this fact from the passenger seat of a 2013 Genesis coupe as we skim across the Nevada Desert floor at speeds well over the century mark. Krafcik is busy peppering me with questions about the car—and other cars, and Apple, Sony, BlackBerry, and the current state of EPA regulations, among other topical concerns—and snapping photos when we roll over a cattle grate without drama; doing so in the pre-refresh Genesis coupe would have sent reverberations throughout the entire car. He smiles approvingly, then returns his attention to his BlackBerry and begins hammering out another series of messages. Note to Genesis coupe suspension engineers: Now may be the time to ask for a raise.

We gave you a look at the Genesis’s revised fascia when it debuted at the Detroit show back in January, and we can now confirm our suspicion that the hood is an entirely new stamping, a costly proposition for a simple midlife revamp. Paintwork on the dozen or so examples we examined was flawless, and the Genesis looks light-years better—and bigger—in the flesh than in photographs. But the real news is the pair of significantly reworked engines residing under that fresh hood.

For 2013, Hyundai engineers put the squeeze on the Genesis Coupes naturally aspirated 3.8-liter V-6 with nice, cooling, high-pressure fuel being sprayed directly into the combustion chamber, permitting the compression to rise from 10.4:1 to 11.5:1, bumping output (on premium fuel) to 348 hp at 6400 rpm and 295 lb-ft of torque at 5300 rpm. In addition to implementing direct injection, engineers made numerous chassis, body, and interior tweaks to Hyundais sportiest rear-drive offering, all in the name of keeping up with the 323-horsepower 2012 Chevy Camaro and soon-to-be-released 305-horse 2013 Ford Mustang. Considering all these improvements to the Gen Coupe, now may not be the best time to save a few bucks on the outgoing model, or to rush out and plop money down on one of the Americans.

THE VERDICT

Considering the significant upgrades made to the 2013 Genesis Coupe, the price hike is understandable. The car looks better inside and out, the power upgrade is impressive, plus, in a nod to enthusiasts and in an effort to further grow the car’s following, driving dynamics have been improved.

All these factors combine with the unique value packaging of Hyundai’s rear-drive sports car to make it not just a stand-out, but a stand-alone pick. True, in the entry-level range it doesn’t offer the purist appeal of the Scion FR-S, and in top-trim it’s still no G37, but in each comparison there are strong arguments to be made for the Hyundai, be it price, style or the fact that when compared to a car like the FR-S it has an edge when it comes to the level of sophistication.
source:caranddriver.com,motortrend.com,autoguide.com