Thanks to our friend and follower Alex (NXXT) and the dealer for who he works, Vandergriff Hyundai, today we bring to you first impressions and some pictures of the 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Hit the jump to see all the content!
Hey guys as you may know, the 2013 Genesis Coupes are starting to arrive at dealerships across the country. We should be receiving our first one this week at my dealership. Being that it is my day off, I took the liberty of calling up a good friend of mine that works at another Hyundai store here in Texas. I was given the opportunity to thoroughly review and compare the new Genesis Coupe to the previous models and in the following page you will be able to see what has changed and what remains the same.
Excuse the quality, all pics are from my cellphone:
As I arrived at the dealership I was filled with excitement as you would imagine. After bypassing a couple of speed bumps and grinding on the corner of one, I finally parked and stepped inside to meet up with my friend. Nonchalantly… we stepped outside and there she is:
My first thought was “this really does not look like what we have seen in pictures”. The front of the car is definitely more appealing. It has more dimension to it, more height, more depth… don’t really know how to explain it. However, I am still bothered by the hood:
Being a big technology guy, first thing I looked at was the new LED DRLs:
I came to find out that what we once thought was front sensors for the Genesis Coupe is simply a hole for a screw. A small detail that I couldn’t get past. I wish it wasn’t there.
I played with the DRLs for a little bit. I really love how they look when they’re on. The have the same intensity as the DRLs the newer Porsche’s have, and have an HID-projector effect to them. They glisten from blue, to hyper white, to yellow depending on the angle. I thought it was pretty neat.
-Fact: They do not come on when the headlights are on, only the parking lights
-Fact: They turn off if you pull the e-brake
Walked around to the back and was greeted by a familiar sight. And then… woah… something is slightly different. The U.S. spec tail lights have these little tiny LEDs on the side to meet regulations. Personally ….. I don’t like them. They look cheesy:
18inch wheels with same specs:
TIME FOR THE BEST PART OF THIS REFRESH:
…AH… nice and comfy…
No really… the interior is amazing!! The Leather is much much softer. The plastics are also softer. The stitching is a very nice detail. Even the door armrests are “squishy” for a lack of a better term:
Hyundai really did some research and/or listened to their customers. They have added a seat-belt assist. Gone are the days of having to reach far back to grab your seatbelt. That has always been a pain when going on test drives with my customers. 8 times out of 10 I have to give them the seatbelt while I’m sitting in the back seat.
-Fact: Remember the handle we have on the passenger side seat-back to allow the seat to move forward and out of the way? There is now one on the driver’s side!
Anyhow….In addition to the leather… the headliner and A-pillars are now covered in a soft black cloth (Not suede). The little space where the seatbelts sink in on the back seats have more of these new “soft-touch” materials as well. It really changes the overall quality and feel of the interior. I am super jealous of the lucky forum members who will be buying these cars.
NOW ON TO THE TECHY PART OF THE INTERIOR, here is that pic again:
Two stage heated front seats and as you can see the iPod/MP3 input location has been relocated to the center console. There is actually enough room above it in that storage area to fit your iPod and cellphone and be able to close the door for security. It may not look like it but it’s pretty deep. If I may add… the color of the new console is very nice. It’s not flashy, I think it gives the dark seats and headliner the perfect contrast and it feels just like the old plastic feels in the 2010-2012 models.
Bluelink, the third vehicle in Hyundai’s lineup to receive this feature
Light up door sills which sigel was nice enough to make us a great DIY found here: DIY – 2013 FL LED Sidesteps
THE DASH:
As you can we now have a beautiful new gauge setup to match that of the Sonatas …. and to match the Sonatas we also get a user-options interface! So close but yet so far. My BMW has options to keep track of service dates and even an option to make the halos brighter. All stuff I’m sure Hyundai will slowly begin to add to their vehicles in the future. For now, for the price bracket and what other things this car gives us, I think we can live without all those features. Also notice the multi-stage ESC, it’s very easy to work and resembles that of the Corvettes. Press once for traction off and hold it down for about 5 seconds for stability off as well. Unfortunately I was unable to test them out as far as driving is concerned 
So.. on to the engine bay:
Several things have been moved around a bit but overall, with the cover off, it should look familiar to us 3.8 owners. You will also hear a ticking from the direct injection system when engine is turned on. I will say though, it seemed a lot more crammed in there. You don’t get the empty spaces on the sides like as you can see in the picture below. …yet again…I am missing a few things in there lol so it may just be an illusion to me 
Now the question… is the engine cover a direct swap over? The answer is no. It fits perfectly over the 2010-2012 engine but there is no way to hold it in place. But that can be solved right? 
….. I KNOW I KNOW, YOU’RE TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT THE CAR… BUT HOW DOES IT DRIVE?
To tell you the truth. I was not impressed. Not sure if it was because I had higher hopes on the performance increase or if it’s because I test drove the automatic, but the car was not that much faster than my own. From a launch you could feel the acceleration was there. It was definitely trying… but running through 8 gears is not fun when you are using the paddle-shifters. As a matter of fact, I was doing about 65 on the highway in 7th gear and when I tried to floor it, literally as if passing a car, it would not go. Even in sports mode I felt as if I was driving the same car. I knew I was gaining speed but I was not getting the chest crushing g-force acceleration that you would expect from a nearly 350 horsepower sports car. The exhaust however sounds much much meaner and power transmits into the shifter more, even in the automatic. I don’t know…. it feels more powerful… but somewhere somehow it gets lost in the drivetrain and it doesn’t quite put it to the ground. This, I will have to try again in the 6-speed R-spec our dealership just received.
Let’s collect all the information and put it together. Is the new 2013 Genesis Coupe worth the extra $1800 price tag that Hyundai is asking? Absolutely! Is it worth trading up from the previous year models. That will depend on the individual. I personally love the new interior and that’s what you see when you drive the car around. I can look past the new front end because this makes up for it. Power-wise, for someone who is coming from the 2.0T of yesteryears, you will be happy. I have yet to drive the new 2.0T but I would imagine it holds its own. I’ll leave it up to you guys to come up with the questions and I’ll try answer them as best as I can. I promised my review on it, so here it is. 12:07am so it’s not quite perfect, but no one is perfect
So soon, Erick will have the opportunity to try it!
The complete gallery:
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