That's A LOT of mods. Wonder how much that project cost hah

 

omg that must have cost a bundle.

 

Just picked up 15 Genesis 3.8 AWD Ultimate, MSRP $52,800 for a family member.
I still have 14 GS AWD Luxury, MSRP $60,800.

How good is Genesis, I am going to let that family member drive my GS and I will drive Genesis.

Headsup display showing blind spot, lane keeping info, as well as nav, dynamic cruise info. While on a highway, it feels like I am surrounded by tech de force. Power pick up is nice, not as good as GS but GS is not that great either anyway. Quietness and vault like feeling, GS falls short. Handling, GS wins. Ride smoothness, almost tie but Genesis wins even with GS's adjustable damping. Audio, Genesis wins. Navigation and its interface, Genesis wins. Comfort access on all 4 doors, GS wins. 3 zone climate control with rear audio control, GS wins. Fit quality, I want to say GS wins but GS had wind noise from day one and rattling within a week which I still deal with. Genesis, vault quiet.

Will have to drive Genesis more for long term comparison, but initial impression, Genesis has done a remarkable job this time around. Just as GS got praise from media with 13 model, Genesis deserves every bit of praise it got in my opinion.

 

GS14AWD, thanks for your comparison and review!

 

Great pickup GS14AWD, good to see the comparison from a GS owner.

 

Not surprised, it really is a great car...

 

What audio system does the Genesis have? It's better than your 835-watt 17-Speaker ML system?

 

The Genesis Sedan has a Lexicon Sound System. Interestingly, both Lexicon and Mark Levinson belong to the same parent company (Harman International Industries)

P.S.

Anyways, there is a Genesis Sedan with 5.0 liter engine with HTRAC ALL WHEEL DRIVE



Unfortunately, the only market where the 5.0 HTRAC AWD is sold is Canada

 

Learned something new

Wow that's lame

 

The lexicon is also used in the Rolls Royce

http://www.cnet.com/pictures/rolls-r...ces-photos/12/

 

what's 'htrac'?

 

Its their AWD system

 

stands for Hyundai Traction, which is better than regular traction

 

Yup

But I figured that the reason why only Canada gets the 5.0 AWD (at the moment) could be for a number of reasons:

1) In the USA, cars are mostly sold with high volumes. In Canada, I think they're willing to spend more to get more features.
2) Being up north, winter time in Canada can get really harsh with lots of ice and snow (I'm sure our Canadian friends can attest to this). When it does, you can evidently see the market for 4WD/AWD.....
3) It could be technical reasons (the number of HTRAC configurations for the 5.0 that Hyundai Korea can make, etc.) I'm not sure on that though....

 

My 14 GS Luxury doesn't have ML system, just stock audio. Honestly I've not listened to GS's ML system but I would think it would be comparable to Genesis' Lexicon 7.1 17 speaker 900 watt 12 channel system.

After putting a few hundred miles, I did find some things that Genesis lacks.

1. LED driving daytime light! I have a feeling that Hyundai may bring it in 2016 since it is already available in other markets for 3.8. Just like what Lexus did with 2014 model with more goodies vs 2013 introduction model. And 3.8 model does not need fog lights?

2. Comfort access on all 4 doors, not just front ones! And I should be able to just pull the handle to open it.

3. I cannot see what my cabin temperature is set at while on screens other than "climate" screen.

4. I cannot see what song is playing while on screens other than radio/media/etc (GS's split screen rocks)

5. Just one USB, really?

But something cool I found out. Media player can play movies off USB (supports avi, dvix, etc), can even save them on its 30 gb of free space in solid state hard drive.

Honestly I am not sure if Hyundai competes with its value position any more. GS costs about $8000 or so more. But GS has adjustable suspension, rear climate/audio control, rear power shade that rolls up and down without rods (rods are cheaper implementation IMO), LED running lights, adaptive head light, LED fog light. All 4 door comfort access, 3 way memory seats on driver and passenger side. Much better backup camera (genesis's camera is very blur in comparison). All added up, Genesis may push into GS's price territory closer I would think.