You did what??? My BRZ journey..

[thill]

Originally Posted by GNS

The GC's fake hood vents would be reason enough to trade it in. Also, did you like its performance gauges located on the center stack - far and below the driver's field of view? Totally logical position for them....

Hood vents never bothered me, the gauges were pretty useless and I never looked at them much except for the temperature gauge and that was only because I did not want to push the turbo hard until the car warmed up.

The seats in the Gencoupe were another complaint I had. I never felt quite right in them, and I fit perfect in the BRZ seats. Much more comfortable.

That said, I do miss the audio and phone buttons on the steering wheel.

Question to you guys. When you are using your phone in the BRZ, is there a way to mute your phone from the radio unit while you are on a call?

[GNS]

Originally Posted by thill

Hood vents never bothered me, the gauges were pretty useless and I never looked at them much except for the temperature gauge and that was only because I did not want to push the turbo hard until the car warmed up.

Fake stuff bothers me. At least stickers have a purpose, to make a statement. The GC fake hood vents do not vent, do not improve aerodynamic efficiency, and most certainly do not do the styling any favors.

Anyway, my point is that the gauges were useful, but their location was ridiculous. It's like the designers just tried to fit as many cool and trendy things onto the center stack as possible without much thought on potential usability. There is little in the way of design cohesiveness ( ex. the hazard light button next to another 'button' that looked exactly similar but wasn't actually a button).

It's infuriating. They could have made a great RWD coupe but design by committee and lack of focus still plague Hyundai's attempt at making a good GC...

[thill]

Originally Posted by GNS

Fake stuff bothers me. At least stickers have a purpose, to make a statement. The GC fake hood vents do not vent, do not improve aerodynamic efficiency, and most certainly do not do the styling any favors.

Anyway, my point is that the gauges were useful, but their location was ridiculous. It's like the designers just tried to fit as many cool and trendy things onto the center stack as possible without much thought on potential usability. There is little in the way of design cohesiveness ( ex. the hazard light button next to another 'button' that looked exactly similar but wasn't actually a button).

It's infuriating. They could have made a great RWD coupe but design by committee and lack of focus still plague Hyundai's attempt at making a good GC...

I agree with you on some of the design decisions. The center stack gauges seemed to be just for looks more than functionality. Hyundai is doing many things right. Their engines are actually pretty damn good. When you consider I was pushing a 3400+lbs car that generated 274hp and 275 ft lbs or torque and could still get about 24mpg combined driving is pretty impressive.

I think what Hyundai would need to ultimately do is what Toyota and Subaru did. Get back to the basics. Lose some weight. Drastically improve the gearbox (Hyundai needs some serious work here), and work on the interior layout. The fit and finish of the car was very solid, and their warranties are top notch.

But the car is just not a pure drivers car. It will be interesting to see what Hyundai does with the next release in a few years. They seem to be a company that learns from past mistakes so they might make a special car.

[thill]

And I do wish Subaru would offer the Limited without the spoiler. It is not the worst spoiler out there, but I actually prefer look of the car without it.

I also have to say the radio/nav unit in the car is pretty poor.

[Turbowned]

Glad you posted this... I was having some last-minute second considerations about getting a Genesis 3.8 R instead.

*slaps wrist* Bad Turbowned, BAD!

[GNS]

Ehh I don't mind the spoiler. At least you could make a case for it - aerodynamic efficiency, downforce, etc (don't know all the technical terms).

What Hyundai needs to do to make a good GC:

1) fix the shifter, clutch - stop using parts from a Fisher Price catalog
2) Get Peter Schreyer to design the exterior
3) Clean up the interior, make it more German in feel
4) Work some more on the handling and steering
5) Cut some weight

They lack focus and try too hard to make the GC do everything.

[M-17]

Nice, you made a wise/smart choice.

[Timmy_Jones]

Originally Posted by GNS

What Hyundai needs to do to make a good GC:

1) fix the shifter, clutch - stop using parts from a Fisher Price catalog
2) Get Peter Schreyer to design the exterior
3) Clean up the interior, make it more German in feel
4) Work some more on the handling and steering
5) Cut some weight
6) CUT MORE WEIGHT
7) CUT MORE WEIGHT
8) Make the car crbon fiber and then drill holes in it, to make it lighter
9) Put the 10-12 front end back on

They lack focus and try too hard to make the GC do everything.

Added some comments in BOLD

[thill]

Originally Posted by GNS

Ehh I don't mind the spoiler. At least you could make a case for it - aerodynamic efficiency, downforce, etc (don't know all the technical terms).

What Hyundai needs to do to make a good GC:

1) fix the shifter, clutch - stop using parts from a Fisher Price catalog
2) Get Peter Schreyer to design the exterior
3) Clean up the interior, make it more German in feel
4) Work some more on the handling and steering
5) Cut some weight

They lack focus and try too hard to make the GC do everything.

Spoilers are just a preference thing. I personally hate them, but understand that others like them. My point is that I wish Subaru gave you the option of paying for it and having it or not. Every Limited I have seen online that was for sale had it. Just like you hate the fake vents, I hate rear spoilers. At least it is not the hideous one you see on the WRX STI's.

Otherwise I agree with your points on the Gencoupe.

This is going to be an interesting segment to watch (RWD coupes). We will see a redesigned Mustang and Gencoupe within the next couple of years. There are rumors of another Mazda RX series, and I hope Nissan would get back in the game competitively as well. Like the Gencoupe the Z series has just gotten too bloated as well.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Glad you posted this... I was having some last-minute second considerations about getting a Genesis 3.8 R instead.

*slaps wrist* Bad Turbowned, BAD!

Haha, well all I would say is drive them back to back and I think you will know quickly

I think if you were to mod the BRZ/FRS to get another 50+ hp and 50ft lbs of torque and add some slightly larger and stickier tires you would get the best of both worlds

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by Turbowned

Glad you posted this... I was having some last-minute second considerations about getting a Genesis 3.8 R instead.

*slaps wrist* Bad Turbowned, BAD!

I was just second-guessing myself on whether or not I should have test driven a Gen Coupe too... I really liked the first gen GC (until the twins showed up at such a reasonable price, that was going to be my next car).

Instead I pulled the trigger on a 36mo lease of the BRZ.
Surprisingly, the dealer I went to has some incoming and existing BRZs on the lot (that I could even get a test drive) - totally unexpected.

[daiheadjai]

Originally Posted by thill

I agree with you on some of the design decisions. The center stack gauges seemed to be just for looks more than functionality. Hyundai is doing many things right. Their engines are actually pretty damn good. When you consider I was pushing a 3400+lbs car that generated 274hp and 275 ft lbs or torque and could still get about 24mpg combined driving is pretty impressive.

I think what Hyundai would need to ultimately do is what Toyota and Subaru did. Get back to the basics. Lose some weight. Drastically improve the gearbox (Hyundai needs some serious work here), and work on the interior layout. The fit and finish of the car was very solid, and their warranties are top notch.

But the car is just not a pure drivers car. It will be interesting to see what Hyundai does with the next release in a few years. They seem to be a company that learns from past mistakes so they might make a special car.

I think Hyundai did a decent job with what they had. IIRC, the GenCoupe is based on a modified platform from the Genesis sedan, which leads to restrictions on how much they could shrink it.

Plus, I think the the GC was gunning for the Infiniti G coupe, so a certain level of luxury would have been expected.

Still, I'm grateful Hyundai did something that brought back the sub-30k RWD coupe.

[SpyderMS]

Great post. I drove a Mazda 3 ('08 GT sedan) prior to my BRZ Limited as well, and had previously considered the Genesis Coupe 3.8 and had driven a '12 2.0T and was not happy with the transmission, but assumed it was just something I would grow accustomed to. Then I read about the forthcoming FR-S in Motor Trend(?), at which point I was sold. I have family members that have both bought '13 V8 Charger RT's, and I'm sure they probably wonder why I'd buy a 200hp 4-cylinder for (almost) what they paid for their V8's, but they just don't get it... there is a lot more to driving than just a straight line.

Edit: How do you 'thank' someone for their post? I don't see an icon anywhere for it..

[SpyderMS]

I don't seem to have that option

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