Video: 2015 Hyundai Genesis Review

Now it has been redesigned for the first time since then for the 2015 model year. Where exactly are our jaws now? The new design including, of course, an exterior restyling is kind of dominated by this new grill. Hyundai was criticized for years for supposedly copying the Mercedes S class. I thought it was a decent looking car. Now at least it has more of a family look that Hyundai is going to with the shape and size of this grill. You'll see a similar look in the new Sonata, which followed this one to market by just a few months. As for the rear end, the LED tail lights look really good at night, but aside from that, the rear end is a little bit uninspired. Kind of blah. Now, technically the interior of the Genesis, even though it competes with cars that are arguably midsize, is full-size. The wheelbase, which is the measurement from the front to the rear wheels, has increased three inches for the 2015 model year. And in that dimension, that's actually a lot. Having said that, leg room is only so-so. I'm six feet tall and my knees are almost touching the back rest with the driver's seat where I had it to drive. And my knees are raised, because the seat is relatively low to the floor. That's not the most comfortable position. The big takeaway from this car from most people who drive it is how quiet it is inside when you're driving. The car is much more rigid than it used to be, lots more noise treatments, and you really, really experience it. It makes for a very low fatigue experience, even on a long, long drive. As for the quality of the materials, mostly good. It's a little bit mixed in some ways. The hood over the gauges here is like a soft, upholstered look. And then the rest of the dash is more of the average plastic, soft plastic, which seems a little bit odd. The wood treatment I liked a lot. In this car, it is an open pore style, real wood, kind of a semi-gloss finish, which I like. In cars with the darker trim, though, it just looked messy to me, almost as if it had been sneezed on, and that's not good. I also really liked the quality of the gauges. When you get in the car, it's completely blacked out. You turn the car on and they kind of come to life and nice and bright and kind of rich looking. On the other hand, all the buttons to the left here look like they're from a less expensive car, especially when the back lighting is on. They have a kind of a blue back lighting that just doesn't look right to me. Overall, when you compare this car to a lot of the other cars that are its stated competitors like the BMWs, the Mercedes, the Cadillacs, there's a lot more value here, as you might expect from a Hyundai. Just one example, leather upholstery is standard. Whereas at least two of those, the BMW 5 Series and the Cadillac CTS start with imitation leather. One of the absolute high points in the Genesis is the multimedia options. The standard system is an eight inch screen, which is pretty big to begin with. And you can up it to this 9.2 inch screen, which is bigger than many of what we've seen out there. And it is a touchscreen, yet there is also a knob, multi-function knob controller here, so you don't have to reach. So, it really is the best of both worlds. It's full of features. Aside from the navigation, you've got Sirius XM data, which is a subscription service, and the new generation of blue link. That's their telematic system, which lets you do things like send a destination to your car using Google. You get vehicle diagnostics. All this stuff in addition to the basics like automatic crash notification if you have an accident and stuff like that. Now as before, there is a 3.8 version, which is named for the 3.8 liter V6, and a 5.0 for the five liter V8. Now, even though the V6 has 311 horsepower and the V8 has 420, I feel like of the two, the V6 is the better car among its competitors. Like if you compare the 5.0 Genesis to V8 versions of Mercedes and BMW, et cetera, not quite as good. This one on the other hand, even with the added weight of all wheel drive, which is new for 2015, is nice and quick, sounds good when you accelerate, generally a good driving experience. Both of them handle reasonably well, but I wouldn't call this a sport sedan. They also ride well. Definitely better in the 5.0 with the adaptive suspension, which is an option on that one, not available on the 3.8. Now there are a couple of pros and cons to the trunk of the Genesis sedan. One of the pros is this. It's called smart trunk. It's an option. It opens the trunk if you come around with the remote control in your pocket. You don't have to do any of that sweeping of your foot like you do in some cars, which is hard to do when you got your arms full. The other good thing is that the trunk is more than 15 cubic feet, which is higher than the competitors from Germany in this class. On the downside though, the backseat does not fold flat to extend the cargo space inside. The BMW 5 Series and the Cadillac CTS do offer that feature. Another big plus to the Genesis sedan is that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has made that a top safety pick plus. That is their highest rating for all crash tests and superior performance in forward collision warning and automated braking. That's an optional feature. So there's a lot to like here. No doubt it will cause some drop jaws, especially among people that have never gotten into a Genesis before. Unfortunately, there is a certain amount of value that's assigned to a luxury brand name and that's why a lot of companies have their own luxury brand. Like Toyota has Lexus, for example. If you're looking at the car itself, you can get a really good luxury car at a discount price in the Genesis. (engine revving)