Used 2016 Hyundai Genesis Consumer Reviews
I can still say Wow - What a Car
I have owned my Genesis for 42 months and still get excited every time I get behind the wheel. Before buying the Genesis I test drove the 5 series BMW and E Class Mercedes. They are very nice cars but didn't show me anything better than the Genesis even at the much higher price. The design, and quality of workmanship is excellent especially the interior comfort. There are many great standard features but I also choose to equip my car with the signature and technology packages which I recommend. The adaptive cruise and lane holding features are great for long trips but do take a little getting used to. The only con I can think of is the temperature control dial which is too small and sensitive to control. This car is very quiet, handles precisely and has smooth ride. Has to be the best value in a luxury sedan. I have had absolutely no problems with this car. It's like the day I bought it.
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Wonderful Vehicle
Most comfortable and capable sedan I've ever had. This is the 3.8 AWD model with all options (Ultimate Package). We got the Genesis in late April 2016 and due to several unusual events have put quite a few more miles on it than I expected (8023 miles) . Many have been highway miles with Adult rear seat passengers on long trips in hot weather. That has given me a chance to really get a good feel for it's capability. I love this car, it's extremely quiet and comfortable for all occupants especially on long trips (over 900 miles in one day). The options work together extremely well and driver fatigue is a non-factor. The dual zone AC works very well for the passengers each can control the settings as they wish and the rear air is very effective in hot weather. The driver aids are spot-on, I love the adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, the automatic and speed sensitive wipers, and we've use the Blue Link quite a bit. The ability to control the driver interface features (Nav, audio and media input) from both the console as well as the touch screen and many features from the steering wheel is very effective, I think it's a Genesis exclusive. Using regular gas and the multi-access driver interface (as well as the price) made the Genesis stand above the Lexus GS for me which was runner up. We've averaged about 24.7 mpg overall to date. I drove just about every vehicle in this class (much to my wife's annoyance) before I selected the Genesis and have absolutely no regrets. No maintenance history to report so far, just coming up to the first oil change. If your in the market for a comfortable large sedan you can't make a better choice than the Genesis.
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Nice Car But With Irritating Whining Sound--Update
January 2018 update: I followed through on opening a Lemon Law Case with the Better Business Bureau (BBB Auto Line) and followed all the required procedures to the "T" all the way to and through the arbitration process. Since the case was heard remotely, i.e., the car was out of state at the time of the hearing, the arbitrator could not personally drive the car to evaluate the noise complaint. The BBB Auto Line Representative dispatched an independent expert to my out of state location who drove the car and submitted his report to the arbitrator. The independent expert, who had over 25 years of mechanical experience, heard the whining noise as described in my complaint immediately upon decelerating and even identified the probable cause and location yet the manufacturers traveling engineer and dealers service team could not! Long story short: I won the case and Hyundai had to refund the full purchase price and take the car back as a lemon. It was hard for me to believe Hyundai would rather put a long time loyal customer through this laborious and time consuming process and ultimately have to refund the full purchase price of the vehicle instead of simply replacing the transmission. Perhaps they thought I would just give up and not follow through to conclusion. They picked the wrong guy for that! Here's the clincher: After an extensive test drive of a 2018 Genesis G80, I bought it. Crazy? Time will tell but this one has absolutely NO whining noise at any speed! July 2017 update: The noise persists! After repeated contact with the dealer and Hyundai Customer Care I was finally able to convince them to have their traveling engineer drive the car and assess the noise. After he drove it, he authorized replacement of the differential! Great I thought...until I drove the car after the repair because the noise was still there. I decided to open a case with the Better Business Bureau Auto Line. One of the procedures using the BBB is that I have to send a Motor Vehicle Defect Notification Form by accountable mail direct to Hyundai in California. They, according to the instructions I received, have to contact me within 10 days after receipt of my form to schedule an appointment for a final assessment. They didn't contact me. I notified BBB Auto Line of that and they reopened the case. To make a long story short(er), I and the car are now in Virginia for the Summer, the noise persists to such a point that I want to park it and not drive it. Hyundai is not being very responsive and I'm losing hope that this whole process will come to an end before the warranty expires. Is this a lesson learned? Definitely for me! One of the nicest looking and comfortable cars I've ever owned. However, I have one major concern. When I test drove this car I admit I was distracted by the comfortable ride, all the gadgets and technology and wasn't specifically listening for strange noises. Who would expect to hear any noise while driving the flagship model? My bad! After a couple days of driving the car with the radio on, I took it for a drive one day and for some reason, I didn't turn the radio on. During this trip I heard this strange "whining" sound that appeared to be coming from behind the drivers seat. At the time I first heard it I was decelerating from about 45 MPH. The noise persisted until I reached 35 MPH then is stopped. Thinking I was hearing things, I drove on a smoother road up to about 45 MPH then decelerated. The noise was immediately noticeable again and continued to 35 MPH. OK I thought, this was a very expensive car...the most expensive car I've ever owned and I have a "whining" noise? Seriously? I took it back to the Hyundai dealer who test drove the car and came to the conclusion that the noise was "road noise" and was "normal." This diagnosis was based on the service manager driving another Genesis (same year, make and model) and hearing the same noise in that car as well. You cannot hear the noise if you're in the passenger seat. I thought, wouldn't you hear "road noise" on either side of the car? Not being satisfied with the dealers response I contacted Hyundai Genesis Customer Care. After several phone calls their final decision was the noise was "normal" based upon their reaching out to the dealer who relayed their same car test drive theory. Of course Hyundai Customer Care was not about to go against the dealers diagnosis. While I am impressed with the Genesis, I am disappointed that I paid for what I thought was going to be the best car of my life: quiet, comfortable and full featured and got a car with a very distracting "whining" noise. Over the years, I've owned no less than five Hyundai models (XG-350, Santa Fe, Sonata, Tucson, and now the Genesis. I have never heard a similar noise from any of the previous Hyundai models...until I bought their flagship model. Unfortunately this will be my last Hyundai!
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Extremely Happy With Choice
Owned a 2011 Sonata before this car. I was really happy with the entire Hyundai experience. The sales people were not overly aggressive, lots of car for the price, reliability has been fantastic... I wanted to "step up" my car game a little so it was not hard for me to try Hyundai again. I absolutely love the design of this Genesis. It's a luxury styled sedan but with some sporty stylings. The interior is fantastic. I am above average in height (6'3) and this interior leaves plenty of room for me. The seat adjustments are great. Most cars in this class are going 100% digital including the gauges but I don't mind the traditional ones here. They look fine and there is a nice LCD screen between them for additional information. The multi media head unit is a nice upgrade from where the Sonata was with a lot of features including Siri and Google. Bluetooth works flawlessly with my phone. The base model was loaded and is a great choice but i bumped it up to the Signature package which includes the panoramic roof which is very nice especially at night. All interior lights are now LEDs. Seats have heating and cooling. EDIT: Recently Hyundai made an upgrade available for Apple CarPlay which was not included when the car was originally purchased. I use Apple products so it was a nice free upgrade to get and was unexpected. It has worked flawlessly with my iPhone and does give me more features than before plus it does offer a lot more handsfree features. I love the little touches and attention to detail such as when you get out of the car at night the Genesis logo shines on the ground on either side of the car in LED lighting. Might sound dumb or pretentious but you know you would like that. As I am still learning all the tech I do have one con. The rearview camera. The quality is ok. Not the sharpest. It does have trajectory lines and even can turn down to look straight at the ground for that extra inch but for some reason there are no front or rear sensors on this model. You have to get the Ultimate package for that which I feel at this price point it should come included. I also agree with one of the other reviewers that it should include remote start (although I don't have much of need personally). Having to subscribe to Bluelink for that just seems like a bad move. Of course driving it is important too. I was surprised by the power of this car. It really does have some kick to it. The Sonata had fairly decent wind noise reduction but this is far superior. You can whisper in the car going 70 and hear a pin drop. Might not be the quietest overall but it is definitely the quietest car I've ever owned. Very smooth ride. It does not drive like a BMW but I like to drive luxury type vehicles in chill mode. Although I feel like it leaves just a few touches out from it's competitors, I feel like they will only get better as they transition into it's own brand and would recommend them to anyone. Hyundai has really made itself a real competitor.
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Hyundai's Head-Turner!
Hyundai came a long way since their introduction of Genesis model and at some point they must have invested enough efforts to get it to stand out the way it does today. Genesis kept grabbing my attention on the roads in passing. I just couldn't look away trying to recognize and confirm if I was looking at Hyundai or some other super expensive brand. I eventually took the time to drive one and was instantly impressed. I've driven most luxury brands out there, owned an MB S550 and E550, BMW 750Li and 535i, and a Lexus LS430 and 460L, so the last thing I expected is to be captivated by design, feature set, or driving dynamics of a Hyundai. All that said, while not without cons the Genesis really stood out as a complete package in luxury sedan market with significantly lower price tag. I ended up buying a 2016 V6 with Ultimate package and so far I'm super happy with it. I can't comment re. reliability aspect as this is my first Hyundai and I only owned it for about 3 weeks and 800 miles now. I test drove the V8 as well and while its performance is very impressive I wasn't ready to sacrifice the MPG given that the V6, while won't leave you breathless, has plenty of power. Since for 2016 Hyundai also changed the Genesis emblem on the back (optional dealer installed feature for 2015) I have people approaching me on the daily asking what the make and model of this beauty is, confusing it with other badges :). So here goes the summary: Pros: Quiet and well handled ride. Very little road noise and nicely hushed wind noise. Very nicely controlled steering. Very well equipped with Signature Tech OR Ultimate packages with lane assist, HUD, adaptive cruise, and auto hold features that actually respond in a smooth and controlled manner unlike some other brands out there. Window shades on rear and side glass is a nice add-on. Very nice sounding stereo. Nicely laid out instrumentation and controls and very easy to use intuitive software (dash and main screens). VERY comfortable heated and cooled seats that adjust every way possible. Impressive fuel economy for a 311hp V6. I average 20-22mpg in mixed driving so far, and I'm on 'Normal' driving mode, which could improve with 'Eco'. Roomy Cabin with plenty of leg / head room even for taller individuals beyond 6'. Very cool looking and functional pano roof. Cons: Remote start available ONLY through Bluelink subscription is just dumb! Can't phrase it any other way, sorry. The feature should've been included on keyfob independent of any additional subscriptions as every mainstream (not luxury) vehicle offers it at this point. Side mirrors are mounted pretty high up and can block visibility into turns. It would be nice if the HUD could auto adjust its brightness for day/night operation. It's adjustable but not variable for day/night operation so I have to constantly adjust it. I'm not sure why some driving and comfort settings can't be saved, like cruise control distance or seat heating / cooling, which have to be setup from scratch after every engine restart. (I'm pretty sure the cruise control issue is resolved in later models software, which brings me to my next and biggest gripe...) !!! - Still No software updates for 2016 model with Ultimate package (9" Navi screen). As admitted by dealer and confirmed by manufacturer on multiple occasions now, the model in question was part of limited distribution during Hyundai -> Genesis brand transition, and as such, there was no further software released post rollout. What that means is that while there are $15K Elantras out there with Apple car play and other cool features, I still can't get any of that on my $50K+ Genesis :( - very disconcerting to say the least. That's about it for gripes!
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