I haven't driven the R-Type, but spent a week in the Genesis 4.6 as a rental. While many, many things about the Genesis appear great on paper....once actually in it, things appear differently.
I will say that there are many good things about the car. The power of the 4.6 is decent, the tranny shifts relatively seemlessly, the brakes are solid. I'd suggest it handles closer to an E class than a 5 series, but the luxury sedan buyers are divided on this topic anyways.
The trunk space was good, as was the rear seat room. The stereo was good.
After that....it may sound like I'm nitpicking or being a car snob....but there is zero chance I'd spend my money on a Genesis vs. a 5 series/E class/GS.
To start with, and it's a
major issue, are the seats. Hands down, this is the most uncomfortable car I have
ever driven. We drove it in town and took a 4 1/2 hour trip to Palm Springs as well. Zero support and regardless of the adjustments neither my wife or I could find
anything resembling comfort.
The nav sucked...badly.
A minor detail...but noticeable, the headliner looked like something out of a $10K econobox rental.
Another minor quibble but on the stereo they had a whole bunch of ridiculous print....MP3...Bluetooth...etc. Seemed uneccessary as I'd hope to know the options you'd bought. Typically there is just Logic or B & O or ML to identify you have an upgraded system without the superflous crap.
LOL....I just asked my wife what she remembered about it. Her response..."it was ok but it felt rather cheap on the inside."
There was more that I could talk about, but couldn't be convinced to buy this car. I do think the R-spec is a fantastic deal considering it's only a couple $K more than the 4.6.
Great car for those looking to step up from an upscale Tier 2 brand...but lacking for what those buying true luxury cars are looking for. To clarify, imo, that means they will steal tons of Infiniti/Acura/Buick/Big 3 buyers that won't or can't step up to the Audi/BMW/MB/Lexus price point.
