When Hyundai announced the Genesis Coupe back in 2008, it was a shock to the world of sports car enthusiasts. The Koreans had burst onto the scene with a 2.0-liter turbo and a V6 that rivaled or beat the power ratings of America’s V6- and V8-powered pony cars.

When the Genesis debuted, its only real rival was the Ford Mustang. The Mustang at that time was powered by a heavy and anemic 4.0-liter V6 with an iron block that only made 210 horsepower. Hyundai’s turbo-four, on the other hand, shares much of its insides with the engine from the Mitsubishi Evo X. It was smaller, lighter, revved quicker, and it also made 210 horsepower. The Mustang didn't stand a chance.

Then 2010 rolled around.

The Camaro was back, and with it came new and more powerful direct-injected engines. The 3.6-liter V6 in the base Camaro made an underrated 304 horsepower ... it was really 312, but regardless, that was more than the V8 Mustang and more than the V6 Genesis Coupe. Power ratings only went up from there with the V8 version dumping 400-426 horsepower to the rear wheels.

Read the rest on The Mustang Source homepage.

 

Because for some reason they never put this in:

 

I wonder if the Mustang would have done any improvements if the Hyundai had never come about. Maybe we should be thanking Hyundai for competing with Ford so Ford had to step up their game and make a better car.

And the Genesis is a nice looking coupe. The Genesis Sedan is also very nice and is a RWD with an optional 5.0, while Ford offers nothing close to it. Ford fell out of the RWD sedan business. Why?

 

I may be the only one here but I think this article is completely wrong. I usually don't disagree with most journalists but in this case, I do.
The Genesis rivaled the Z. Price wise, layout, powertrain, and all the above it was a Z competitor.
Other than that, I would compare it against a 1-series BMW, BRZ/FRS, Miata, and THEN maybe the V6 Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger.

It may have sparked a little of the Mustang engine revamp... but not even CLOSE to as much as the Camaro did.

 

Um... they're still making the Genesis Coupe? And while there's rumors, there's no news there ISN'T going to be a coupe in the future. Just changes to the lineup.

Of course, that could change, I'll admit.

And this silliness:
2008 the Mustang indeed had that, AND the 4.6L 300 HP V8.

Learn your history and current events. The article was dead on arrival after those two not-insignificant issues, for me.

 

Agreed

 

Totally agree. I don't understand why not. If they did, it would have been a competitive car. I mean, the Equus and Genesis R-spec have the 5.0 V8.

It's funny, Ford replaced their 4.6 V8 with a 5.0 V8. Hyundai replaced their 4.6 with a 5.0 as well lol.

The 5.0 R-spec actually makes decent power. It needs to spin up to 6400rpm to see the 429hp though! 376tq is okay, but again, it needs to spin at 5000rpm to reach it. It has direct injection and its 11.5:1 compression.

 

Yes and no and I'm not the guy that usually defends the automotive media because I think most of the automotive media is clueless but in this case there may be some merit to the article.

When people start shopping for a "new" sports coupe the number one factor that determines what they will buy is the price tag and that is followed closely by the performance level. In other words, how much performance do you get for the amount of money you spend (bang for the buck). So even though a lot of people (especially the media) like to pretend that people don't ever cross shop a Mustang with an FR-S or a Genesis Coupe or even an Eclipse the reality is that they absolutely do. That is because the majority of people in the world are not car enthusiasts who get all worked up about the specifics. What they see is cost and how fast is it, and that's it aside from the aspect of does it appeal to the customer visually. So yes the Genesis Coupe and the Mustang competed directly with one another because they were close enough in price tags to do so. This is the same reason why the Scion FR-S / BRZ is a sales failure. It costs just as much as a Mustang or Camaro and it doesn't deliver Mustang or Camaro levels of performance. Auto enthusiasts and media types will cry from here to dooms day about how the FR-S is not supposed to be compared to the Mustang because they aren't the same kind of car. Too bad. The reality is that people don't care about the nuance. They see sports coupe and price tag. They care about how much money the car costs vs how much performance it delivers. In the real world where cars are sold and roads are not hair pin race tracks the FR-S gets its butt whipped by stock V6 Mustangs on a regular basis and often the Mustang costs the same or less money. This is the same thing that happened to the Genesis Coupe. Once the Mustang and Camaro stepped up their game with the new 3.7 and new 5.0 (similar offerings in the GM car) then it made little sense to spend the same money for a Genesis that delivered less performance. To get V6 or GT Mustang performance levels at Toyota you have to go spend 45 to 60 grand on some Lexus. I think to a large degree Automatic 5.0 is right, we should probably be thanking Hyundai for making Ford and GM step up their game. The V6 Mustang now is a proper sports coupe where as before Ford would just stick some "also ran" engine in the car to save them on production and development costs and they didn't really give a crap about the customers who bought them. They still don't give a crap, but at least now they have to be competitive and it has proven to be beneficial for the customer.

 

That's interesting..

 

Ummm, the Genesis was not intended to be a competitor for V8 cars, that's why it wasn't mentioned. Fact is that with the 2011 3.7, Ford was actually responding to the Camaro's V6. Hyundai probably wasn't even a significant blip on their radar.

I personally think the Genesis coupe is a good looking car.

 

Then why use this argument at all? The Genesis was hailed as a *Mustang* killer when introduced... specifically... by a lot of publications. Not a V6 Mustang killer. I remember this specifically, for it was a big big deal... I was somewhat interested in the car myself. Then the tests came out, and woe was the Genesis... Mustang killer? Pfft.

The article is silly. It shouldn't have been written for this purpose. It would have been better to say "why did is the Genesis lamenting, and does Mustang have anything to do with it?" or such, but don't use this particular angle. Mustang and Genesis have nothing to do with each other except two doors and rear drive. It is, simply put, bad journalism. That it was written and posted to (a) Mustang site(s?) is just self-promotional.

Might as well start talking up the FRS/BRZ twins being Mustang competitors... which they most *definitely* are not.

 

Exactly, the Genesis was called a Mustang killer by the auto mags/blogs because it was a RWD sports car.I also agree that the article should have been focused on why the genesis isn't selling well against all of its competitors not just the mustang.

 

What you said definitely makes sense. Where I think you and I are differing here though is that it IS written for different readers. It's written for one's who, like you were saying, are buying a two door "sporty" looking car for under $XXk. ...maybe high school car for daughter?

This is an article, more so, for Consumer Reports and not Motor Trend, R&T, or C&D. I would also go out on a limb to say that those who this article is meant for are NOT reading this article. I don't know many non-auto enthusiasts that read car articles.

Hec, I was reading consumer reports last night.... Cons: [Porsche 911] back seat is too small, [Corvette Stingray] child seat restraint points.
Why are these even mentioned!?

I looked at the Genesis while looking for Mustangs... but I never compared the two besides price. They're two different... "divisions" to me.