Quote from: melomaniac on June 10, 2012, 09:38:32 PM

indeed: unless they let you test-drive on a track, all this Nürburgring talk is not directly relevant - one of the problems with automotive journalism is that it suggests we should be able to drift and race in our quotidian transport... that said, I did have fun with launch control today at a red light on the way to dim sum brunch ;-)

Exactly, Nurburgring is the new dyno queen phenomenon.  Torque at 2K is nice and all but turbo lag isn't at every stoplight and corner especially hooked up to an auto.  I've been stalking the development of Borg Warner EFR snails for years now.  Maybe build up a new Cosworth 2.5 F4 as well.

Didn't know anything about Nurburgring propping up dyno cars, I just saw the video and thought it was interesting so I posted it.

Friend I've known for a while works at a Hyundai dealership far from me (that I wouldn't buy from) says he's driven both 2.0 and 3.8 and both are great fun and the turbo model has almost no lag. We'll see tomorrow if I can get up there to test it (dealership is about 30 mins away, and I work later).

Main reason for the mustang nurburgring comment was that in my viewing, a stock mustang handles like a locomotive. Any turn at speed turns into a spin out or very nearly so, meaning you have to slow down a lot for cornering, where the Genesis was clearly not having to do so. It's meaningless for real world driving, but if you are going to put down a car for it's ability to handle, there's clear evidence the other way.

There are videos all over youtube saying the GC is the Korean Mustang, and it's not the Korean Mustang, but rather direct competition for the Japanese cars like the BRZ/FR-S, so while I can see where you are coming from, it's very much up for debate. Perhaps it straddles the line between them.

I think the GC is beautiful. It looks great. QC, who knows, but I doubt I'd get any better with the GTI knowing VW's past. If I want reliability at all costs, I'd go with the CR-Z, no question. Hyundai servicing is very cheap compared to European cars also. Except for the 3 useless gauges in the center console I think the interior of the GC is excellent, far better than the BRZ/FR-S which looks like it's straight out of the 80s with basic red LEDs everywhere, and no creature comforts at all. I know that is somewhat the goal of the BRZ, to spend money on performance at all costs, but I'm not looking for a second car to track with and then go home to my Lexus/Merc/etc daily driver.

As far as in person comments, I'll have to wait.

Honestly I think I'm out of where I wanted to be, a small sporty fuel efficient car for $18-25k hopefully on the lower end. The GC or BRZ will have to REALLY impress me to get me to spend. If I had to buy right this second It would be a toss up between the VW and CR-Z, I think, perhaps a slight edge to the CR-Z because of price alone.

QC, who knows, but I doubt I'd get any better with the GTI knowing VW's past

agreed on VW as built in many places and often shoddily assembled - but the GTI is built in one place, and under German assembly conditions with plenty of QC, so I think it's a little less susceptible to all the things that ail lots of other VWs I know (Passat seems to be the worst, especially with electrical issues)... fwiw my 09 GTI has had no issues whatsoever thus far, except the performance tires are pricier than the household expected ;-)

that said, I did follow a BRZ the other day on the 405, and it's really a looker. I would probably go for it today if hatchback practicality wasn't high on the list of criteria

Genesis Coupe is out. Didn't get to drive it, even, and it's already out. Dealer only had 2 and both were manual, which I'd have to relearn, so I asked for a test-'ride' as a passenger and the salesman said he was busy with other customers and seemed completely detached the entire time he was helping me, and I ended up walking out without a ride/drive. Despite that I gave the Genesis a fair shot. The interior looked nice at first glance, but very quickly showed it was very cheap, like Kia cheap. It was about the same level of interior as the Rio I drove when I started this whole thing. The controls are awkwardly placed in some instances, but what really set me off on this car was that the doors don't close solidly. In combination with that was the engine vibrating the car when revved even only as high as 4k rpm. When I did this in the GTI, it was silky smooth in the cabin, no hint of vibration, just some sound. The seats were odd, but not uncomfortable. The seating position itself was really laid back so visibility over the hood was quite poor. Visibility on the sides and back were just fine.

Thanks but no thanks, Hyundai, try again.

Subaru place had a BRZ when I called them. Drove there (across street from Hyundai place) in about 30-35 minutes, and someone had walked in off the street, bought the BRZ without even test driving it and it was already gone.... ! The Scion place up next to it didn't have any FR-S either, and the 2 they had coming in were already sold. I might just have to give up on this car since I'm not willing to buy sight unseen.

In further development, the Golf MKVII platform is due out soon and is supposed to address some of my problems with the GTI, namely shaving off about 200-300lbs from the 3200 curb weight and boosting the power by about 20-60hp and torque by 40-80 (all rumors at this point). It will have a slight styling change that I welcome. The MKVI GTI is very handsome, but I'd like to see if they remove the red grille so I have more choice for body color. The current MKVI with the red grille looks really bad in the red paint as well as the dark blue, leaving white, gray, dark gray, and black... not the most inspiring of choices. Rumor is this car could be shown at an auto show in Europe in September with availability there within a month afterwards, and US availability after that, but speculation is wild from 3 months to a year to 2 years later.

Right now the GTI is looking great, but I will have to replace the stereo in it right away. It's garbage, just really bad. With the MKVII due soon, I'm stuck wondering what to do. Stick it out with my Grand Prix til the MKVII is available and see if indeed it matches up with what I prefer, or go with a MKVI now and trade in for the MKVII if it is better... Hmm..