2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe

You always remember your first. So we will always fondly recall our maiden spin—literally—in a slick yellow Hyundai Genesis coupe during a drifting lesson at Road America in Wisconsin. Of course, it was a little more memorable because our instructor was world drifting champion Rhys Millen, star driver of Hyundai’s Genesis coupe Super Bowl halftime commercial. After 10 minutes of unintentional 360s, stalls and smashed cones—and about four seconds of what could charitably be called "drifting"—two things became clear. Our skills at feathering the throttle and countersteering leave much to be desired, and the Genesis coupe is one seriously fun car to drive.

Rhys Millen driving the Genesis coupe in Hyundai's "Epic Lap" commercial:



Having put the luxury sedan market on notice with the affordable, refined Genesis sedan last summer, Hyundai takes aim at the sports car segment with the new rear-wheel-drive Genesis coupe. Available with a 2.0-liter turbo engine cranking 210 horsepower and a 306 horsepower, 3.8-liter V-6 mill, the Genesis coupe has Mustangs, 370Zs and even G37s dead in its crosshairs. When we finally got a chance to take the Genesis coupe to the streets, Hyundai ponied up the 2.0-liter turbocharged Track model with a six-speed manual. The Genesis Coupe Track comes with Brembo brakes, a track-tuned suspension, 19-inch wheels, high-intensity Xenon lights, a rear spoiler, Infinity 10-speaker audio, sunroof, slick black-bolstered red cloth seats, aluminum pedals and all the standard electronic wizardry.

Also standard with the Genesis coupe: jealous stares from every 20-something tuner kid in your neighborhood. This is one cool-looking car. “Cool” and “Hyundai” in the same sentence? Get used to it. There’s a hint of recent Jaguar coupe design in the swooping, geometric hood, while the low-slung profile and muscular rear end will have G37 and 370Z owners doing double-takes. And while our Track model came with a rear spoiler, we like the sleek spoiler-free line of the Grand Touring trim even better.

Even giving away nearly 100 horsepower to the burly V-6, the 2.0-liter turbo engine gets the Genesis coupe to the north side of legal speeds in no time. The manual transmission can be jerky in low gears, and the power delivery overall is no match for, say, the perfectly tuned stick in a G37. In aggressive driving on sinuous roads, though, the Genesis coupe makes no apologies to its competition; it remains planted and confidence-inspiring as the lateral Gs soar. With the streets already crowded with head-turning Challengers, Camaros, 370Zs and Mustangs, along comes the Genesis coupe. It's a great time to be a bang-for-the-buck sports car junkie.