HMT-Roger

I appreciate the finer things in life as much as the next person, and I don’t mind working to achieve them. But, as they say, sometimes life happens, getting in the way of those goals. Take cars for example: Suppose one’s budget doesn’t quite stretch enough to afford a suitably high-end sporting sedan from a respected manufacturer known for luxurious offerings (let’s use BMW and Mercedes as examples). Is choosing a car from a company known more for lower-priced vehicles yet which has something closely emulating what you really covet settling for second best?

Hyundai is striving mightily to convince us the answer is “no.” And the car it is using to sway opinion is the award-winning Genesis sedan — Canadian Car of the Year and North American Car of the Year in 2009 — which has been given a thorough going-over for 2012. The exterior revisions are fairly cosmetic — new grille, new front and rear fascias, new headlights and tail lights, sportier rocker panels — but the technical changes are far more substantial. New direct-injected engines, standard eight-speed automatic transmission and a number of new high-tech features have all been worked into the full-sized sedan.

At the top of the heap is the new R-Spec model with a 5.0-litre Tau V8 that replaces last year’s 4.6L version. The Tau, Hyundai’s most powerful engine ever, produces 429 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque, up from the 4.6’s 385 hp and 333 lb-ft. Despite the power boost, fuel economy is all but identical. Said 5.0L V8 is bolted to a new Hyundai-developed Shiftronic eight-speed manumatic transmission, which is also standard on the V6-powered 3.8 model.

Nor is all the good stuff residing under the hood. Hyundai has reworked the R-Spec’s suspension, tightening it for a flatter disposition and showcasing it all with a very nice set of 19-inch machined alloy rims.

Read more: http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/10...is-5-0-r-spec/