Starting at $32,995 for the base 3.8L, and $36,495 for the GT version, it’s perhaps not the cheapest performance coupe out there today, and it’s possibly not the most sophisticated, but it is one of the most fun rides I’ve experienced so far this year.

The steering on the 3.8L is slightly better than the 2.0L, the later being a tad on the heavy side, but it’s still not perfection. The same could be said of the 6-speed manual gearbox. The ratios are fine, as is the positioning of the lever, but together with some of my learned colleagues, I had the occasional issue when trying to grab 2^nd from 1^st in a hurry. This is something which would likely disappear as one became more familiarized with the vehicle.

The Geneses is slightly shorter than the Mustang and although it isn’t, it feels much lighter, particularly on the rear. Because of this, it’s one of those vehicles in which you should avoid disconnecting the traction control, unless you’re prepared for it. On the other hand, you shouldn’t really need to as the system does a fine job. It allows for just a little slippage before kicking in, basically enough to place a smile on your face, but not enough to cause any great concern.

You also have to look a little closer at the GT to appreciate what you’re getting for your money. For a start, there are the Brembo brakes. Now they aren’t cheap, but ask any mechanic worth his salt and he’ll vouch for how good they are.

We now come to the drive and straight away I’m going to describe the vehicle as “nimble”. In fact, I’ve driven this vehicle through a tight cone course and I’d place it in the top three vehicles I’ve ever driven on this type of course. The braking is simply superb and the GT allows for a decent amount of weight transfer which often works to your advantage on tight, high-speed turns.

On the road, the vehicle is well mannered and comfortable, yet you have the security of knowing that there’s plenty of power under the hood should you need it.

The interior is perhaps not worthy of the Best in Class Award, but it’s not as far down the list as one might imagine. Rearward vision is somewhat compromised because of the exterior design but then show me a sports coupe which doesn’t suffer slightly from that.

On the whole, I found it to be extremely comfortable and the controls layout makes perfect sense, which is something that often suffers when designers dream up a “sporty interior”.

All in all, I’d say that Hyundai is onto a real winner with the Genesis Coupe. In fact, if the company keeps turning out product like this, I’d be somewhat nervous if I was one of its competitors. Yes, the days of Hyundai being known for the humble Pony are long gone. Today, the company’s gaining rather rapidly the reputation of being an award winning manufacturer. Well done again guys, you’ve pulled another rabbit out of the hat!