Quote:
Originally Posted by zete
Price and image matter. It's why VW couldn't sell Phaetons. You think "VW" and you think "cheap transport". You think "Hyundai" and most people think "cheap transport". It's going to take years for people to accept an expensive Hyundai.
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I agree to the general principals you're stating.
But consider the specifics between these two cars.
The Phaeton cost at least $20,000 more than we can expect an equivalent options Genesis to cost. It also weighed 5200 pounds to the Genesis' 3700-4000. The Phaeton's V8 made 335 horsepower on premium compared to the Genesis' 368 on regular. The Genesis also has the same amount of cabin space and a larger trunk. And while the Phaeton's list of luxury features is impressive, as far as I can tell the Genesis has every single one except the automatic load leveling suspension, plus a few extra of its own.
Also, I would say that Hyundai currently has a better reputation for reliability than Volkswagen.
Really, though, I think price is the big difference. Volkswagen's previous top Passat, the W8 could be optioned closed to $40,000 and it didn't sell that well. The Phaeton wasn't an evolutionary move forward from that, it was a $25,000 jump.