In today’s world, your ride doesn’t need to holster eight cylinders to deliver pulse-pounding road thrills, and with the right car, you don’t even need six—provided that car is the Hyundai Genesis Coupe 2.0T. Just ask the team at Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com, which recently named the Coupe 2.0T to its 2010 Top 10 Fast-lane Fours list.
According to the KBB.com editors, the car “complements its sexy lines and impressive packaging with a bounty of straight-line quickness,” a feature that comes standard with Hyundai’s advanced 2.0-liter I4 engine. This turbocharged powerplant leverages cutting-edge technology—like dual continuously variable valve timing—to make an impressive 210 hp and 223 lb.-ft. of torque. Managing that power is a choice of two transmissions: A close-ratio six-speed manual comes standard, and drivers also can opt for an electronic six-speed automatic with Hyundai’s SHIFTRONIC paddle-shifters.
This Coupe can carve the curves, too, thanks to a thoroughly engineered, performance-oriented suspension. Just ask the folks at Salisbury Hyundai Dealers. Up front, this hot Hyundai sports dual-link MacPherson struts with gas-filled shocks for precision steering; out back, it’s a five-link setup that’s designed to reduce wheel hop.
And that’s just the standard equipment. As KBB.com points out, R-Spec and Track models really “peg the enthusiast meter by adding a host of functional chassis/brake/wheel-and-tire upgrades to the already ultra-competent underpinnings.” In both configurations, that means bigger, 19-inch wheels and a retuned, racetrack-developed suspension to further sharpen the car’s responses; in the Track model, drivers who want to test their limits can add features like a Torsen limited-slip differential, performance stoppers from Brembo and a front-strut tower brace.
Another bonus: While ”relentlessly high fuel prices and increasingly stringent emissions requirements” are changing how automakers and customers alike look at performance, the Coupe 2.0T can achieve an EPA line of 21 mpg city/30 mpg highway/24 mpg combined and emit the same amount of CO2 as the less-powerful Honda Civic SI.
“We think our Genesis Coupe 2.0T, with its unique combination of rear-wheel drive and four-cylinder turbo power, offers an intriguing alternative to existing front-wheel drive sport coupes,” said Scott Margason, director of product planning, Hyundai Motor America. “Genesis Coupe provides a potent combination of performance and value.”
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