I have been best man at about five weddings with the first being at the nuptials of Martin Storey and Therese Yeats.
Although the stag party a week before the wedding was memorable in that Storey ended up passed out and complaining of chest pains on the grounds of the local The Most Precious Blood Catholic church and was carted off in an ambulance, the food at the reception eclipsed all that drunken party excitement.
There was so much food and so many different desserts I had to open the button on my pants, undo my belt and try to hide the loosened attire with my oh-so-lovely, salmon-hued cummerbund.
I just remember this total feeling of satiety. I was stuffed, I was happy, all I wanted to do was sit back, relax and enjoy the ride, but I did however rue the fact I had left my elasticated trousers at home.
Looking along the line of groomsmen it appeared they had a similar idea.
This is a little bit like how I felt this week while driving the new Hyundai Genesis sedan.
I was stuffed, I was bloated from all the goodies and, after a while, I just decided to relax and enjoy the ride.
After first realizing the Genesis had eight forward gears I felt like Count von Count from Sesame Street as I flipped through the gears, "one gear, ha, ha, ha, two gears, ha, ha, ha, three gears, ha, ha, ha...
In manual mode I never made it to eighth gear but apparently it does it all the time in automatic mode, and the extra two gears give this 333-horsepower monster the ability to get 41 miles out of every gallon on the
highway.
The power, when needed in a hurry, feels like when as a kid we used to build go-karts out of waste wood, baby pram wheels, duct tape and rusty nails.
One guy would sit in it and everyone else would run behind and push him. Just before they let go there was a last ditch effort to provide the biggest push ever and right at the point where they released their grip there was always a snapping back of the head and a blur of brick wall, doggie droppings and lampposts as you were hurtled forward with the biggest grin on your face feeling like king of the neighbourhood.
The Genesis brings back these youthful feelings of excitement and pure pleasure, but thankfully, there is never a pile of school-aged children in shorts sprawled out on the ground behind the Genesis.
The Genesis is what we would have pretended we were driving had one existed back then.
Inside you are surrounded by leather and gadgets, tons of space and even more gadgets and there will no longer be problems with the kids shouting shotgun when the family is going on a trip.
Each will be just as happy to sit in the back as the front. The rear seats are heated; there was at least six inches of room between my knees and the back of the driver's seat; there are heater vents on the back of the centre console; and on the B pillars behind the front passengers with temperature controls on the console.
With these amenities all your kids will feel like you love them equally.
The outside rear view mirrors on the Genesis power in to the side of the car so no one can take them off if they drive too close, and a button allows the driver to have control over a power sunshade that rises to cover the back window.
The Genesis handles quite admirably for a big sedan and body lean, even during some feisty driving, was minimal. It never felt like it could get away from me.
Very little noise enters the cabin of the Genesis, providing a feeling of luxury and of being separated from the world.
The Genesis, as I said earlier, is loaded with gadgets including Bluetooth; satellite radio, park assist with backup camera; rain-sensing wipers, two memory settings for the seat; radio and steering wheel; windshield wiper de-icer; and a phenomenal Lexicon sound system. The only other vehicle to have a Lexicon sound system like this is the Rolls Royce Phantom. That says something about how Hyundai sees its Genesis.
The Hyundai Genesis looks good, feels good and handles very well and the total driving experience it offers will have you putting your elasticated trousers on before each drive as it will leave you totally full and totally satisfied.
SPEC SHEET
Vehicle
HYUNDAI GENESIS
Vehicle type:
4-door sedan
Transmission:
8-speed manumatic
Engine:
3.8-litre V6
Horsepower:
333 @ 6,400
Torque:
291 @ 5,100
Mileage:
11.1 l/100 km
25 mpg City
6.9 l/100 km
41 mpg Hwy
Price as tested:
$47,650
