G90 IS PURE LUXURY
Deep down, big Genesis G90 sedan is a Hyundai, but cabin’s glove-soft leather, polished wood trim belie humble roots
Behold the G90: The car that dares not speak its name. It’s a Hyundai that Hyundai Canada vehemently protests is not a Hyundai.
Confused? For the past eight years, Hyundai Canada has been selling the Genesis through Hyundai dealers. But now the company says the G90 — essentially replacing the Equus — will not even be sold at a Hyundai dealership. That’s because it is now a … Genesis — and a brand unto itself.
Michael Ricciuto, director of the new brand, says the G90 is the, er, genesis of Genesis, the full-sized luxury sedan to be followed by two smaller sedans, a couple of SUVs and a sports coupe. In 2021, Ricciuto says, Genesis dealers will offer a sixvehicle lineup competing against all the major players in BMW and Mercedes-Benz’s lineup.
In other words, Genesis will be competing head-to-head with BMW and Mercedes-Benz, as well as Audi and Jaguar. It’s a noble ambition, especially given that Hyundai’s reputation was based on undercutting the competition, not overwhelming them with luxury.
And yet, the G90 does just that. I won’t tell you that Genesis’ new G90 is as sporty as a BMW 750i or as powerful as a Mercedes-AMG S63, but nothing — short of a Bentley Mulsanne — can outluxury the G90’s interior.
Indeed, not even a Bentley — or a Rolls-Royce, for that matter — can boast leather as glove-soft as the G90’s. It is supplied by Italy’s Conceria Pasubio, and just gripping the steering wheel borders on the orgasmic.
Nor is the rest of the G90’s cabin in any way second rate. The wood trim not only is real, it looks real, avoiding the toocommon, over-wrought polishing of many luxury dashboards. The chrome work is tasteful, the LCD infotainment screen — unfortunately, not a touch screen — is huge, and the audio system is a premium Lexicon item with 900 watts. Even the switchgear, which looks as if it were copied from a previous-generation S-Class, reeks of class. Genesis wants us to forget the G90 is a Hyundai and its interior decor is a huge step in that direction.
Not only is the roomy G90 bigger than a Mercedes S550, the wheelbase is 125 millimetres longer, affording copious interior volume. Push the front seats as far back as you want and you still have LeBron James-accommodating knee room in the back.
The G90 may also set some sort of record for (sub-$100,000) luxury segment seat adjustability; the driver’s seat, says Genesis, is variable in 22 different directions. The passenger has 16 ways to futz with his or her position, while the rear passengers have 12. Actually, there are 14 for the right-rear passenger; Genesis sees many G90s doing limo duty, so there are buttons for the right-rear passenger to move the front seat forward for even more legroom. Genesis says the seats have been approved by Aktion Gesunder Rücken, a German organization of doctors and therapists promoting research into the reduction of back pain. Good news for those, like Yours Truly, suffering from wonky lower lumbars. And the top-ofthe-line 5.0-litre V-8 model adds ventilation to the rear seats and a rear memory system.
Only two powertrains are offered — a base V-6 and a top-ofthe-line V-8 — but there’s a good argument that the base engine is superior to the uplevel one. The V-6 is a new, twice turbocharged 3.3-L engine sporting 365 horsepower and, more importantly, 376 pound-feet of torque. That’s only seven lb.-ft. less than the optional naturally aspirated 5.0-L and, more tellingly, it peaks as early as 1,300 rpm, compared with the V-8’s 5,000 rpm. In other words, the smaller engine kicks in sooner and harder, and will likely have more punch off the line.
That said, the G90 is not a powerhouse, but the V-6 is amazingly quiet and smooth. Genesis says the G90’s interior cabin noise is identical to an S-Class at 100 km/h and quieter at idle. But this is a car that moves briskly, not violently. My real-world testing averaged 9.7 L/100 km on the highway, exactly Transport Canada’s rating. Finally, a turbocharged engine that doesn’t exaggerate its frugality.
The same applies for the G90’s comportment. The ride, thanks to adjustable ZF/Sach suspension components, is buttery smooth and its compliance is perhaps the best among current uber-luxury sedans. On the other hand, this is not a Cadillac CTS-V — or even a 7-Series — and the G90, even with its Sport mode selected, is not a back-road bandit. This may not be your grandfather’s Cadillac, but neither is it a budget M5.
The G90 ticks off all the major boxes in terms of safety features. The all-wheel-drive system — HTRAC in Hyundai parlance — is amazingly versatile, able to deliver 100 per cent of the engine’s torque to the front wheels if the road is slippery, 100 per cent to the rear when looking for maximum fuel economy, and any ratio in between to optimize the G90’s need for traction and stability.
This AWD system is the equal of any.
The G90 also includes the expected electronic safety features. In addition to nine airbags, there’s a suite of electronic safety gizmos called Smart Sense that includes autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, active blind-spot detection, lanekeep assist and Hyundai’s innovative Driver Attention Alert.
Ricciuto says future Genesis products will not be sold in Hyundai dealerships. Initially, the G90 — and the soon-to-be rebadged Genesis sedan, to be called the G80 — will be sold in mall-based boutiques. Not only that, Genesis’ “Human Based Luxury” comes with five years of complimentary service that includes home pickup and delivery for any service or repair, not to mention a Genesis courtesy car. From purchase to trade-in, you’ll never have to visit a dealership. In other words, you’ll never know it’s a Hyundai.
The Genesis G90 will be available in early November with a price tag starting in the $85,000 range.