A surprise from Korea
Nobody asked for it, but here it is. This year, Hyundai launched a luxury brand called Genesis — no relation to the prog-rock band or the first book of the Good Book. The South Korean firm has its sights set on offering an alternative to the established luxury brands. Genesis poached top talent, stealing the chief designer from Bentley and the chief engineer from BMW’S high-performance M Division. The results are impressive.
There will soon be a lineup of Genesis sedans and SUVS, but its first car — the G90 — is the most important. It will set the tone. It’s soft like a Lexus but with crisp handling more like a German car. Could it carve out a niche? We think so. If you want to test drive a G90, you don’t go to a showroom; Genesis brings the G90 to you. Put away any lingering brand-related snobbery and you’ll see this is a stellar debut from a new company.