Genesis Rising
German sport sedan makers should sit up and take notice
This hasn’t happened since 1990. Actually, it was January 11, 1989, and the upsetting of the apple cart I am talking about happened in Detroit. The North American International Auto Show to be exact. Cobo Hall, way in the back if I remember rightly.
Auto buffs of a certain age will know immediately I am referring to Lexus LS400 and how much it upset the founding fathers of the modern luxury set. The point, in case you’re missing it, was that this was the first time the Japanese made a car better than the Germans. Not good for the money. Not cheaper, more reliable or more fuel efficient. Just plain better.
And the G70, rekindling the original spirit of the Lexus, is also better. Again, not better for the money (yes, it still has something of a price advantage). Not more reliable (which it probably will be) or more fuel efficient (oops, we may have slipped backwards a bit there). Simply better.
While it was the LS400’s engine that was the card that trumped the Germans, in the G70’s case, it’s the chassis. Simply put, the new G70 is the kind of ultimate driving machine BMW used to put out with casual regularity. Indeed, the completeness of the Genesis chassis package is breathtaking, racking up superlatives in virtually every area of comportment.
Credit for that must go to Albert Biermann, the former vice-president of BMW’s M division, whom the Hyundai/Kia empire kidnapped a few years ago. According to Genesis manager of product strategy, Patrick Danielson, Biermann “had a hand in every single aspect of the chassis development.”
That means the steering, despite being electrically boosted, is as communicative as BMWs of yore. The chassis, shared with Kia’s similarly excellent Stinger, is super stiff, the perfect platform on which to build a performance sedan. And the suspension is that magical combination of soft enough for bumps and tight enough for apexes. Indeed, the top-of-the-line G70 3.3T Dynamic with its custom vehicle setting configuration set to Sport for steering and chassis electronics, but set for Comfort-designated suspension compliance — a setup specifically recommended by Danielson — is the best combination of roadholding and suspension compliance to be had in the entry-level luxury sedan segment today.
Even on the track, the all-wheeldrive 3.3 L acquits itself quite well. Genesis does offer what it claims is a more track-friendly car, the 2.0T Sport, complete with rear-wheel drive and a six-speed manual transmission. It may be a little tighter and a little sharper round the sharpest hairpin turns, but truth be told, I preferred the 3.3-L version of the Sport in almost every regard. So, opt for the lesser motor if you must have a manual transmission, but otherwise the higher-spec car is the optimum choice.