When you think of luxury brands, your mind usually tracks to Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, maybe even Tesla. But, recently a new brand has emerged, one that could be a sleeping giant, waiting for its recognition to come. That brand? Genesis.
Starting with the Super Bowl ads this past February, Genesis has been pushing full force ahead to be accepted into the fraternity of Luxury. And when you look at their lineup, it seems like they have the right recipe. The sporty G70, very pretty G80, and stately GV80 SUV on paper all seem to fit the bill. But, unless your gigantic, comfortable, and luxurious sedan is up to par, real luxury buyers won’t even give you a chance. If you want to compete against the LS500, A8, 7 Series, and S-Class, you better come prepared.
Hyundai dropped off the G90 and I’ll admit, I had some high expectations. When you deliver a car with wheels that look like they came off of a Maybach, you better not play around. While the grill came off a bit humongous, the car definitely has a presence. I won’t say the car looks modern or even beautiful, but it looks like an absolute *statement*. Walking around, there are definitely hints of necessary cost-cutting. Orange peel in the paint and a feeling of plasticy lightness which ironically mostly comes from the sheer amount of chrome pieces all over. While most automakers have moved to aluminum Genesis is embracing the shine.
When you enter the car, you are greeted by exactly what you would expect. Large swaths of leather and wood adorn every surface. While not as exotic as the new Mercedes, the Genesis interior seems to go by the “less is more” motif. We’re obviously not going for the dramatic screen filled essence of the 2021S class or the crazy leather stitching and Wood treatment of the new LS, but obviously trying to make their own way in the market. The quality of some of the materials themselves felt a little bit on the cheaper side, but for what I would consider their actual first go at it(the Kia K900 and Equus were a trial run in my opinion), were properly well done.
So, what does this mean for Genesis as a whole?
Well the start, Genesis styling Department is one of the best in the business. Just today I saw a new Genesis GV90 out in the wild and was thoroughly impressed by its presence even compared to the Bentley Bentayga and BMW X7 that also came accords my path. I caught myself giving it a second glance at every angle, High praise for what it’s just a big SUV. On the sedan side, the G70 and G80 manage to even better encapsulate Genesis’ design language. They are striking examples of what a new company to the market can do. The dealer model is yet to be proven though as many Hyundai dealers don’t wanna make the transition to Genesis and really try to compete with the big dogs. Even though genesis cars seem to be on the right track, what becomes of the company is to be seen. Hopefully the dealers and market can recognize great products coming out of Genesis right now and adjust because if they keep making cars like this, you can go ahead and sign me up!
