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First Drive: The Genesis G90 gives established luxury brands something to worry about

Sitting at the top of Genesis’ line-up, the G90 LWB is the most luxurious and expensive car this firm has ever made. Ted Welford heads to Seoul to try

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What is it?

The G90 rivals cars like the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class. (Genesis)

Every car manufacturer needs that flagship car. A model that leads the way when it comes to technology and development, with the hope its features and influence trickle down the range as the years go on.

These often come in the form of a luxury car; the likes of the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class immediately spring to mind. And for the relatively-new South Korean brand Genesis, that car is the G90. First arriving in 2015, a second-generation launched last year, bringing major developments in-line with Genesis’ remarkable progression. But up against the gravitas of German premium brands, is the G90 good enough?

What’s new?

The G90 is built around a unique platform. (Genesis)

While some of Genesis’ technology is shared with its parent company Hyundai, the G90 is a ‘ground-up’ project, built around a new platform. It’s packed with features, from rear seats that can virtually give you a full-body massage to electric-closing doors.

It boasts Genesis’ latest design language too, and it’s clearly doing something right. G90s line the wealthy streets of Seoul and the firm managed to sell 25,000 examples in 2022. That’s more impressive considering it’s only sold in a handful of countries currently.

What’s under the bonnet?

The G90 features a 3.5-litre V6 engine. (Genesis)

While many luxury cars sold in the UK are now powered by plug-in hybrid setups, many of the G90’s key markets (South Korea and the USA) aren’t quite as developed when it comes to electrification. That’s why under the vast bonnet you’ll find a 3.5-litre V6 engine. In the ‘standard car’, it puts out 375bhp, but here on the Long Wheelbase (LWB) car we’re trying, it features a clever electric supercharger, taking the power up to 409bhp.

The G90 also uses an eight-speed automatic gearbox, while LWB models are also supplied as standard with four-wheel-drive.

Genesis won’t give performance figures for it, but 0-60mph comes along in approximately six seconds. Efficiency figures aren’t quite so impressive – that big petrol V6 will only return around 25mpg, while CO2 emissions are high at 274g/km.

What’s it like to drive?

The G90 majors on comfort and refinement. (Genesis)

Many of those buying and enjoying G90s will be doing so from the comfort of the rear seats, and it’s an impressively smooth way to go about. Put in the ‘Comfort’ setting and the G90 wafts along, almost flattening any bumps in the road with its multi-chamber air suspension setup. There’s a camera-based road-scanning system that automatically adjusts the suspension for the road conditions, and it works impeccably well.

The long wheelbase model, measuring a giant 5.5m in length (15cm longer than a new Mercedes S-Class LWB) never feels its size to drive, too, aided by a brilliant four-wheel-steering system that gives it a turning circle no worse than a typical hatchback.

The G90 isn’t likely to be driven enthusiastically, but should you flick it into ‘Sport’, it’s remarkable how flat it is even in hard cornering, though it’s certainly not as involving as a BMW 7 Series. The engine also sounds quite coarse on full chat, however, and is not quite as eager as its ‘supercharged’ billing suggests.

How does it look?

A luxury car has to make a statement, and the G90 most certainly does that. It’s the boldest execution of Genesis’ styling yet, with some stunning details. There’s the brand’s trademark two-line signature, applying from the grille, side indicators on the wrong wing and a full LED light bar at the rear. This is something Genesis’ global head of design Sangyup Lee is particularly proud of, he tells us.

We’d maybe not go as far as to say that the G90 looks elegant (it’s hard to make anything 5.5m in length look attractive), but this is a distinctive-looking product and one that works especially well as a ‘halo’ product.

What’s it like inside?

The G90’s rear seats offer masses of space. (Genesis)

Given the G90 will offer the most appeal to the chauffeur market, we’ll start with what’s it like in the back. And boy is it posh back there. In the LWB model, there’s enough legroom so that even adults struggle to reach the front seats when fully stretching. There are fully electric, heated, massaging and ventilated seats for those in the back, too. You name it, it has it. Another highlight is the 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, which even has its own ‘Boston Symphony Hall’ feature to relay the echo and feeling of watching a live concert. It’s exceptional.

Up front, the G90’s cabin isn’t all that much different to Genesis’ other models, with plenty of digital displays and high-quality materials used. The front of the cabin doesn’t feel quite as special as an Audi A8 or the latest BMW 7 Series, though.

What’s the spec like?

The front of the cabin isn’t too different to other Genesis models. (Genesis)

The equipment of the Genesis G90 is certainly impressive, with all models getting features like double-glazed glass, 19-inch alloy wheels, an array of driver assistance kit and a digital key feature that lets you unlock the car using a smartphone.

It’s the Long Wheelbase that really takes things up a level, though. There are exclusive 20-inch alloy wheels that look sensational, along with electric ‘ghost’ closing rear doors and the aforementioned 23-speaker sound system. The standard car gets a still-impressive 15 speakers.

As we’ve mentioned, Genesis won’t yet confirm the G90 for the UK, but given how few cars in this class are sold here, we suspect it will never officially make it here. As for pricing, it costs 91 million South Korean won (KRW) for the standard car and 167 million KRW for the long wheelbase in its home market, converting to £57,000 and £105,000 for the LWB model.

Verdict

The G90 is a positive look at what’s to come from Genesis.

As a signal of intent as to what Genesis is capable of already, and where this brand is heading, the G90 is a mightily impressive model. It truly feels like it takes this South Korean from ‘premium’ to ‘luxury’.

By European standards, the G90’s powertrain choice might feel a little behind the times, but in nearly every other respect, this feels like a luxury saloon more than capable of taking on the big German trio. If they weren’t already, the G90 shows it’s time for Audi, BMW and Mercedes to take notice of Genesis.

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