GENESIS G90 GETS AN UPDATED LOOK,

MORE STANDARD FEATURES FOR 2020

Even though it is only about 3 years old, the Genesis G90 gets a new look for 2020 plus a redesigned 12.3-inch display monitor that incorporates touchscreen controls and more standard features befitting what the company calls its flagship model sedan.

The extra makeover is so extensive, according to the automaker, that except for the roof and doors, every exterior body panel on the new model has been replaced or changed, starting with a new bolder, mesh grille up front that flies in the face of criticism that the previous models were too bland.

It comes in two well-stocked trims with the G90 Premium and G90 Ultimate each unabashedly taking on the best the large, luxury sedans of the class have to offer.

The G90 Premium, which served as my test vehicle, comes with a twin-turbo, 3.3-liter V6 engine while the Ultimate gets a 5.8-liter V8. Rear-wheel drive is standard on both with all-wheel configuration as an option.

The engines are mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters for manual gar selection. The V6 has EPA fuel ratings of 17 miles-per-gallon city, 25 highway highway in both RWD and AWD configuration. The V8 is only slightly thirstier with figures of 16/24 RWD and 15/23 AWD.

The V8 gives the Ultimate the advantage in horsepower over the Premium model’s V6 420 hp to 365 hp, but the difference in torque, which provides get-up-and-go throttle responses, is less. The V8 is rated at 383 pound-feet to the V6’s 376.

Those used to looking to Europe for automotive opulence just might find themselves a new option with the Genesis G90 and save a few bucks as well. Though the base MSRP doesn’t look like a huge bargain on the face of it, the G90 includes a long list of standard niceties that you don’t get on its competitors without adding options that run the final total up.

That standard equipment list for the G90 Premium adds Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for 2020 as well as including Nappa leather seating surfaces, a microfiber suede headliner, 12-way adjustable driver’s and 10-way passenger seat, ventilated front seats and heated rear, 3-zone automatic climate control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, adaptable cruise control (dubbed Smart), heads-up display, HD navigation for the 12.3-inch display, wireless charging pad, sunroof, hands-free trunk opener, 17-speaker premium sound system, and LED headlights, daytime running lights, and taillights.

There is the usual array of safety features like blind spot warning and lane-keeping assist and new for 2020 are Lane Following Assist (LFA), Rear Cross-traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist (RCCA), Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (that can now help detect bicycles and vehicles in front of the vehicle), Safe Exit Assist (SEA) to alert driver and passengers with alerts when an object is approaching an opening door, and Highway Driving Assist (HDA).

The company says that HDA assists the driver to maintain the center of a lane on marked interstate highways and keep a safe distance from a vehicle in front. It can act in conjunction with Highway Auto Speed Slowdown, which adjusts vehicle speed to match posted signs.

As noted, there is no real need for options on the Premium, but the Ultimate edition adds a rear-seat entertainment system and ventilated rear seats. The only real decisions left for buyer is to pick are RWD or AWD and the exterior and exterior colors.

G90 Premium models carry an MSRP of $72,200 for RWD not including the $995 destination charge. The Ultimate checks in at $75,700. AWD adds another $2,500 to each. 

What I liked about the 2020 Genesis G90 Premium: The ride is very smooth, quiet and comfortable, and the twin-turbo V6 has plenty of punch. Infotainment features are very user-friendly and offer buttons as well as a console knob and the touchscreen to operate the various applications. A long list of standard features relieves you of the chore of having to pick through options.

What I did’t like about the 2020 Genesis G90 Premium: It’s a bit on the thirsty side. Not sure I care for the mesh grille.

Would I buy the 2020 Genesis G90 Premium? I love all the Genesis sedans, but probably would opt for the G70 or perhaps the G80 over the G90 if I were shopping. My reasoning has more to do with size than anything else. But if a bigger luxury sedan is what you want, certainly the G90 is a great choice.

2018 GENESIS G90 TAKES ON THE BEST

THE LUXURY SEGMENT HAS TO OFFER

The Genesis G90 sedan may not be first on your list if you’re shopping in the full-size luxury segment, but it should be on there somewhere and pretty high up at that.

Don’t let its Hyundai roots throw you off. This is a true luxury vehicle with all the trimmings you expect of the segment.

Good looks inside and outside? Check.

Engine strong enough to provide the kind of throttle response to meet demanding situations? Check.

Option of rear-wheel or all-wheel drive, V6 or V8 power? Check.

Plenty of standard safety features? Check.

Abundant leather and real wood interior trim? Check.

Enough gadgets and gizmos to satisfy all the but the geekiest of geeks? Check.

Smooth, quiet ride with plenty of passenger room? Check.

Nice touches like a hands-free trunk opener and three-zone climate control? Check.

Complimentary maintenance and service valet? Check.

A car you’ll be proud to have sitting in your driveway and taking to the country club? Check.

An MSRP approaching six figures when options are added in? Well, you can’t have everything.

With a base price of $69,325 including the $975 destination and delivery fee, the Genesis G90 isn’t cheap by any means, but it is a bargain when put up against other imports from Asia and Europe. Is it worth $10,000 or more to you, some times much more considering the long list of standard features on the Genesis, to have the brand cachet of a German import?

If so, more power to you. But if you are more interested in product than image, the Genesis G90 offers everything you might desire.

Buy the way, it no longer is the Hyundai Genesis. The company broke it out as its own brand, similar to how Toyota has its Lexus luxury division, Honda its Acura, and Nissan its Infiniti, in November 2015.

I spent my week in the Genesis RWD 3.3T Premium model, one of two powertrains and trims offered for 2018. With 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque coming to its rear wheels from its 3.3-liter, twin-turbo V6, I found this G90 packed plenty of punch for everyday challenges. But you still might want to check out the 5.0 Ultimate edition with a  V8 rated at 420 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque.

Both engines are mated with an 8-speed automatic transmission that can be manually shifted via steering wheel-mounted paddles, and Intelligent Drive Mode allows for setting in four modes — ECO, Smart, Sport, and Individual — to adjust the transmission, throttle responsiveness, suspension, steering and stability control to your liking.

About the only complaint here would be in fuel consumption. The G90 3.3T is rated at 17 miles-per-gallon city, 24 highway, and 20 combined, which puts it at the low end among its competitors. But you can buy a lot of gas with the money you’re saving, even at premium prices!

The G90 looks the part of a luxury car from the outside, and that impression is carried over to the inside. The standard Nappa leather seats coddle you in comfort — they are heated and ventilated — and are adjustable 22 ways for the driver, 16 for the front-seat passenger. If you can’t find a comfortable driving position with that many settings, perhaps you should hire a chauffeur.

Legroom is a generous 46.3 inches in front and a comfortable 37.8 inches for those in back.

Those in the back also get their own fold-down console with its own controls to adjust the A/C, for example, or the new rear-seat entertainment system (available only on the 5.0 Ultimate model).

The 12.3-inch display screen for the navigation system is incorporated nicely into the flow of the dash, not sticking up in the middle as seems to be common on many competing models.  The size makes for easy viewing in split-screen mode.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not offered, but there is a front-seat wireless charging port and USB ports in the rear.

Safety features such as lane-departure warning and lane-keeping assist, adaptable cruise control, electronic parking brake with auto hold, blind spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert, and a multi-view camera are standard as are front and rear parking sensors and rain-sensing wipers.

Push-button start and head-up display? Of course!

The only extra you’re going to pay for over the MSRP would be the $2,500 for all-wheel drive over the standard RWD. That makes the most expensive Genesis G90 the 5.0 Ultimate AWD model for $74,350. The AWD 3.3T carries an MSRP of $70,850, the RWD 5.0 Ultimate $71,850.

What I liked about the 2018 Genesis G90 3.3T: I loved the big screen and the way it has been placed in the dash. The technology itself is very user-friendly and easy to understand.

What I didn’t like about the 2018 Genesis G90 3.3T: The trunk could be bigger. Cargo volume is listed as only 15.7 cubic feet, which is not a whole lot more than you may find on some midsize luxury sedans.

Would I buy the 2018 Genesis G90 3.3T? Yes, but I’d be tempted to check out the V8 version first.

GENESIS G90 A TRUE LUXURY VEHICLE,

BUT DON’T CALL IT A ‘HYUNDAI GENESIS’

It wasn’t all that long ago that the idea of vehicle coming out of a Hyundai plant carrying a price tag of over $70,000 was as farfetched as the notion of self-driving and flying cars.

Well, today self-driving cars are, if not around the corner, getting closer, Uber has asked a NASA engineer to do research on flying cars, and Hyundai indeed has on the market a sedan that is very worthy of such a lofty price tag.

It’s the Genesis G90, and don’t make the mistake of calling it a “Hyundai Genesis G90.”

The South Korean company has made the Genesis marque its own separate luxury brand, pretty much like other Asian automakers such as Toyota with Lexus, Honda with Acura, and Nissan with Infiniti have done.

The 2017 G90 serves as the flagship sedan of the burgeoning Genesis lineup, the larger of the two models currently offered. The G90 essentially is a new version of what was once the Hyundai Equus, the company’s first luxury entrant in the U.S. The G80 takes over what was the 2016 Hyundai Genesis sedan.

The G90 is offered in two versions with the 3.3T Premium coming with a 3.3-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine for a base price of $69,050 (with the $950 destination and delivery added in) and the 5.0 Ultimate featuring a 5.0-liter turbo V8 checking in at $70,650. That’s for the rear-wheel-drive versions. Available AWD adds $2,500.

The G90 for my test drive was the Ultimate trim with RWD and came with a long list of standard equipment, like a full-color heads-up display for speed and navigation display, a navigation system with a 12.3-inch screen, multi-view camera, blind-spot detection, front and rear park assist, lane-keep assist, surround sound audio system, wireless device charger, Nappa leather throughout, a suede headliner, three-zone climate control, sunroof, and acoustic laminated windows.

The driver’s seat on the G90 Ultimate is power adjustable 22 ways, the front passenger seat 16 ways, the right rear passenger 14 ways, and the left passenger seat 12 ways. All are heated and ventilated. Even the Princess and the Pea would be comfortable in these seats.

You can adjust interior ambient lighting to your liking, and lamps mounted in the exterior side mirrors illuminate the ground as you approach the vehicle.

In other words, the G90 Ultimate with its V8 power offers all the luxury of a top-of-the-line luxury vehicle, including the traditional leaders from Europe but for much less money (competitors check in around $20,000 higher and that’s before you start adding option packages) and is only slightly more than the V6.

Frankly, though I haven’t driven the V6, I’d have to say the V8 is worth it. It is rated at 420 horsepower with 383 pound-feet of torque available. It does drink premium fuel, but does so at a rate of only 16 miles-per-gallon city, 24 highway, and 19 combined, only a mile-per-gallon off that of the V6 with its 365 hp and 376 lb.-ft. of torque. An 8-speed transmission is common throughout the lineup. It is shiftable via steering wheel-mounted paddles, though, quite frankly, I never bothered.

You can set the G90 in one of four different driving modes: Eco for fuel saving, Smart for normal conditions, Sport for a more dynamic performance, or Individual, for customized settings. In any setting, you get a pleasant driving experience with the kind of throttle response, quietness, and smoothness expected — no, make that demanded — of the class. Why shift when the car adapts to your own style so readily?

Passenger comfort is A-plus as the G90’s suspension makes the car virtually glide over bumps or railroad tracks but without a mushy feel. I drove it mostly in Sport mode with its firmer suspension setting and heard no complaints from the right side. In fact, just the opposite.

At least for now, you won’t find standalone dealerships for the Genesis but there are separate showrooms in Hyundai dealer facilities. Customer-driven programs for Genesis buyers include valet service appointments (with a complimentary courtesy car), complimentary scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles and Genesis Connected Services for three years or 36,000 miles. Connected Services includes such cloud-connected features as Destination Search Powered by Google, remote door lock/unlock, car finder and stolen vehicle recovery, among other things.

In other words, typical features of what luxury shoppers/buyers expect these days.

What I liked about the 2017 Genesis G90: I didn’t get into all the technology that comes with the G90, but it’s considerable. The good thing about is that basic systems, like nav and audio, are very intuitive to operate. If it doesn’t develop something from scratch, Hyundai seems to have the knack of taking the best features of the techno stuff its competitors offer and dumbing it down so you don’t need to dive into the owner’s manual to get it to work.

What I didn’t like about the 2017 Genesis G90: The nav system, while pretty easy to set up, wanted to take me on a strange route to at least one destination I inputted. I knew the general area where I wanted to go, but needed the final turns outlined for me. I thought the system was having me avoid tolls, but the settings didn’t require that so I don’t know where it would have taken me. But it would have been longer. Also, the wood trim, though real, has a plastic look about it.

Would I buy the 2017 Genesis G90? Yes. Unless you are a brand snob and just have to have a European import, there’s no reason to skip over the Genesis.