Hyundai Genesis : Korea’s E-Class rival launches from $60,000

Hyundai’s new luxury sedan is setting out to challenge the likes of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class with a car that’s not only bigger but features a $60,000 plus on-road costs starting price more like an entry-level luxury sedan.

The company claims the Genesis covers the best parts of the BMW luxury car spectrum, offering the features and refinement of a 7 Series, the dynamics of a 5 Series, with the price tag of a 3 Series.

It’s backing what it calls its most advanced and luxurious car yet with a powerful value card, loading the car with a vast amount of features and throwing five years of free servicing up to 75,000km into the ownership proposition.

Hyundai’s five-year warranty also applies to the Genesis, and the company is planning to introduce a guaranteed buy-back program to reinforce confidence about resale values.

At launch, the Hyundai Genesis will include standard equipment not available on any other car for the same money.

The full list of features for the base model and two option packs can be found at the end of this article, but highlights for the $60,000 Genesis include autonomous emergency braking, multi-speed radar cruise control, auto high beam dipping, lane departure Warning (LDW), hands-free boot access, 9.2-inch touchscreen with satellite navigation, power front seats with heating, leather seating, and a Lexicon 17-speaker audio system.

An $11,000 Sensory Pack adds notable features such as blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, head-up display, around view monitor, premium leather upholstery, power bolster and extendable cushion for the driver’s seat, electric steering wheel adjust, and a CO₂ sensor that will automatically mix fresh and recirculated air to help avoid drowsiness.

Spend $82,000 for the Genesis with Ultimate Pack and key extras are a panoramic glass sunroof, soft-closing doors, ventilated front seats and heated rear seats, noise-reducing acoustic glass and 19-inch alloy wheels.

Every Genesis comes with nine airbags and a pre-crash seatbelt-tightening system, while the big Hyundai was also recently awarded the highest score yet in Australian NCAP crash testing.

There’s just one engine and transmission combination offered with the Hyundai Genesis – a 3.8-litre V6 mated with an in-house eight-speed auto. Both are carried over from the first-generation Genesis that wasn’t sold in Australia.

A V8 is available in left-hand-drive markets where the car is sold, as is an all-wheel-drive system.

The V6 produces 232kW at 6000rpm and 397Nm at 5000rpm, with those outputs distributed to the rear wheels.

The power and torque figures are competitive and give the Genesis a claimed 0-100km/h time of 6.5 seconds.

Official fuel economy of 11.2 litres per 100km doesn’t compare so favourably against German rivals, all of which are well below double figures for consumption.

The Genesis sits on a unique platform in the Hyundai range, featuring multi-link suspension front and rear. Its length is just a centimetre short of five metres, making it 9cm longer than a 5 Series.

A 3010mm wheelbase is one millimetre longer than the distance between the axles of the Holden Caprice. Boot space measures at 493 litres.

Hyundai says it hopes to sell up to 1000 Genesis models a year, forecasting about 70 per cent of sales to be the base model and 20 per cent the Sensory Pack model. Only three competitor models exceeded that number in 2013: 5 Series (1108), E-Class (1451) and Caprice (1113).

The Genesis, however, will also play a crucial role in helping to further lift the overall image of the Hyundai brand in Australia.

Hyundai says most metropolitan dealers will feature the Genesis in showrooms, and rural dealers won’t be forced to take the car.

The company is also phasing in a new showroom set-up.

Hyundai Genesis range

Genesis, $60,000
9 airbags
Autonomous emergency braking
Multi-speed radar cruise control
Auto high beam dipping
Lane departure warning
Pre safety system including front seatbelt pretensioners
Tyre pressure monitoring
Static cornering lights
LED daytime running lights
Rear-view camera with parking guide
Front and rear parking sensors
Leather-appointed interior
9.2-inch Satellite Navigation system
Lexicon 17-speaker premium audio system
Keyless entry and engine start
Dual-zone climate control with auto defog function
12-way Power driver’s and passengers seat
Heated front seats
18-inch alloy wheels
Hands-free electric boot access
Rain-sensing wipers
Rear power blind
4.2-inch LCD Supervision cluster
Puddle lights (Genesis logo illumination) in side mirrors with courtesy lights in door handles
One-touch window up and down function on all windows incorporating anti-pinching safety feature
Interior ambient lighting
Paddleshift levers
Solar control glass

Genesis Sensory Pack, $71,000
Adds…
Blind spot detection
Rear cross traffic alert
Lane change assist
Head-up display
Around-view monitor
Premium leather interior
Driver’s seat memory
Electric steering wheel adjustment
Auto-dimming and auto-dipping side mirrors
CO2 sensor
LED foglights

Genesis Ultimate Pack, $82,000
Adds…
Panoramic sunroof
Soft-closing doors function
Ventilated front seats
Heated rear seats
Noise-reducing acoustic glass
Electrically operated boot lid
7.0-inch LCD instrument display
19-inch alloy wheels
Illuminated front scuff plates with Genesis logo
Rear side window blinds (manual)