2019 Genesis G90 review: Rear-view mirror

2018 – Drive takes a look at the Korean brand's first push into the upper luxury space with the Genesis G90. Back in 2018, the long-wheelbase limo was a chance for the Australian market – writes Andrew Chesterton

Never heard of Genesis?

Don’t worry, you’re hardly on an island there. Hyundai's fledgling premium arm is yet to make much of a splash in Australia; falling feathers have created bigger waves.

But that could all be about to change.

Conceived as Hyundai’s answer to BMW and Mercedes, the Korean brand’s premium division will cease being Hyundai Genesis and launch as a proper standalone brand in Australia toward the end of the year. And that means its own showrooms, its own sales staff and a significant cash injection to help put it on the premium-car map.

And this, the G90 sedan, is its flagship. The BMW 7 Series of the Genesis range, for example. Or the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

So with our newest car brand “potentially” launching the G90 into its premium-car battle in Australia, hot on the heels of the smaller G70 sedan and mid-sized G80, it seemed the perfect time to take one for a spin.

It all depends on where you like to sit. If the answer is behind a gentleman in a peaked chauffeur’s cap, then the G90 has been designed just for you. The back seat is spacious and luxuriously appointed, the cabin is serene and quiet, and it feels every inch the premium space to lounge in.

Back seat aside, though, the G90 is a big and spacious sedan, and it will happily perform as a pretty practical family car, or as a comfortable traffic-jam warrior. 

It’s all about context. If you’re shopping for something to replace your worn-out i30, then the answer, sadly, is no. But if you’re in the market for a full-size premium sedan, and you were to cross-shop the G90 against any of the German brands, you’ll find the Genesis refreshingly affordable.

Hyundai is under no illusions about just how steep the hill it’ll have to climb is if it wants to make a dent in the premium segment, and so has made no secret of the fact every Genesis will be priced below the obvious competition, including the G90.

Or, in the words of one senior executive in Australia: "Obviously we will not command any form of price premium for some time – if ever – as a fast-follower and a brand that’s yet to prove its credentials".

So while pricing is yet to be confirmed for the brand’s flagship sedan, expect it to look something of a bargain compared to a 7 Series or S-Class.

Lots, which is pretty great. With Genesis Australia yet to confirm local availability, a glance at our American cousins gives us a bit of a hint about what to expect.

In the States, even the cheapest G90 arrives with full LED headlights that turn around corners before you do, a powered boot, 19-inch alloys and acoustic glass. Inside, heated seats front and rear and three-zone climate are standard, and so does a 12.3-inch touchscreen with nav, pairing with a 17-speaker stereo and a wireless charging pad for your phone.

Premium-touch niceties like self-latching doors and puddle lighting abound too.

The Genesis ownership package is surely going to end up looking pretty damn tempting. For one, its five-year warranty puts most premium brands to shame, and Genesis will be offering free servicing throughout.

Better still, Genesis is working on an after-sales program that will likely include a pick-up and drop-off service when your scheduled maintenance is due, so you need never darken a dealership’s door again.

Time will tell, I suppose. The original Genesis sedan that launched a few years ago has been hugely popular with hire car operators, which count on having a reliable ride for their livelihood, so that's a good sign.

Neither the updated G80 nor smaller G70 have arrived in Australia yet, and so there’s little more in the way of anecdotal evidence surrounding quality. But Hyundais more generally have a cracking reputation for both reliability and after-sales care, and there really is little reason to expect the G90 to be any different.

Australian cars will likely arrive from Hyundai’s Ulsan manufacturing facility in South Korea.

There’s no screaming headline act here. It’s more a collection of things, all of which add up to a feeling of well-equipped quality that makes the Genesis G90 feel far, far removed from its more humble Hyundai origins.

We’d love to point to some exciting new technology or fancy gadget, but the thing that will really make a difference to your ownership experience is a five-year warranty with free servicing. That’s the dollars in your pocket stuff you’ll notice.

It’s a full-size product in every way, stretching 5205mm in length, 1915mm in width and 1495mm in height, and riding on a 3160mm wheelbase. To put those numbers into perspective, that is longer, wider and taller than a BMW 7 Series.

So, plenty of car, then. And that means plenty of space inside. The legroom in the back seat is especially gargantuan, and can be extended further by sliding the passenger seat forward via easy-reach controls on the side of the seat.

Very, actually. Nappa leather seats are a standard fit, and the back seat especially is a soft and sumptuous space you’ll happily sink into to forget the stresses of the outside world.

The two outer rear seats are separated by a wood-trimmed armrest-cum-control centre, home to climate options, entertainment controls and plenty more, while the base of the seat can be slid forward allowing for plenty of options to get comfy. The system is not quite so impressive as the business-class vibe of the S-Class or 7 Series (what with their unfolding footrests and the like), but it’s a plenty comfy space.

There are big doors at both ends, making it easy to access no matter whether you're jumping behind the wheel or behind the driver.

Plenty of one, not much of the other. As mentioned above, the G90 is no pint-sized performer. It’s huge, in fact, and those stretched exterior dimensions make for more space inside. 

But versatile? Not so much. This is very much a 'what it says on the tin' deal; the G90 is made for carrying people in comfort on sealed roads, not for towing caravans, carrying roof-racked canoes or moving house. The boot, for example, serves up a shopping-swallowing 484L of space, but the rear seats don’t fold flat, so long and bulky items are out of the question.

Cracking, actually. We drove a variant powered by a smooth twin-turbocharged 3.3-litre V6 that’s good for 268kW and 510Nm. It pairs with an eight-speed automatic that feeds the rear wheels (or all four, should you spring for it).

Its sheer size pretty much rules out the G90 ever feeling overly sporty, but the engine is potent enough to make propulsion feel admirably effortless, though it can feel and sound a little gruff under flat-footed acceleration.

Well, Genesis locally is yet to release official figures here, but some international sleuthing has turned up a range of between 11.5 to 11.8L/100km on the combined cycle, and emissions of between 203 and 211g/km of CO2.

'Is it enjoyable to be driven in?' would be more to the point. Korea is by far the biggest market for Genesis, and it likely always will be, and senior staff have told us that the vast majority of G90 shoppers buy the flagship sedan solely for the cosseting nature of its back seat.

Predictably, then, the back seat is a very comfortable space to while away the hours. The pews are spacious and comfortable, and while it doesn’t quite have the business-class feel of the BMW 7 Series, the electronic adjustments ensure there are plenty of ways to get comfortable. 

More impressive, though, is the silky smoothness of the drive experience. The gearbox especially is near impossible to notice changing cogs, and provided the driver isn’t too enthusiastic with the accelerator, the effortless power of the twin-turbo engine allows for plenty of gentle wafting between destinations. The cabin is commendably quiet, too, with the bulk of the outside world locked away, provided the driver isn’t too exuberant with the accelerator.

In Australia, however, Genesis will encounter a different beast altogether. Ours is not a nation of chauffeured cars and back-seat riders, so if the G90 is to impress here, it will have to be on the perks of the driver’s seat.

And while it’s hard to make something quite so big as the G90 feel lithe and sporting, our (very) limited test drive revealed a willing engine, a capable gearbox and steering that, while a little spongey, provided enough confidence that the G90 was going to end up where you expected it to.

If you’re in the market for a driver’s car, the performance-fettled G70 sedan is going to be more your bag, but for day-to-day cruising, the G90 appears to tick all the relevant boxes.

Full judgement, though, will need to be reserved until we can spend a little more wheel (or back seat) time with it in Australia. 

And then some. We said at the international launch of the G70 last year that Genesis doesn’t feel like a fledgling brand trying its hand at premium for the very first time, and the same can be said of the G90. 

Still, ask Lexus just how long it can take to gain a foothold in the Aussie premium market (or ask Infiniti, for that matter). 

A challenging road ahead for Genesis, then. But at least you can tackle it in comfort.

As time would show, the Genesis G90 never made it to Australia, with the range topping out at the G80.

Would you have been interested if it did? Let us know in the comments below.