New Hyundai Genesis debuts in Korea

The second generation Hyundai Genesis – a luxury saloon car – has debuted in Korea ahead of an appearance at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2014.

For the UK, the Hyundai Genesis isn’t a car you can buy. But in the US, and Hyundai’s home market, the first generation of Hyundai’s large luxury saloon has been around for five years, offering a Korean take on luxury cars from Japan.

But now, with the arrival of the second generation Hyundai Genesis, revealed in Korea yesterday ahead of a more public debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January, Hyundai look set to make the Genesis a world model, and the UK looks set to get it too.

Slightly bigger than the BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XF and Lexus GS, the new Genesis is unlikely to offer competition for the sporting saloons from Jaguar and the Germans, but it could make a sensible play for buyers who may otherwise look at products from Lexus or Infiniti.

With Hyundai’s Fluidic 2 design language making its arrival with flowing lines and an Audi-like grill, the new Genesis looks expensive, if not overtly sporty, with Hyundai focusing on offering comfort rather than a stiff sporty setup.

That said, the Genesis does get a Sport mode that firms things up, and with the choice of at least a 3.8 litre V6 with 333bhp and 5.0 litre V8 with 430bhp, the Genesis should be swift enough, particularly in a straight line, and revised, fully independent, suspension with electronic control together with a increased stiffness will help keep the Genesis behaving.

Although standard spec is RWD, there will also be the option of Hyundai’s HTRAC 4WD, which will help with traction and with sales in colder regions. Both the RWD and 4WD Genesis comes with an eight-speed auto box as standard.

Inside, the cabin looks to be decent quality and Hyundai have worked on NVH levels to keep everything peaceful, as well as throwing in lots of new tech like lane departure warning, lane keep assist, smart parking, bi-functional HID headlights, LED indicators and LED rear lights.

Hyundai may need to promote Genesis as a ‘sub-brand’ to get traction in the UK, but their mainstream cars are now very credible and the Genesis makes a sensible route to launch upmarket Hyundais. After all, the Japanese managed it with Lexus and Infiniti.

The new Hyundai Genesis will debut in January 2014 at the Detroit Auto Show, and Hyundai are planning to start RHD production of the Genesis later in 2014.