Now if you're shopping for a rear-drive V8-powered luxury sedan, then you likely have the Mercedes-Benz E550 and the Lexus GS460 on your shopping list.
Now if you wanted to spend say $20,000 to $30,000 less, you may even look at the Chrysler 300C. But now Hyundai has a new name for you, Genesis. For about the same money as the Chrysler, this sedan gives you levels of luxury and performance more it can to the Lexus and the Mercedes.
Under the hood of this Genesis is a 4.6 liter V8 that puts out 375 horsepower on premium fuel and even 360 on regular. It's made it to a ZF six-speed automatic.
Now with the exterior styling of this Genesis, Hyundai stay conservative. They don't want to go too wild, too crazy, so you have really is a blend accuse from many other luxury sedans.
Up front the grill is reminiscent of that on Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The profile of this Genesis is similar to that of a Lexus LS. It's actually about the same size as well. The trunk line here looks like that on a BMW 7 Series while the rear looks very similar to that on the BMW 5 Series or even an Infiniti M.
Now inside the Genesis, Hyundai has done a great job. Very rich, very beautiful and very soft luxurious leather trim, even a leather wrap dash, real aluminum trim on the center console, this nifty driver information system, very easy to use, much more intuitive than say BMW's iDrive.
There are some really nice luxurious features, a Lexicon sound system; the only other car out there to have this is the Rolls-Royce Phantom. Overall, this Genesis feels much like a Lexus LS inside, about the same size, very similar feel, the look, the leather, all are very similar.
Now out on public roads, this Genesis 4.6 is really a combination of other luxury cars out there. The ride is very smooth; it's very quiet, much like a Lexus. Handling is reminiscent of a Mercedes-Benz E550. It feels light for its size, a good turn in, good grip, and good balance. Yet, it's not quite as sporty as say BMW 550i.
In acceleration, the style 4.6 makes 375 horsepower, a really good acceleration, much like the Chrysler 300C with the HEMI. At a test track, the Genesis did better than Hyundai predicted. It accelerated from 0 to 60 in only 5.5 seconds, two times quicker than they had predicted. It also did the quarter-mile and 14 flap at 103.7 miles per hour.
Braking from 60 to 0, quite good, this car comes with 13-inch front brake rotors and 4 piston calipers. So good brake feel and for 60 miles an hour, it took only 116 feet.
Now in Figure-8 handling tests, the Genesis got quite nice. Stays very flat, it's very well-composed; brakes are very good. You can dive even to the turns and through the turn, about mid turn, it rotated nicely. Unfortunately, the nanny stepped in pretty early, the controls, which affected its exit speed and even through the turn, it was stepped in little too early, little too often, again that kind of hurt it, so not so quick as some of the other luxury cars out there, but overall, quick and felt very nice.
So the big question is, could Hyundai deliver a luxury sedan that drives and feels like a Lexus or Mercedes and costs about as much as a Chrysler 300C? Well, for the most part, the answer is yes. But the Genesis Hyundai is entering new territory. This is the most expensive car that's ever sold here. That said, it defines a new category in the segment. But will people buy it? Time will tell. But what you do know is that whoever does will be getting a great car at an amazing price.
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