Hyundai’s Genesis takes on luxury rivals

When most of us think rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan we think of the usual German suspects. But Hyundai plans to shake things up a bit with the debut of the 2009 Hyundai Genesis at the Detroit Motor Show next week. It’s expected that the Korean-made Genesis will hit the US sometime later this year with a price tag that stays below the magic $30,000 mark.

Don’t be quick to write off the Genesis just because it’s a Hyundai - Hyundais of recent times often have features that seem impossible for their relatively tiny price tags. The Genesis will offer features found only in the top of the line German marques as options - active front head restraints, stability control, 8 airbags, heated/cooled seats, adaptive headlamps, a navigation system, satellite radio and many others. There isn’t much word on the interior but according to Hyundai cabin space is larger than an E-class and a BMW 7-series and can even boast a leather dashboard.

From the outside, the car looks very un-Hyundai like and if you didn’t see the badge you might be forgiven for thinking it was something a little more expensive. Its clean lines and new grill give us an idea of Hyundai’s new design direction, and most significant of all is the lack of a Hyundai badge on the front. This suggests to us that even Hyundai is aware of the brand snobbery it is likely to suffer at the hands of fickle customers.

The Genesis will come in sedan form first and then later as a coupe, with a choice of three engines ranging from the 3.3L to a 4.6L Tau V8, as well as a 3.8L model in the middle. The V8 will put out around 368hp and 440Nm (324lb.ft.) of torque through a ZF 6-speed auto, while the V6 models will be stuck with Aisin 6-speed autos. With almost 370hp, Hyundai expects the top of the line model to hit 60 miles in well under 6 seconds although at this point no one has tested this figure.

Ultimately, its major German competitors are priced $20,000 to $50,000 more than the Genesis, and the idea of a budget luxury car seems almost contradictory to many people so only time will tell if this was a smart move from Hyundai and whether the budget-luxury segment can carve a larger market share for itself.