It takes a lot to impress us, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get excited from time to time about a new engine or when an inexpensive vehicle is actually a hoot to drive. We like digging into which car companies are best at building a vehicle within a certain price range. “Who builds the best $30,000 car?” is a question that's hard to answer because everyone defines "best" differently. The challenge gets harder in the luxury space because the vehicles have more amenities to evaluate and vastly different standards.There's a hierarchy of luxury among high-end brands. Genesis set up shop just ten years ago, slotting at the cheaper end of the market, with hopes of bringing something from the other end to its vehicles. Bentley is, and always has been, Bentley, appealing to buyers seeking the pinnacle of automotive luxury. Old Money Vs. New Luxury BentleyWhen Hyundai split Genesis off as its own luxury brand in 2015, Luc Donkerwolke joined soon after as Chief Creative Officer of Hyundai and Chief Brand Officer at Genesis. Hailing from the Volkswagen Group, Donkerwolke penned the Lamborghini Murciélago and Gallardo, as well as the refreshed Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur. And thus, our point is slowly taking form.GenesisLooks aren’t everything, and it takes a lot more than how the sheet metal is sculpted to put a price on a car. To differentiate itself from Hyundai, Genesis offers exclusive interior treatments and unique powertrain tunes. Meanwhile, Bentley wraps occupants in some of the finest materials available and gets them down the road with effortless power. These two play at two ends of the spectrum, but can one really feel like better value than the other? Genesis vs. Bentley: The Value Wars GenesisObviously, neither of these marques is a value brand. But what we’re trying to assess is which does the best at building a car for its price. If you’re about to spend a chunk of change on a sedan, you should be considering what your money gets you and how much of it you need to spend to get one. This sort of thinking rarely occurs in the luxury space, but applying a lens to this market reveals which automaker, regardless of price, delivers the best possible product.BentleySo that we’re not too far off from comparing apples to oranges, let’s use each brand’s executive limousine as a comparison. Genesis builds the G90 sedan with a starting MSRP of $92,700. Bentley has the four-door version of the Continental GT called the Flying Spur, which starts at $254,850.At nearly three times the price, is Bentley selling three times the car? The easy thing to do would be to yell “Yes!” but it’s just not that simple. You can get your money's worth from each, but it's hard to tell which one is worth its weight in gold. What Your Money Buys GenesisMost of the time, when it comes to luxury cars, your money goes into the process and the experience of buying your car. Sure, some of that money goes to the car itself, but something has to pay for the $25,000 espresso machine in the dealer's waiting area.In the G90, all that money is going into the car. You get similarly elegant styling for under $100,000, not to mention a surprising breadth of materials inside. You also get one of the quietest cabins at this price point, plus luxury features straight from the best, like a reclining rear seat, auto-closing rear doors, and active noise cancellation. Only the pickiest of passengers will take notice of the differences in seat comfort in the back, but legroom is down nearly 4.0 inches in the G90 from the Flying Spur's 42.9 inches.It's more in-line to compete akin to the original Lexus LS, because the G90 leaves us impressed with its upmarket aspirations, providing one of the best vehicles you can buy for $100,000. Paired with tech, such as its road-sensing suspension system that mitigates potholes, it doesn't feel ancient like the current LS does, placing it that much higher in our eyes.As for Bentley, the investment goes into what you see and what you hear. A sultry, lounge-like cabin pairs with the thrust of a powertrain that feels capable of spinning the Earth. Plus, buyers have a wide array of paints, finishes, interior leather colors, and upholstery patterns to pick from. Countless materials can make up the dashboard, too, and a customer can even choose how thick they want the sheep’s wool carpet to be.BentleyWhile the G90 costs about a third of the Flying Spur, it's still a wonderful way to get around despite the Bentley still being one of the best there is. Genesis is serious about being a competitive player in the luxury segment. The company hired Albert Biermann from BMW’s M division to perfect chassis dynamics and engine performance (and give Hyundai its fantastic sports cars). Former Lamborghini executive Manfred Fitzgerald stepped in as the executive vice president and global head of the Genesis brand, too. Together, they created a fleet of products capable of punching far above their weight. Could Genesis Really Compete with Bentley? GenesisThere’s a way to make the best meal with inexpensive ingredients. Hyundai perfected this ability when it started making cars, and Genesis has brought some of the ethos to the premium segment. Genesis can offer nearly everything the Bentley does, for a fraction of the price. The Flying Spur is quieter, faster, and even more luxurious, but the G90 offers a strong baseline for those qualities.In the context of wealthy buyers who value quality over nearly all else, Genesis is a young brand with high aspirations, catching the eyes of many as it takes on the luxury market as a whole. Bentley is a storied brand that certainly has years to come before it's lost to time, but only so many companies can survive based on perfecting a recipe and passing down tradition before new chefs need to be hired to change the flavor profile.Since Genesis has absolutely no history, it can do whatever it wants. Bentley can only deviate so far from what it’s known for before everyone cries foul about its decisions. Korean value was almost a synonym for “poorly-built” in the 1990s, but it’s blossomed into “built for its price-point.” Granted, that can still mean the former to pessimists among us, but it’s a testament to what a young brand can do to dominate in a competitive market. Genesis can build a wonderful $100,000 car for the price, but Bentley gets to charge whatever they want because, well, it’s a Bentley.It’s fun to spend our imaginary millions as car enthusiasts, but the richest among us who are not enthusiasts tend to be a bit more frugal than we think them to be. Warren Buffett has kept a steady diet of Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, not to mention driving 10-year-old Cadillac sedans. Worth a cool $166 billion, Buffett still reportedly rolls around in a gold Cadillac XTS. The Warren Buffett’s of the decades to come who follow this logic won’t be frequenting Bentley dealerships, but they might be bargain shopping in the premium segment.Sources:Bentley, Genesis
