New Korean cat prowls among pricier pigeons.
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- What’s best: Like all Genesis models, gorgeous inside and out; excellent performance; as refined and capable as cars costing tens of thousands more.
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- What’s worst: automatic shift quadrant just dumb, bordering on dangerous.
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- What’s interesting: Can an intriguing new retail concept help this terrific new car earn the success it so richly deserves?
MONT-TREMBLANT, QUE.—Genesis, the up-scale brand from Hyundai, has just announced the third sedan in its lineup, the compact G70, now available starting at $42,000.
To stretch a metaphor well beyond the breaking point, the G70 puts a Korean cat among the largely German and Japanese pigeons. Yes, it is that good.
The G70 shares many of the oily bits with its corporate cousin, the Kia Stinger — the 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6, the eight-speed automatic, basic structural and suspension hardware — on a slightly shorter platform, by 70 millimetres in wheelbase and 145 mm overall.
It is a stylish, beautifully executed car that’s a whole lot better than you could imagine a Korean car could be.
At least part of that is due to the fact much of the brainpower behind this car is European. Peter Schreyer, president of the Hyundai/Kia/Genesis conglomerate — effectively, the Korean car industry — is an ex-Audi designer. Albert Biermann, recently promoted to president of Hyundai and the company’s lead engineer, was formerly head of BMW’s M Division. Chief ink thrower/pixel manipulator Luc Donckerwolke, of Belgian descent although he was born in Peru, spent many years with various branches of the massive Volkswagen group, including stints at Bentley and Lamborghini.
They all agree though that the local Korean talent was already there. All they needed from the Europeans was “a different orchestra leader” as Biermann put it to me last year, to apply their talents to reward a more discerning driver.
Man, did they succeed.
The Genesis is no race car. But Genesis Canada brought us to this former Grand Prix circuit so we could see how good the car really could be when pushed to (or in the case of one of my colleagues, beyond) its limits.
So, what makes it so good? Pretty much everything.
The first thing you will notice is how rich everything looks. The fabrics and the hard bits all appear several cuts above the price level.
The dash appears a trifle busy at first glance, with a big touch screen and a slew of proper round knobs for most functions. But recent research shows that most people only typically interact with about five controls on their car; the rest they ignore. G70 gives you your choice, so good on them. Once used to the layout, everything is within easy reach, and equally easy to work.
The head-up display is there for those who like it. Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and the usual host of nanny systems are all there or available. Killer sound system, too.
One major beef is the automatic transmission shift quadrant. Having the Park function as a separate push button ahead of the shift quadrant is just stupid. And yes, it’s just as stupid in Mercedes and other cars that do this awful thing. It buys you nothing and could be dangerous.
G70 offers decent room for four; and five isn’t beyond the pale. Nice roomy trunk as well.
Two engines, the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo (252 horsepower, 260 lb.-ft. of torque) and the aforementioned V6 (365/376), provide lots of go.
Hyundai’s own eight-speed automatic tames the power, and I found it shifted well, either by itself or in response to manual massaging of the steering wheel shift paddles.
The 2.0-litre Sport model is available with a six-speed manual and rear-wheel drive. I don’t know how many customers in this snack bracket will actually opt for this configuration, but it is an entertaining car to drive. Now if only they offered the stick with the V6.
The other trims are all full-time four-wheel drive but with a rear-axle bias for sportier handling. Speaking of which, the car’s handling borders on brilliant, with light but accurate steering, loads of grip and excellent precision. This starts, as it always does, with a very stiff structure.
Michelin tires throughout, with Primacy all-seasons on Advanced, Elite and Dynamic trim levels and Pilot Sport 4 summer tires on the Sport and Prestige trims.
Ride quality is difficult to evaluate on a smooth race track, but a short jaunt on the messed-up rural roads in the neighbourhood proved that they’ve pretty much nailed this, too.
Perhaps needless to say, the V6 is quicker, with torque coming on strong early on and staying with you until you’re done.
You can tailor the car’s behaviour to your taste or mood, modifying throttle response, steering effort and four-wheel-drive traction distribution (if equipped).
On the 3.3-litre Sport, you also get adaptive dampers, which continually adjust firmness to accommodate your driving style.
I’ve barely touched on all the features of this brilliant car. So, where can you buy one? There’s the rub.
Hyundai wanted to offer a premium car acquisition experience for this upscale brand, but also knew that dealers were not going to invest the millions of dollars a modern new car showroom takes for the limited number of cars they could hope to sell, at least initially.
So ex-GM Canada executive Mike Ricciuto, brand director for Genesis Canada, came up with a new so-far-Canada-only approach whereby they will have retail outlets in high-end shopping malls like Square One in Mississauga, where you can see the cars, arrange a test drive, select model, trim, colour, etc.
The car can be delivered to your home, and picked up for service as needed. This will be carried out at Hyundai dealerships, but you as a customer won’t ever have to go near one.
The cars are all fixed-price — choose your model, that’s the price, no haggling. It also includes five years of scheduled maintenance.
How will customers react? If Genesis nails this, could this mean the end of the car sales paradigm as we know it? Only time will tell.
Any way you slice it, you will end up with an outstanding car that is every bit as good, if not better, than the fabled German, Japanese or even domestic marques that have owned this segment pretty much forever.
2019 Genesis G70
Price: $42,000 (Advanced 2.0L 4WD auto); $45,500 (Sport 2.0L RWD manual); $47,000 (Elite 2.0L 4WD auto); $52,000 (Prestige 2.0L 4WD auto); $52,000 (Dynamic 3.3L 4WD auto); $57,500 (Sport 3.3L 4WD auto).
Engines: 2.0-litre all-aluminum inline 4-cylinder turbo; 3.3-litre all-aluminum V6 twin-turbo.
Power/torque: 4 cylinder: 252 hp/260 lb.-ft.; V6: 365 hp/376 lb.-ft.
Transmission: Sport 2.0 litre: six-speed manual; all others: 8-speed automatic with paddle shifters.
Fuel consumption L/100 km: 2.0L M6: 12.8 city/8.5 hwy.; 2.0L A8: 11.5 city/8.7 hwy.; 3.3L A8: 13.3 city/9.5 hwy. Premium fuel.
Competition: Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
Keyword: First Drive: 2019 Genesis G70