two thousand fifteen Hyundai Genesis Review
The Car Connection Experienced Review
- Excellent powertrains
- All-wheel drive now an option
- Competitive active-safety features
- Comely exterior fits right in with the lux set
- Phenomenal value, if you don’t place too much on the badge
- V-8 doesn’t feel as quick as it should be
- Rear seats don’t fold
- Still not a cohesive design
True to its name, the Hyundai Genesis has been the begin of something entirely fresh at Hyundai. And now with the two thousand fifteen Hyundai Genesis—the begin of a 2nd generation of this model—the automaker looks ready to dive in with even higher luxury-car ambition.
That said, both its badge and its pricing proceed to distance it from most other luxury cars that it rightly rivals.
With the original Genesis launch for 2009, the South Korean automaker attempted a true luxury car, but smartly without the daunting bill of establishing an entirely fresh brand, or dealership network, around it. While we can’t call that first-generation Genesis a sales champ (it did, after all land with unfortunate timing for the U.S.), it’s undoubtedly raised the bar for the brand, and established Hyundai as a legitimate luxury player—on an Acura level, of not yet Mercedes.
And this time, with revamped infotainment gear, more refined finishes, and a utter suite of active-safety features on offer—and a base price under $40,000—the Hyundai Genesis might just cause those champagne glasses to quake a bit.
The first-generation Genesis had a pleasurably anodyne assets, with just a few flares of South Korean style in its grille and secondary controls. The two thousand fifteen Genesis goes out of its way to blur even those touches, adopting a fresh roofline and grille that are striking in combination. The grille’s grown up, down, and out in a form that bears more than a passing resemblance to VW and Audi noses; the winged Genesis badge could be on a Bentley. Down the side, and especially from the rear quarters, the passing references to BMWs are unmistakeable. There may be nothing fresh under the sun, but at least the interpretation of global design cues works well on the fresh Genesis, putting some good distance inbetween the fresh car and the 2009-2014 edition.
Inwards, the Genesis is plain and feels more like it has its own identity. The dash has a horizontal, shelf-like orientation, and a superb layout that’s attractive yet sensible, with the navigation and infotainment screen up high at the middle, and a visually satisfying combination of extensive wood trim facing the passenger with a gently curved, soft dash top.
Hyundai carries over the powertrains from the prior Genesis for the two thousand fifteen model year, with tweaks to improve fuel economy and spectacle, but has enlisted some high-wattage experts to help tune the sedan’s treating. And the resulting redesigned model offers strong spectacle, with a more nuanced driving behavior than before. As for whether the two thousand fifteen Genesis has what you need in a large luxury sedan, it’s a matter of wants and needs. If most of your driving is on straight boulevards and freeways, the Genesis has all the spectacle you’ll need—with an ideal mix of convenience mixed in, without ever feeling wallowy. Only if you regularly need to head over a mountain pass or along a canyon road will you understand (and care) that this undoubtedly isn’t a sport sedan.
The base engine remains a Three.8-liter V-6, now rated at three hundred eleven horsepower and two hundred ninety three pound-feet of torque; the Five.0-liter V-8 version puts out four hundred twenty hp and three hundred eighty three lb-ft; they’re both teamed to the same eight-speed automatic with spanking paddle shifters, and they integrate a four-mode system (Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow) that tailors shift quality, throttle response, and stability control to the driver’s taste. The fatter news is in traction. After rolling through the very first five years as a rear-drive sedan, the Genesis adds all-wheel drive for 2015. The fresh system can vary the split of torque from the rear to the front wheels as traction needs arise, and Hyundai says it adds only about one hundred sixty five lb to the car’s weight. The down side is that it does lower gas mileage, fairly significantly.
The two thousand fifteen Hyundai Genesis has a nicely tuned rear-wheel-drive architecture, but it’s clearly no sport sedan, and that’s underscored when the road turns tighter and twistier. The Genesis V-6 feels considerably lighter and more responsive than the V-8 models, however—because it’s lighter by more than four hundred pounds. For all versions, there’s a fresh five-link independent suspension front and rear; it has more wheel travel and stiffer construction—and some tuning help from Lotus Engineering. Top Genesis Five.0 Ultimate models have an available Continuous Damping Control (CDC) air suspension that can be toggled from Normal to Sport mode—although we’re not wooed on the worth of this system. What is a pleasant surprise is the Genesis electric-assist, variable-ratio steering.
Across the cabin of the two thousand fifteen Hyundai Genesis, you’ll find amazing materials and top-notch fit and finish. And whether you’ve wielded various vehicles with luxury badges in the past or you’re fresh to luxury cars entirely, you won’t likely find anything missing in the convenience or ambiance.
The two thousand fifteen Hyundai Genesis is very first and foremost a comfort-oriented luxury sedan, and this is just as apparent if you’re in back as if you’re in front. The front seats can be powered in as many as twelve directions, with four-way lumbar adjustment, heating, and ventilation. The rear seats can be heated as well.
The Genesis is built on a rear-wheel-drive platform, and while there might technically be less rear legroom here, but the Genesis feels roomier when it comes down to what matters for adults—getting in and out lightly, and not permanently kneading against the headliner or up with the moonroof housing. Getting in and out is far lighter here than in the front-wheel-drive Hyundai Azera—with no need to duck when getting in and out—and the more upright package and more formal roofline adds up to a cabin that feels airier inwards. It’s also amazingly quiet inwards.
Safety ratings, with five starlets from the feds and Top Safety Pick+ status from the IIHS, are top-notch all around; but in addition to nine standard airbags (with the addition of a driver’s knee bag for 2015), the Genesis includes high-beam assist, a rearview camera system, and front and rear parking assistance. There’s also a suite of active-safety features that might help avoid vehicles in your blind spot, and other systems will actually help keep you within lane boundaries—and actually make mild steering corrections to keep you in your lane of travel. For many of these features, you’ll also get haptic feedback (a stimulation warning you of hazards); the Genesis is the very first Hyundai to suggest such a feature.
Those who are fresh to luxury cars and premium brands are often shocked to find that it’s effortless to add ems of thousands of dollars to the bottom-line sticker price—often just to get some of the features that you might assume to be included in a luxury model. That’s not the case with the two thousand fifteen Hyundai Genesis, which at $38,950 includes a long list of features like rain-sensing wipers, a rearview camera system, and an eight-inch touch-screen system with navigation. All-wheel-drive models slot in at just $Two,500 more and include heated rear seats, a heated steering wheel, and headlamp washers, too. Genesis Five.0 (V-8) models embark with all that as standard, and add LED fog lamps, larger 19-inch wheels, quad harass tips, illuminated door sill plates, and matte-finish wood and aluminum trim.
On either Three.8 (V-6) or Five.0 (V-8) models, the Ultimate package adds a climate-control CO2 sensor, a power trunklid (with a neat proximity-sensing activation that doesn’t require flapping your foot), premium navigation with an upgraded display, the head-up display, Lexicon 17-speaker audio, and for the Trio.8, the matte-finish wood and aluminum trim.
Hyundai’s second-generation Blue Link telematics system has its debut in the two thousand fifteen Genesis sedan. Fresh features include integration with Google Glass; Google Destination Search; remote commence; and a fresh system of notifications that reminds drivers to warm their car in warm weather, or gives recommended departure times for a destination entered into the navigation system by smartphone app.