2018 Genesis G90 AWD 3.3T Premium |
3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6 (365 hp @ 6000 rpm, 376 lb/ft. @ 1300-4500 rpm) Eight-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive 17 city / 24 highway / 20 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) 21.3 (observed mileage, MPG) 13.7 city / 9.7 highway / 11.9 combined (NRCan Rating, L/100km) Base Price: $71,825 US / $84,131 CAD As Tested: $71,825 US / $84,131 CAD Prices include $975 destination charge in the United States and $131 for freight, PDI, and A/C tax in Canada and, because of cross-border equipment differences, can’t be directly compared. |
Driving my family can be a harried experience. The pair of tween girls in my brood constantly chatter about whatever both to each other and to nobody in particular. Or they’ll be silent save the bleeps and boops of their cell phones or Nintendo 3DS, playing silly games and texting nobody in particular.
Thus, when the kids hopped in the back of this 2018 Genesis G90, I expected more of the same, turning up the stereo in reflexive compensation. But, to my astonishment, the girls became immediately calm — the youngest dozed off quickly en route to Grandma’s house, located just across town. Quieting a hyper 10-year-old — that alone can sell a car to moms and dads everywhere.
Genesis has taken a measured, careful approach to its new luxury line. The styling is demure to the point of being dull — a point driven home by the Himalayan Gray finish found here. It blends in to the parking lot easily. It should age nicely, however. (A 2020 refresh ups the car’s styling game just a bit.)
The interior is nearly perfect. Seats are among the best I’ve ever experienced, with adjustment options for lower cushion length and for upper shoulder rake taking the seats beyond the usual fore/aft, tilt, and height adjusters. The rear seats have rake and height adjustment, as well, and controls for the right rear passenger to adjust the distance to the front passenger seat. For a chauffeured car, I suppose? The kids liked that feature — which, thankfully, can be locked out from the driver’s seat if your kids are similarly mischievous, and will not function if the front seat is occupied.
Take a gander at that center stack — absolutely peppered with buttons. Three broad horizontal rows of matte-finished, metal (probably?) buttons. Follow that with a vertical line of four immediately to the left of the shift lever. While too many cars have had their buttons and knobs replaced with touchscreen functions accessed via layers of menus, this proliferation of indistinguishable protuberances is a little overwhelming. Several of the functions are made redundant by the controls on the steering wheel. I’d rather clean up the dashboard and make the oft-used controls a bit more distinct.
The G90 has one absolutely brilliant feature that will likely only be noticed by a few users: the excellent wireless phone charger. Many cars simply use a flat pad on which one can toss a phone, which works well when stationary. However, cars are best used in motion, which means that phone tends to slide around, causing the wireless charger to lose contact — and thus charging functionality — with the phone. I’ve driven other cars with wireless chargers on road trips, only to find my phone dead on arrival.
The Genesis G90, by contrast, has a covered receptacle just to the right of the shift lever that holds the phone at a roughly 45 degree angle downward. It’s narrow enough to keep the phone from sliding sideways, meaning the phone keeps charging. My phone here is a Samsung Galaxy S7 in an Otterbox case, so it’s possible some newer, larger-screen phones might be a touch too wide to charge. Otherwise, it works beautifully. I’m not saying that I’d buy a seventy-one-thousand-dollar car because of the charger, but it’s a damned good charger.
Driving the Genesis G90 is very nearly what one would expect from a large luxury sedan from one of the established Japanese or German marques, with a couple of minor exceptions that I’ll get to shortly. The ride is sublime, with little to no road or wind noise filtering through to the cabin. Potholes and expansion joints transmit only the faintest thump to the ears and rump. There is absolutely no pretense of sportiness to the handling — everything is refined and reserved.
My two concerns: first, the power delivery is less direct than I’d like. While this same 3.3-liter turbo V6 impresses in smaller cars like the G80 and the Kia Stinger, there is a distinct lag between throttle application and acceleration from both a stop and from cruise as if to pass on a two-lane. Perhaps the shift programming is geared (sorry) more toward the plush, refined feel one expects from a luxury car, but I’d prefer to, you know, go when I tell the car to go. That little extra beat before the call to the engine room is answered is annoying.
Further, there is a minor annoyance that’s felt through the steering wheel at times, mostly when turning at acute angles. The word that best describes it is “growling,” though nothing is audible. It’s a just a very faint grinding feel through the wheel. It’s as if the all-wheel-drive system is causing the tiniest bit of drag, and that drag is being transmitted to the steering wheel. It reminds me of the drag felt when one tries to drive a front-wheel drive performance car fitted with a very tight limited-slip differential. Again, it’s more a minor annoyance than any serious concern, but when the rest of the car drives this well, little things get amplified. I’d have to drive a rear-drive G90 to determine if it’s the AWD system.
[Get new and used Genesis G90 pricing here!]
I generally prefer a smaller car — I just don’t need the room that a big car gives, and I normally like tight driving dynamics. But the serene driving experience offered by the Genesis G90 makes me reconsider my position.
[Images: © 2018 Chris Tonn]
I’ve always been a fan of this car.
I wonder how Genesis would be doing had they not botched their rollout so badly.
2 Points
1- Nice car I m sure. But, also at 2x the price i expected.
2- Pix of the Radio on TTAC. Always tuned to cool XM stations. 1st Wave – top marks.
Beat me to it.
Agree 100% with both points.
No problem, just wait 3 years and it’ll be less than 1/2 price.
I do try and have something different and interesting on the radio when I photograph each test car – thanks for noticing.
Interestingly, 1st Wave is always preset on every car I get out of the Detroit fleets..as well as various classical stations.
Chris
Really? 1st wave is pre programmed on test cars? NEVER would have guessed that less than ‘top hit’ – post punk 80s music would be so popular. Knock me over with a feather.
I know the music- I Spent a lot of time in clubs like ‘Metro Music Cafe’ in Royal Oak.
Another First Wave fan here. I still remember how great the Wave 103 station was in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Life imitating art or the other way around?
Yep, I would have guessed $50-60K @ $72K USD they’ll sell two or three, so that in 3 years you’ll have a nice $39K car
You mean you would have guessed that it would sticker for 50–60 and it would sell in the 40s? Because you can buy a new one for 50-60k after all the rebates and incentives.
Ok, so lots of cash on the hood then? I’d still wait the three years and get it for somewhere in the $30s
$72k is w/ all the bells and whistles.
A loaded E Class is more expensive.
Heck, a loaded minivan runs over $50k these days and doesn’t have all the amenities that the G90 offers.
You expect a flagship luxury branded car to be priced @ $36k? In 2018? This is barely Audi A3/A4 money.
You expected to buy this car new for $42k?
The center consol doesn’t line up with the controls on the dash – it’s out slightly, aggravating my OCD. Either line it up or make it significantly out of alignment.
“Take a gander at that center stack — absolutely peppered with buttons”
Love it
I actually has some sitting time in this one. Absolutely brilliant inside. Interestingly, same -looking switchgear as you might find in Hyundai, definitely has more refined hardware behind it. Knobs are so smooth in operation. Same knob in Hyundai – disaster
Oh, look, actual buttons for the heated and cooled seats, and heated steering wheel.
I’m getting a little tired of having to jab at the touchscreen in my Grand Cherokee three or four times to turn on the heated/cooled seats or heated steering wheel if I don’t catch Uconnect on the splash screen. Why? Because Chrysler wanted to be cheap and, instead of dedicating a spot for a physical set of buttons on cars that have those options, elected to bury it in the Uconnect UI.
My Lincoln MKS, equipped with MyLincoln Touch, had the same silly compromise.
What I haven’t tried is using the voice commands for the heated seats. I’m not sure if you can or can’t do that.
That is aggravating. Even your Lincoln? At least my Mustang has dedicated heat/cool buttons for the seats. Buttons > screen, in all things.
Haha. My experience with Ford voice commands suggests that theory and practice are far apart. But maybe yours will work better.
Voice commands are far from the futuristic voice activated “Computer do this” we were promised in old movies.
“Turn heated seats off” …
“Calling office”
“No no hang up”
“Turning heating up”
impulsively i traded in my grand cherokee for a g90. no regrets. liked the gc a lot but found the ride too bumpy (didn’t have air suspension, maybe that would have helped) and found the back seat too cramped. the g90 is one smooth and sophisticated car. a lot of people say “nice car! what is it?” lol
The new Lincoln Navigator has a mirriad of buttons and switches too. Looks like the console of an airplane most. This seems to be almost the same. A bit much in my book.
This looks like a great car to buy when it’s two or three years old – after the initial big depreciation hit.
isn’t that true of most cars? also, if you wait 2-3 years then yeah, you have a 2-3 yr old car, with miles on it, driven by someone else… and in 2-3 yrs you’ll have a 4-6 yr old car, and the automotive world has moved on… but whatever floats your boat… there’s more to life than supposedly ‘saving on initial depreciation’. i like new cars, lol.
I really like the walnut trim in the G90’s interior. I also think the V8 version is the way to go with this car.
Completely derivative design, Lexus dash, Impala steering wheel, Infinti seats. But, if it all works well and feels like quality, good enough. Price is what you pay, value is what you perceive. For this money I’d still buy a used LS over a new Genesis, sorry.
You must mean the “Lexus dash” that was influenced by BMW.
And as long-time LS 460 owners have attested, the G90 has the nicer interior,
I wonder what it will take to diminish the “Korean depreciation schedule”? A friend of mine bought a 2011(?) Equus for a song, it has a good ride, spacious, and plenty of options. I think he paid $15k with 33k on the odometer.
I don’t like buying used cars, but if you know the resale value will drop like a rock, why would anyone buy a new one?
‘Cause the first owner was smelly and picked his nose.
Lol, lots of farts trapped in that driver’s seat
Fixing the “Korean depreciation schedule” first and foremost means fixing the Korean and Hyundai irretrievably screwed the pooch on that. Making Genesis a separate brand without requiring standalone dealerships just put the subprime POS association on their new brand too.
No point addressing anything else while that elephant is still in the room.
While Genesis screwed the pooch w/ regard to the roll-out of licensed Genesis dealerships (which is why the G70 was delayed for months), Hyundai didn’t when it came to the Genesis and Equus sedans.
Both were launched at the height of the Great Recession.
The credit markets had frozen, so even if Hyundai had wanted a separate dealer network, dealer groups wouldn’t have been able to get the financing.
Plus standalone stores would never have been able to survive w/ just 2 relatively low volume sedans (it would be like asking Lexus dealerships to survive just selling the GS and LS).
Keep in mind price is what you pay not what it says on the sticker. You can get $10k off for just walking through the door. Drive a hard bargain maybe $15k. That takes this down to the mid to upper $50s.
It’s a lot of car for $57k.
Also keep that in mind when talking about depreciation. The headline number is sticker to priced used not out the door price new to price used.
I’ve seen a lot of these in Seoul. They do have quite a bit of presence, while simultaneously not standing out. The restyle is going to look pretty tacky compared to this version.
“Take a gander at that center stack — absolutely peppered with buttons. Three broad horizontal rows of matte-finished, metal (probably?) buttons. Follow that with a vertical line of four immediately to the left of the shift lever. ”
I sort of agree, but …
People who aren’t using radio are just going to ignore the A/V stack except to turn on nav, right?
The climate controls look touch-friendly, with their raised-ends-by-grouping, and temperature knobs on both ends.
I don’t think it’d bother me as a driver, in practice, especially with wheel controls for media.
Also why would you suggest removing buttons that are made redundant by the steering wheel, when a passenger may want to use those buttons?
I like this for a number of reasons but I just think it stickers too high.
Again I’m still waiting for a separate CPO program for Genesis vehicles only. If it includes concierge service like the new Genesis’ do I’d look long and hard at say an off-lease G80 CPO.
Y’know, I’m not as sold on CPO as I once was. Take these two three-year-old off lease BMWs:
https://www.echopark.com/used/BMW/2015-BMW-328i-3932327e0a0d0cc70321ad129274d9a5.htm
https://www.schompbmw.com/inventory/certified-used-2015-bmw-3-series-328i-xdrive-awd-4dr-car-wba3b3c56ff547275
(Additionally, the first one has nav; the second one doesn’t.)
Basically, you’re getting an additional year of warranty for three grand more, and this is from one of the better programs out there. I’ve found this is typical with luxury makers. That’s a pretty stiff premium for an additional year of warranty coverage. You can buy coverage WAY cheaper than that on the open market.
In any case, Hyundai warranties aren’t transferrable. I bet they’d sock it to you for a certified Genesis.
“Basically, you’re getting an additional year of warranty for three grand more, and this is from one of the better programs out there. I’ve found this is typical with luxury makers. ”
Not Acura.
Anyway, buy a slightly used Acura under factory warranty for a deeply discounted price–then call up Curry Acura and buy AcuraCare for a song (I’m talking under $2K here), taking it out to 120K miles/8 years.
As long as the Acura in question is still under the 4 years/50K mark, you’re good go to. This whole concept is a steal. American Honda has the best factory warranties on the market, hands down.
While I like the G80 and G90, unless you’re being chauffeured around, I don’t get the point of the 90. Sure it’s really roomy, but based on this review, it sounds like there are drivetrain issues that just shouldn’t exist in this class. Maybe the V8 avoids what may be the turbo lag in the v6 or non-responsive transmission?
In any case, the G80 seems like the one to get. Roomy as a 7 series if I recall the marketing speak correctly.
Its nice, but at a $100k cad hit when you factor in the tax is more than a bit steep.
The Genesis G90 is well made and seems to belie the notion that big sedans are also dying makes the case for the very nice Cadillac CT-6 to still exist.
Wow, that looks like a Chrysler.
$72,000?!?!?!
This does not look very roomy nor does it look very big to be a so called flagship. They should have benchmarked an A8 L or a Grange for size and roominess. But I would consider this on the smaller end of fullsize and a V6 on a flagship that’s trying to build a new brand? Laughable at best.
G90 has an 124.4” wheelbase vs. 123.1” for the A8L.
Hmm, it’s also longer than the Grange, but both the A8L and the Grange hold their size much better than the G90 for some reason
I like it as an “old school” sedan, the kinda thing that GM and Ford used to build.
Lets be honest this car is plainly better than anything GM, Ford, and Chrysler have ever produced. GM has just cancelled their best luxury sedan the CT6, so there now no domestic competitor to the Genesis G90. If I am not mistaken the Genesis G90 is motor trend’s car of the year. The Genesis G90 just illustrated how much better Hyundai is at producing cars than the big 3.
The G70 is MT’s Car of the Year.
The CT6 was never a true “flagship” sedan, and there is the production version of the Escala concept on the way (barring any developments).
Two turbochargers, and all they have to show for it is 365 HP?
Could be going for longevity over power.
They do have that 100,000 mile powertrain warranty to think about.
Same reason Honda limited the HP in the Civic Si.
Or why the 2.0T in the Lexus IS is weak-sauce (241 HP).
Won’t be for long as the 3.3T will be replaced by a more powerful 3.5T.
I sold these for about a year. Nice car. The buttons are most certainly not metal, anyone who has touched them knows that, but they are decent. Not Lexus or Mercedes in terms of tolerance but nice. The 3.3T is adequate, but why would anyone buy it? The V8 with additional “comfort” features is only $4k more and is much more fitting for this car. It is extremely quiet inside (They benchmarked the S-class and it’s quieter than the S).
Everyone saying the price is too high has no idea what they’re talking about. The Lexus LS which made its name in the US market as being a value leader now bases around $87k sticker. Lexus dealers don’t move that much either. Even a comparably equipped Lincoln or Cadillac is much more. A new S-class will set you back about $100k for a base model. This car is a bargain, especially with the incentives. It’s not quite up to the same type of quality in terms of feel as those cars, but the price reflects that and more when you consider incentives. The G90 is a great value for those looking for a large, traditional (and traditionally styled–looking at you, Lexus) luxury car. It is one of the only options if you want a NA V8. Remember too that the Equus stickered in the $60k range, depending on package. This is a much better car in every way.
Still, I will be waiting until they are off lease and in the $30k range. Genesis has (or will shortly) a CPO program distinct from Hyundai’s. It will include concierge service and of course continue the warranty.
The buttons/switchgear in the G70 are metal.
The new G80 is getting a considerably upgraded interior and figure the G90 will do so as well when it’s due for a complete re-design.
No kimchi for me
the ‘growling’ you experienced is lane assist because you got too close to the side lines. :)
the other comments here about it being 2x cost what it should are laughable. genesis doesn’t have the brand strength (nowhere close) of ‘established’ luxury brands, but the quality, refinement and features of the g90 are excellent and it’s still prices 20k+ below what anything comparable costs.
i thoroughly enjoy mine… no regrets.