Genesis the $100,000 Hyundai
Hyundai's most expensive sedan is the Genesis, which is about to be launched in New Zealand.
Hyundai is entering New Zealand's luxury car market with its most expensive model yet.
We take a look at what motoring journalist Rob Maetzig has to say from the launch of the sedan called Genesis, as published in the Taranaki Daily News on Feb 4th 2015.
Would you pay 10 dollars short of $100,000 for a Hyundai? You know that Korean brand that just a few years ago was best known as cheap-as-chips but not particularly outstanding product?
The fact that in a couple of weeks the brand will launch a new rear-wheel drive luxury sedan with a retail price of $99,990 speaks volumes about the spectacular progress achieved by Hyundai in recent times.
That progress has been such that last year Hyundai achieved more than 4.9 million sales to make it the world's fifth largest manufacturer of motor vehicles.
In New Zealand, Hyundai enjoyed its best year ever in 2014, with 8309 sales. Not only did that put it in third position behind Toyota and Holden on the vehicle sales ladder, but it meant Hyundai has now enjoyed 12 years of continuous year-on-year growth.
And all of that has now given Hyundai New Zealand the necessary confidence to move into a entirely new segment of the New Zealand new vehicle market the large luxury sedan sector, a segment filled with product that retails for a minimum of $70,000.
It's doing it with the second generation version of a vehicle called Genesis, the first generation version of which was sold in sedan and coupe form and with engine sizes up to V8. At this stage the only model for New Zealand will be a fully-specified sedan powered by a 3.8-litre V6.
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The large sedan segment of the new vehicle market isn't particularly large, accounting for less than 700 sales a year, with the most popular product last year being Holden's HSV models. But it is an important market segment because this is also where plenty of classy product lives, such as the BMW 5-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and various Lexus models.
"Arrival of Genesis will allow us to open ourselves up to a new buyer demographic," said Hyundai NZ general manager Andy Sinclair at a media function in Auckland last week.
"The luxury sedan segment is a new place for Hyundai New Zealand. It will present us with some challenges we haven't faced before, but we are confident New Zealanders are ready for this car," he said, adding that he would regard as "exceptional" monthly sales of between five and eight of the Genesis. And it's worth noting that if that level of sales is achieved, the Genesis will overtake the Jaguar XF on the luxury sales ladder.
There's no reason why it shouldn't happen, either. A couple of years ago HNZ raised a few eyebrows when it launched its latest Santa Fe SUV with a topend price of $80,000, but that particular model has turned out to be one of the most popular Hyundais in this country. So there is now every chance that customers will be prepared to equally recognise the $99,990 Genesis as offering high-quality motoring.
And it is a quality car. It's beautifully built, good-looking, very comfortable, and an appealing combination of power and on-road capability. Its biggest challenge will be whether the market segment it will compete in, which is notorious for containing customers who love to indulge in badge snobbery, will accept a Hyundai muscling in alongside Beemers, Benzes, Audis and high-performance HSVs.
Maybe that explains why the new sedan only has one Hyundai logo on it. It's at the back on the boot lid. Meanwhile up front and on the steering wheel the sedan has its own Genesis badge, an Aston Martin look-alike set of wings.
And maybe that also explains why not every Hyundai dealership in New Zealand will stock the Genesis. Of the 25 dealers, at this stage 15 of them will have it in their showrooms, the other 10 either deemed to be servicing too small a population base, or their dealer principals not convinced that a market exists for a $100,000 Hyundai.
But dealers at all the major metropolitan areas will certainly stock the Genesis, believing that clients will recognise that product content and capability are more important than any notions about brands. HNZ believes that at least 65 per cent of buyers will come from the biggest cities, with at least 80 per cent of them male.
And here's another statistic worth considering Auckland alone is now home for more than 25,000 Koreans, and they of all people will be well used to the presence of top-end local product in that country's domestic market.
This new Genesis follows the latest Hyundai "fluidic sculpture" design trend, but in the latest tradition of luxury rear-wheel drive product the big sedan has a long bonnet and fairly short rear end, with the C-pillar particularly sleek. The front end is almost vertical with a large grille to help give the vehicle a substantial look. The interior also feels substantial thanks to plenty of excellent detailing and use of a lot of leather.
There's a high level of standard specification "we ticked every box there was possible to tick," said Andy Sinclair at last week's media event. That includes plenty of safety specification, which has allowed the Genesis to be awarded the highest-ever points in the Ancap crash testing programme.
Safety items include autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot detection and laner-change assist, rear cross-traffic alert, aroundview monitor, smart cruise control, and head-up display.
Powering the Genesis is a 3.8-litre V6 petrol engine that is essentially the big brother of the 3.4-litre engine aboard the Santa Fe. It offers 232 kilowatts of power and 397 newton metres of torque, and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. It appeals as a powerful and quiet performer in what appeals as an exceptionally quiet car anyway that interior environment could be the single outstanding feature of this luxury Hyundai.
If the motoring public and some of New Zealand's Hyundai dealers, it seems can accept the fact that the South Korean brand has progressed to the stage where it can rightfully sell an expensive luxury sedan in New Zealand, then the Genesis might sell in the numbers anticipated by the importer. The car certainly is good enough to deserve success.
Now it is up to the public to recognise that.
AT A GLANCE
Drivetrain: Longitudinally mounted 3778cc quad cam direct-injected 24-valve rear-drive V6, eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shift.
Outputs: 232kW at 6000rpm, 397Nm at 5000rpm. Max 225kmh, 0-100kmh 6.5 secs, 11.2L/100km, 261g/km CO2.
Chassis: Multi-link suspension front and rear, vented disc brakes front and rear, 245/40 R19 front alloys, 245/35 R19 rear.
Safety: Automatic emergency braking up to 80kmh, lane-keep assist, blind-spot warning, 360-degree parking camera, rear traffic warning and nine airbags.
Park assist. Highest-ever ANCAP five star crash rating.
Connectivity: Sat Nav, MP3, Android, iPhone compatibility; USB streaming and Bluetooth.
Dimensions: L 4990 mm, H 1480 mm, W 1890 mm, W/base 3010 mm, Weight 1890-1995kg, Fuel 77L.
Pricing: Hyundai Genesis: $99,990.
Hot: Loaded Korean offers better value, refinement than badgesnobs tend not to appreciate, but should.
Not: No all-wheel-drive, hybrid or V8 option. Yet.
Verdict: Badge-snobbery among buyers of German brands could well drive surer customers into the well-sorted comfort of this remarkably capable Korean.
Article originally appeared in the Taranaki Daily News, New Plymouth, Taranaki by Rob Maetzig
