Hyundai builds a cut-price alternative to established German and Japanese luxury cars. Should Mercedes and BMW be wetting their pants?
Nitish Ramanujam

It wasn’t really that long ago when the Japanese took the motoring world by storm, was it? Blurry images come to mind of bespectacled men in spotless white lab coats conjuring up soul-less little appliances that trounced big expensive barges on cost, reliability and economy. Things were just settling down when Toyota and Nissan, probably upset with being labelled as makers of cars for people on a budget, decided to go ahead and launch their own luxury brands, Lexus and Infiniti, which went on sale in the US in 1989.

A bit lacking in soul they might still be, but anyone who even dares to think that the Japanese do not make true luxury cars is absolutely wrong. The progress they have made over the years is nothing short of astounding, and although Lexus is still not the cut-price Benz alternative it used to be - the cars cost as much or more than comparable Germans - the current crop are regular toppers in quality and consumer surveys, in addition to being evenly matched in the prestige stakes.

Why am I harping on and on about Japanese metal when we have a Korean car to discuss about, you ask? Well, for starters, the latter seem to be headed in the same direction as their eastern neighbours, and more importantly, Hyundai is an absolutely ambitious car maker that doesn’t take no for an answer.

The Genesis represents a lot of firsts for Hyundai, including the company’s first rear-drive sedan and an indigenous V8 engine. Though the Korean car maker cuts short any attempt to term the Genesis a sports sedan, it makes no bones about the luxury car serving up BMW 7-Series space and 5-Series performance at 3-Series money. Quite a tall claim that. We live with one, the 3.8-litre V6 that’s on sale here in the Middle East, to find out if the claims hold any water.

The Hyundai has street presence no doubt, thanks in no little part to the ample dimensions, huge grille and that gleaming black paint. As it’s still fairly new on the roads, and with no badge adorning the nose (is it on purpose?), it’s only fair many perplexed fellow motorists scurried to make way for the imposing black car looming in their rear view mirrors. And to be frank, we had quite a bit of fun doing so. Ah, the joy of cheap thrills! It’s big and looks a bit sinister while in motion all right, but give it a once over and you’ll soon discover a curious blend of Mercedes, BMW, Lexus and Nissan – not too obvious, but we would have liked a bit more originality and flair to the design.

The interior is where the best bits are, and the big Korean comes loaded with standard and optional goodies including Bluetooth communication, automatic headlights and wipers, rear and B-pillar-mounted climate control vents, ventilated seats, push-button start, electric rear shade, rear sound control and even mood lighting. Special mention must be made of the superb Lexicon audio system too, Hyundai being the only car to feature one alongside the mighty Rolls-Royce Phantom! The surround sound audio system, featuring Discrete Logic 7 technology, includes an 11-channel digital amplifier and 17 speakers producing more than 500 watts of sound in 7.1 discrete audio – suffice to say that music sounds just the way the artists meant it to be.

A BMW iDrive-style knob controls the Driver Information System, a series of menus and functions that you can access and control via the integrated screen. Other cool features include a button that lets you raise the car, as well as useful front and rear blind spot cameras – the front one being especially helpful as it displays a video of oncoming traffic as you move out of a driveway or parking lot onto the main road. Frankly, you wouldn’t guess this is a Hyundai from the inside; tasteful design, leather and rich-looking materials cloak vast amounts of interior room, thanks to a wheelbase bigger than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and BMW 5-Series. Coming up with a complaint was slightly tough in this case, however being the pessimist that I am, finding fault with even a Ferrari comes quite naturally, and therefore, the blue colour on the Hyundai’s dash looks a bit naff.

Ride quality is exemplary, truly the automobile’s forte, and is right up there with the best Teutons. Having just changed cars from a W211 E-Class, the first thing that struck me, apart from the space obviously, was how sublime the Genesis felt. While the German dished up a comfy-yet-involving experience, the Hyundai felt serene and isolated, more along the lines of an American yank tank. Thankfully, the soft ride didn’t evaporate into flabby handling. Near ideal F/R weight distribution of 52/48, real-wheel drive and multilink suspension all around made for excellent high-speed stability and reasonably good dynamics. The steering is not very communicative and tells you little as to what is happening underneath the 235/50 R18 Kumhos, and the fact that handling isn’t still in 5-Series territory is quite obvious as you push hard into corners, the car understeering a fair bit, even with sport mode engaged. Though Hyundai’s first in-house V8 is offered elsewhere, offering a potent 375hp, we get the 290hp 3.8-litre V6 for the time being, which is powerful enough and actually seems a better choice considering the times.

So it is a very good car and an extremely good attempt by Hyundai at breaking into the luxury field dominated by the likes of Mercedes, BMW and Lexus. In a manner typical of the marque, the Genesis offers more space, gadgets and comfort in a package that undercuts competitors’ prices by quite some margin. The question is, would you buy one? Brand cachet is the biggest hindrance here - not many people would choose a big Hyundai over a Benz - and a few unpolished bits here and there don’t help matters either. But isn’t that what they said of the Japanese a few decades ago? As a means of covering vast distances rapidly and in lush comfort, for much less money, there are few cars that can outclass the Genesis. Brand equity aside, this one is definitely worth a try. Kudos, Hyundai.