The
new, second-generation Hyundai
Genesis sedan has now been available for about a year. People shopping for
luxury cars like the new version. So far in 2015, Hyundai has sold better than
one-third more Genesis
models in the United States than it sold through the same period last year,
when the outgoing, prior-generation Genesis sedan was still around.
This
year’s new model offers a lot of evolutionary improvements over the original
Genesis four-door, which Hyundai
started selling in 2009. But around here, the boost in popularity comes mainly
from the availability of all-wheel drive in the updated model.
Before
the 2015 version arrived, Hyundai had a hard time selling the luxury sedan in
snowy areas, because Genesis
is a rear-drive car. That gives it jauntier, more precise and exhilarating
handling. But in these parts people shun rear-drive cars because they fear the
configuration is harder to control than front-drive models on snowy roads.
But the
modernized, 2015 model introduced last year brought with it the availability of
four-wheel traction. The all-wheel-drive option adds $2,500 to the base price
of a Genesis equipped with a V6 engine. (A higher powered, V8 engine available
in Genesis doesn’t offer
the all-wheel-drive option.) The sedan’s starting price of $38,950 for a
rear-drive model bumps only to $41,450 with the addition of all-wheel drive.
It’s still a whole lot of car for the money.
“We
have a much better market for it now,” said Lissa Lagasse, a Hyundai sales representative
at Salem Ford Hyundai in Salem, N.H. “Quite a lot of people are looking at it.”
They’re
looking only at the all-wheel-drive version, she affirmed. At the Merrimack
Valley dealership shoppers aren’t interested in rear-drive varieties.
The
Genesis is a top-level, premium sedan that is dramatically styled, solidly
built, roomy and accommodating. The re-engineered 2015 four door features
better construction, like a more rigid body structure that improves handling
and gives the car a more solid and substantial feel. It has a roomier interior
than the prior generation. Cabin controls, dials and switches are configured
for easy use. The car’s body is re-proportioned, with an elegantly elongated
hood and a backward-swept cabin that is gracefully arched. Finished with luster
and shine, the Genesis stands out as a luxury car should.
Importantly,
the next-generation model also packs in the advanced features that luxury
drivers clamor for, noted Lagasse.
“You
get all the same options that other luxury cars have,” she said. A partial list
of standard and optional features in the ‘15 Genesis includes head-up
display, blind-spot warning, lane-change assist and lane-drift warning,
collision warning and automatic braking, automatic high beam headlights, a
smart key that automatically opens the trunk hands-free, and parking
assistance. A carbon-dioxide monitoring system automatically controls cabin
ventilation to maintain an appropriate concentration of oxygen, which can help
prevent drivers from getting sleepy.
“Prior to
this you couldn’t really find features like these in cars at this price point,”
Lagasse said.
The
Hyundai Genesis sells $10,000 to $12,000 lower than comparable cars sold by
luxury brands. Comparing all-wheel drive versions, next to the Genesis starting
list price of $41,450, the BMW 5 Series starts at $52,250, the Mercedes-Benz
E-Class at $54,800, the Infiniti Q70 at $52,000, and the Lexus GS 350 at
$50,850.
Its
affordability attracts some shoppers who are stepping up to a larger car,
Lagasse explained. They may not be considering a premium car until they learn
that the Genesis offers so much at an approachable price, she said.
But at
Salem Ford Hyundai, most Genesis buyers
are people already driving luxury cars, Lagasse stated. While the Hyundai name
doesn’t have the image and status of the luxury brands, the auto’s value along
with its abilities prove too irresistible for many of them, she said.
“I see
people trading in Mercedes and BMWs. Once you get them in a Genesis, once they
drive it, they’re sold,” she stated.
The Hyundai Genesis
remains a marketing experiment. In its engineering, design, construction,
performance, comfort, appearance and attitude, the model can justify its claim
to luxury-car status. But the Hyundai
name that it wears is the badge of a mass-consumer brand, not a luxury brand.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz are recognized solely as luxury brands. When other car companies
have brought out luxury lines, they have separated them from their
mass-consumer brands. Alongside its Chevrolet line, General Motors sells luxury
cars under the Cadillac name. Nissan created the Infiniti brand for its luxury
offerings. Toyota came out with Lexus.
Hyundai
maintains that it saves money by keeping the Genesis
integrated among its more commonplace cars, because it doesn’t incur the
expenses that a separate dealer network would add. That helps explain why the
company can sell its luxury car at a lower price.
But the
approach also keeps away “brand snobs” who purchase luxury goods for the status
attached to the names.
Still,
the Genesis is doing
well. With the redesigned 2015 sedan’s growth in popularity, Hyundai sold about
14,750 Genesis models across America through the first five months of the year.
The BMW 5 Series and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class are still selling better, at
about 20,600 5 Series sales through May and 18,600 E-Class sales. But the
Genesis has already surpassed the popularity of the Lexus GS, which sold fewer
than 10,000 through May, and the Infiniti Q70, which sold fewer than 5,000.
With
all-wheel drive now making the Genesis
more appealing to drivers like us who experience rough winters, look for it to
gain more.
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