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2023 Genesis G90 Swaps Dull Design for Suave Style

Genesis gets serious about building a world-class flagship luxury car

2023 Genesis G90 Picture
  • written by
    Correspondent
    Christian Wardlaw has worked in the automotive industry since 1994. He has written nearly 10,000 car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 2,000 vehicles over the course of his career. Chris is a correspondent at Edmunds and was the first editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com in the 1990s. He has also contributed to Autotrader, CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, NADAguides, New York Daily News Autos and WardsAuto. His mom claims that his first word was “car,” and Chris believes that Miata is always the answer.
  • Distinctive design brings the legitimately desirable new G90 into the modern era
  • Innovative technology gets the G90 up to speed with most rivals
  • Specifications suggest rousing performance and a subdued ride

Hyundai Motor Group has always been out of step with global tastes and preferences with regard to flagship luxury sedans. Historically, HMG's executive cars have emphasized comfort for rear-seat passengers and catered to their own ideas of what a luxury car should look like.

Now, the company has revealed the redesigned 2023 Genesis G90 in Korean specification, and based on what we can see, it finally appears the automaker is on the right path. Compared to the outgoing 2022 Genesis G90, the 2023 G90 looks like a billion bucks, and while it still caters to chauffered C-suiters, it also promises potential rewards for the driver.

Designed to inspire desire

While the outgoing G90 is certainly distinctive, we have a hard time believing anyone could call it truly beautiful. Granted, it was the first Genesis to wear the brand's signature grille design, split headlights and taillights, and fender vents now seen across the automaker's entire lineup. But Genesis applied these elements to a vehicle originally styled to a different ethos, and the 2020 face-lift that incorporated the styling cues simply didn't work.

Now, the all-new 2023 G90 arrives, penned from the ground up to showcase a modern Genesis face in a fully integrated way. Cutting to the chase, the result looks terrific. The only weirdness occurs where the automaker's distinctive profile line drops below the rear window glass into the fender. This element causes similar problems with the Genesis GV70 SUV. On the G90, though, it allows the automaker to distinguish the car as the most opulent of its sedans through the more formal and angular shapes of the rear door window glass and rear roof pillars.

Approach the G90, and flush door handles recognize the presence of the key fob and present themselves for entry. Alternatively, digital key technology placed on your smartphone unlocks the car and activates the engine start system. The digital key also communicates with the G90's hands-free trunklid.

New tech for a new time

Enter the G90's cabin, and the doors shut at the push of a button — a feature cribbed not from Audi or Mercedes-Benz, but Rolls-Royce. Leather, wood, glass and aluminum trim the interior, while a digital instrument panel and central display screen dominate the upper portion of the dashboard. Over-the-air software updates keep the car's technology current, and the G90 uses fingerprint authentication to activate the engine starting system and load a driver's profile that includes preferred vehicle settings.

Genesis says the front seats offer heating, ventilation and massage, and can ease entry and exit by deflating the side bolsters. Naturally, the rear passengers get all kinds of love in the new G90, which offers independently reclining rear seats and relentless attention to detail right down to heated and ventilated leg supports and footrests. Dual panoramic sunroofs provide both front and rear operation and ambient lighting to match the rest of the cabin.

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2023 Genesis G90 Picture

2023 Genesis G90

In Korea, the new G90 introduces a backseat touchscreen with an 8-inch display. This screen, located between the rear seats, gives the passenger in the right rear seat complete control of various vehicle settings. In addition, the new Mood Curator technology coordinates the G90's ambient lighting, massaging seats, electric window shades, 23-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system and fragrance system (a Genesis first) to create four different mood profiles for the interior.

A quiet performance

Genesis says the 2023 G90 supplies an exceptionally quiet ride. Active noise-canceling technology detects road noise and issues opposite-phase sounds through the stereo speakers to prevent occupant irritation. Additionally, the G90 boasts plenty of sound-deadening materials and laminated glass for every window.

A turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine is standard in the Korean-spec G90. It makes 380 PS in the company's home market, or the equivalent of 375 horsepower, which matches the output of the twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 used in other Genesis models sold in the U.S. In addition, the automaker confirms an eight-speed automatic transmission is standard, and it likely powers all four of the G90's stylish wheels.

A sophisticated air suspension with road preview technology underpins the G90 in its home market. It can sense upcoming bumps and potholes in the pavement, proactively adjusting to ensure a smooth ride. It can also raise the car for added ground clearance on rough road surfaces. At highway speeds, the body hunkers down for improved stability and aerodynamics. It also compensates for passenger and cargo weight, and it can even raise the G90's front end when traveling over drainage dips to prevent contact with the road.

Additionally, Genesis beefs up the G90's brake cooling and offers three braking force modes. Rear-wheel steering is also available on the new G90. It adds 4 degrees of opposite-angle steering at low speeds to improve the car's maneuverability and 2 degrees of same-angle steering at higher speeds to enhance cornering and stability during abrupt lane changes or evasive steering actions.

Genesis did not provide much detail regarding the G90's advanced driving assistance systems. However, the car will offer Highway Driving Assist, which pairs adaptive cruise control with lane-centering technology and front and rear parking sensors with automatic braking. Remote Smart Parking Assist is also available, an automated parking technology that is triggered using the G90's key fob. It works to guide the big sedan into parallel, perpendicular and diagonal spaces.

Edmunds says

Based on what we know about the 2023 Genesis G90 that will go on sale on the other side of the Pacific, this might be the first Korean flagship luxury car that Americans will take seriously. It has the right styling, the right equipment and the right technology, but will it be enough to outclass the Germans at their own game?

Christian Wardlawby

Christian Wardlaw has worked in the automotive industry since 1994. He has written nearly 10,000 car-related articles and tested and reviewed more than 2,000 vehicles over the course of his career. Chris is a correspondent at Edmunds and was the first editor-in-chief of Edmunds.com in the 1990s. He has also contributed to Autotrader, CarGurus, J.D. Power, Kelley Blue Book, NADAguides, New York Daily News Autos and WardsAuto. His mom claims that his first word was “car,” and Chris believes that Miata is always the answer.

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