The front three-quarter view will convince you that Hyundai has its money where its mouth is. That in itself though won’t make a strong case in its favour. The Genesis has the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class in its crosshair and one can appreciate the uphill task the Korean has set for itself.
The next-generation Genesis has been launched globally and will be brought here in India as a CBU according to Autocar India, and hence the expected price is about INR 45 lakhs (add up all those excise duties and taxes).
The new Genesis is high-strength steel unibody construction, which imparts better dynamics as well as occupant protection. Hyundai, while developing the Genesis has tested and refined it at the Nurburgring and the California Proving Grounds in the Mojave Desert. Any petrol head will tell you the demands that Nurburgring puts on the vehicles taking its curves and inclines.
The Genesis comes in two variants; both petrol – the 311 bhp 6-cylinder 3.8-liter V6 Lambda and the 420 bhp 8-cylinder TAU GDI. For India, Hyundai is expected to offer the smaller 3.8L variant, which comes equipped with an 8-speed automatic transmission with Hyundai’s SHIFTRONIC system capable of working like a fully-automatic gearbox. The gearbox also lets the driver override the automatic and make it work like a ‘manumatic’ similar to the AMT.
The intelligent driver mode lets the Genesis offer Normal, Sport, Eco and Snow modes, which alters the steering, transmission, throttle, and suspension according to the driver selection.
Inside the Genesis bells and whistles abound as can be expected of a car of this stature. India launch date has not been made public yet and these are at best, speculations as of now. The bigger question, however is, will Hyundai be able to sell a 45 Lakh Genesis when they fail to sell a 20 Lakh Sonata?
Related Reading: All-New Hyundai Sonata Unveiled: Engines, Pics & Details
