Genesis G90 Pricing Splits the Difference Between Americans, Germans

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

As it tries to carve out a foothold in the premium field, Genesis has priced its full-size G90 luxury sedan in an intermediate zone between its established German competition and new American range-toppers.

The G90 comes laden with standard features, so the price range of the four available configurations isn’t wide. With a starting price of $69,050 (including freight) for a rear-wheel-drive twin-turbo V6 model, the son-of-Hyundai hopes its flag bearer has enough value to get noticed.

That base price lands a buyer 365 horsepower from the automaker’s twin-turbo 3.3-liter V6, coupled to a silky 8-speed automatic. Adding H-TRAC all-wheel drive pushes the price to $71,550. Rear-drive V8 models — billed as the 5.0 Ultimate (rather than the 3.3T Premium) — come in at $70,650, rising to $73,150 for the AWD version.

The naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 offers 420 hp, but its torque rating (383 pounds-feet) only tops the V6 by 7 lb-ft.

At last month’s G90 media introduction, Canadian Genesis brand head Michael Ricciuto said the model’s pricing must have a value aspect to it. With an automaker best known for its economy cars as a parent company, it’s easy to see why Genesis execs feel this way.

Compared to the Germans, the G90 looks like a bargain. The BMW 740i starts at $82,495, and the Audi A8 launches at $83,450. The vehicle Genesis happily compared the G90’s dimensions to — the Mercedes-Benz S-Class — starts at a lofty $97,525 (but comes with a sterling, decades-long reputation).

On the other side of the coin (and Atlantic), the Cadillac CT6 starts at $54,490, while the resurrected Lincoln Continental (in brow-furrowing front-wheel-drive guise) starts at $45,485. Japan’s top luxury sedan, the Lexus LS460, tops the Genesis range ever so slightly, starting at $73,495.

The automaker says dealers will receive the G90 by the end of the month.

[Image: © 2016 Steph Willems/The Truth About Cars]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • TrailerTrash TrailerTrash on Sep 06, 2016

    "the resurrected Lincoln Continental (in brow-furrowing front-wheel-drive guise)" Oh, man! Can we PLEASE stop this biased RWD crap? There are REASONS for FWD, especially with luxury cars and BIG ONES at that. These are not hill corner carvers. They are luxury. And the really good ones have AWD...a great way to control and apply power.

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    • Stereorobb Stereorobb on Sep 07, 2016

      a luxury car shouldn't ever be FWD. the Lincoln Continental is beautiful but im bitterly disappointed they went with FWD. as far as these Korean luxobarges go, they are trying to play the lexus game. don't get me wrong they are beautiful cars, but they really lack the fit and finish of a Lexus or a three pointed star. as far as reliability? truth is, we don't know yet.

  • Justinx Justinx on Sep 06, 2016

    I wished it had a more distinctive front end, not just something you can see on an Elantra

  • ToolGuy No hybrid? No EV? What year is this? lolI kid -- of course there is an electric version.
  • Tassos No, this is for sure NOT my favorite Caddy. Very few Caddys with big fins work out as designs.FOr interiors, I much prefer the Caddys and other US luxury cars from the 30s, Packards etc. After the war, they ditched the generous wood veneer (without which no proper luxury car) for either nothing or the worse than nothing fake wood.For exterior, I like many Caddys from the 60s and early 70s, when the fins slowly diminished and finally disappearedEven the current " Art and Science" angular styling is quite good and has lasted a quarter century (from the first CTS). They even look better than most Bangled BMWs and even some Mercs.- from outside only.
  • ToolGuy Good for them.
  • ToolGuy "I'm an excellent driver."
  • Tassos If a friend who does not care about cars asks me what to buy, I tell her (it usually is a she) to get a Toyota or a Lexus. If she likes more sporty cars, a Honda or a MiataIf a friend is a car nut, they usually know what they want and need no help. But if they still ask me, I tell them to get a Merc or AMG, a 911, even an M3 if they can fix it themselves. If they are billionaires, and I Do have a couple of these, a Ferrari or an even more impractical Lambo.
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