In the comments to the material from the presentation of the new Genesis models, some readers said that the Korean brand does not belong to the premium segment. Taking the Genesis G70 sedan as an example, I propose to see if this brand owned by Hyundai is premium or not.
If we are talking about Genesis showrooms as a certain face of the brand and the first thing that a potential buyer sees, then everything is not so simple here. The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is that all the salons are not just adjacent to Hyundai salons, but are located right inside them. That is, initially you enter the Hyundai salon, in which a spacious, but still a common area for Genesis is allocated. Here, in my opinion, it is possible to talk about premium quality only with a stretch, yet the same Audi does not sit with Volkswagen and Skoda, and Lexus is not sold in a nook in Toyota showrooms, as well as Infiniti, which you will not see with Nissan. The maximum that dealers can afford is the neighborhood of the buildings of car dealerships of different brands, but not their unification. This is done correctly, because in the same Lexus, Toyota’s ears are clearly sticking out everywhere, as in Infiniti and Audi, you can find a lot of common parts with brands that are of a lower rank. And going to Genesis, the buyer, whatever one may say, initially passes by Hyundai, and if for the sake of interest he sits in the same Solaris or Sonata, then he will easily find common parts with them in Genesis. Yes, the company promises that in 2021 it will completely change the format of the premium brand showrooms, I hope that they will separate them from Hyundai, and then the status of cars will increase slightly in the eyes of buyers. By the way, Moscow City already has a separate Genesis Lounge, as I understand it, this is exactly the new format of the brand’s showrooms. So we are waiting for new Genesis dealerships, so that the buyer, even if he is very loyal to the brand and has grown from Hyundai Solaris to Genesis, will have only pleasant impressions from a visit to the salon of a premium brand, where the cost of cars only starts from the price of top-end models of the parent company.
As for the work of Genesis salon managers, everything is in the spirit of premium brands – tea and coffee, color samples and material options, complete information about cars, a test drive of any model and, most importantly, the absence of imposing additional options. You know, after talking with the sales people at Genesis, I got a good impression, they work even better than the managers of some Mercedes-Benz and BMW showrooms that I have come across.
As for the equipment of Genesis cars, then, as is customary in the premium segment, almost all modern options that the concern has are available on the brand’s models. True, the brand did not follow in the footsteps of European automakers, but chose the path of Japanese premium brands and offers customers its cars in fixed configurations, with small additional packages. On the one hand, this is good, a person simply chooses a complete set in accordance with his budget, and then he only has to decide on the color of the body and the trim. On the other hand, there are buyers who are ready to sit in configurators for a long time and stubbornly, assembling the car of their dreams, and they are often not satisfied with package offers. But in general, in our country there are not so many such buyers, even the Germans began to offer us special “special series”, which make the lion’s share of sales, and individual configurations are not such a large percentage.
When it comes to material quality and, most importantly, attention to detail, which is important for a premium brand, in my opinion, Genesis is doing well. The G70 has good leather with an interesting diamond-shaped stitching, a lot of high-quality, soft-touch plastic with various textures, for example, the top of the center panel is made to look like leather and even has a real thread stitching. There are many elements made for metal, but they have a metallized coating, so that they not only look good visually, but also tactilely pleasant. Even the hard plastic on the central tunnel is of high quality and with a pleasant texture, although manufacturers often use simple inserts there. As for the attention to detail, for example, the climate control knobs have a very pleasant move, and the soft plastic does not end at eye level, but is used in the lower border of the cabin.
As for the Genesis G70 itself, it is made in such a slightly Asian style and, in my opinion, is somewhat similar to the Infiniti Q50. However, looking at the new G80, one can expect that the appearance of the G70 will become more European in the next generation. In general, visually the G70 still looks good, especially those who like Japanese brands like it. A sweeping silhouette with a long bonnet and a wide mouth of the radiator grille with a signature pattern, everything is made to appeal to young people. Yes, in my opinion, the same BMW 3 Series in the back of the G20 is prettier, but in comparison, for example, with the Infiniti Q50, the advantages are on the side of the G70. By the way, the company should try to release the G70 as a coupe, in theory, it should look interesting.
As for the interior, it would look great if it weren’t for that small media display sticking out in the center, which looks outdated today. But, apparently, in 2017, the company produced a car with an eye on the BMW F30, where the display also stuck out of the console and was in the same casing shape. If we omit this point, then the interior looks very nice: a multi-level front panel with interesting visual elements, a low automatic transmission lever, reminiscent of some lever in a fighter jet, a central panel turned slightly towards the driver with neat knobs and buttons on it. The only thing missing is atmospheric lighting, which has become fashionable among automakers in recent years.
The driving position is low, but slightly higher than in the BMW three-ruble note. A person of any height and complexion can easily get behind the wheel, for tall ones, maybe just a little is not enough steering wheel adjustment for takeoff, but it is absolutely not critical. All settings, including the steering column, are electrically powered, and the driver’s and passenger’s seats with position memory. The seats themselves are comfortable, with a good profile and developed lateral support, you don’t get tired in them even on long trips, the main thing is to choose the optimal settings for yourself. Our equipment was with a hatch, with it, of course, it becomes lighter in the cabin, but the ceiling drops, and I still sometimes touched it with the top of my head, although I sat almost as low as possible.
By myself, with a height of 187 cm, I could not get through in any way, I also could not put the child behind me, so we slightly move the front passenger forward, which can be done with the buttons placed on the side of the backrest, and sit down behind him. Landing in the rear seats is not the most comfortable, the opening at the bottom is narrow, and the edge is quite high, plus I also bury my head against the ceiling from behind, although lower people will be more comfortable. Installation of a child seat is straightforward, the Isofix mounts located along the edges of the sofa are located under spring-loaded plugs that don’t even need to be removed.
The volume of the luggage compartment is a little disappointing, only 330 liters, the same BMW three-ruble note has 480 liters, although the latter has no stowaway. You can increase the volume of the luggage compartment by folding the backrests of the rear sofa separately from the passenger compartment, which when folded form an almost flat floor. The electrically operated luggage compartment lid comes already in the base, so owners won’t have to get their hands dirty in bad weather.
The media system in the Genesis G70 is like in the “old” Hyundai, with an 8 ”touchscreen display, with good response, but low resolution, it supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It also has its own navigation system, although not with the most relevant maps for today, but with traffic jams that become available when the car is connected to the network via Wi-Fi, it is enough to create an access point on the smartphone. The system works well to bypass traffic jams, but since the maps are a little outdated and there are no new roads on them, therefore, some routes are not available for it. In addition to voice guidance along the route, visual guidance is available on the virtual instrument panel and head-up display. In addition to traffic jams, when connected to the network, the system can also display weather data. In the media system, there is some semblance of dividing the display for two applications, but the drawing of the menu leaves much to be desired, moreover, it was not redrawn for Genesis, and only a couple of unique screensavers were simply added. In the presented and soon going on sale new Genesis products, the media system is a cut above, it is fast and functional, built on the new platform from Nvidia, and the screen is larger in size and with high resolution.
Connecting the phone via Bluetooth occurs without problems, the connection is always stable, and the quality of the speakerphone is at a high level. However, as in Hyundai, working with the phone book is available only on the main screen of the media system, and it is impossible to display data on the dashboard or projection screen, which, of course, is inconvenient. The only thing that can please the owner is the ability to navigate through the list of contacts from the buttons on the steering wheel, but you still have to distract from the road and look at the center screen. The system can memorize up to 5 Bluetooth phones, but only one device can be connected to it at a time.
In the car, there is one USB-A connector in the front of the passenger compartment, in open access, it is located at the bottom of the front console, and next to it is an audio output and a 12V socket, so using an adapter, the number of USBs can be increased. There is another USB connector in the armrest recess, and one in the rear, under the cover. Also in our configuration, wireless charging according to the Qi standard was available, the platform is located in the niche of the center console. There is relatively little space for the device on the charger, the iPhone 11 in a case fits almost back to back. Access to the niche cannot be called free, the gear lever interferes, and the screen of the device from the driver’s seat is only partially visible. Modern gadgets are charged from the car’s on-board network quickly enough, so that a sat down smartphone can be recharged a little even during a short trip.
In contrast to the central screen of the media system, the 12.3 ”HD-resolution virtual dashboard stands out for the better. Not only is its resolution higher, it also has much better graphics, as well as the ability to display a 3D image. A 3D mode has been implemented with the use of a parallax barrier, which allows obtaining a stereoscopic image on a regular display without the need to use 3D glasses. Located at the front of a conventional LCD panel, it consists of a layer of material with a series of slits, allowing each eye to see a corresponding set of pixels, which creates a sense of volume through a parallax effect. A similar solution can be seen in the Nintendo 3DS console, and in cars this method was used by Land Rover so that the driver and passenger could see different pictures on the same screen. Unfortunately, you can only take a three-dimensional image using a 3D camera, and see it on the corresponding display, even the passenger no longer sees the three-dimensional image. The 3D panel looks very impressive for the driver, the devices, like the rest of the data, are voluminous, and the effect remains in any light, although it is more noticeable at night. But this method of displaying a 3D image is not suitable for all people, some people may get headaches from it, so you can turn off the stereoscopic effect in the settings. There are three options for the design of the virtual dashboard to choose from, the images are the same for both normal and 3D modes.
Of the electronic assistants in the car, there is a blind spot monitoring system with indication in the far corners of the mirrors and, most conveniently, on the head-up display. The system can be turned off and on using the button to the left of the steering wheel. There is intelligent cruise control that can work at low speeds, but in traffic jams it does not work in the best way, either slowing down the car too early, or, on the contrary, doing nothing for a very long time. Perhaps the system should be given time to learn, but during the test I did not notice any significant changes in its behavior. But there are no complaints on the track, everything works fine. Cruise control is offered from the buttons on the steering wheel, and data on the system’s operation can be displayed on the dashboard. Since the cruise control is adaptive, there is additionally a lane keeping assistant, which is activated at speeds of 60 km / h, and an automatic braking system in front of obstacles. Parking maneuvers are assisted by sensors in the front and rear, as well as a XNUMX-degree camera with a very good picture. When reversing, the screen displays warnings about perpendicular vehicles, and in an emergency, the car can brake by itself.
Climate control in the car is dual-zone, with a convenient control unit, on which there are large knobs and also large buttons, but without its own display. Information about the temperature is displayed on the screen of the media system by pop-up windows during adjustment, which is not very convenient, it would be quite possible to display this data on a permanent basis. The climate system works very smoothly and evenly, but it does not warm up the interior too quickly. The front and rear seats are heated, which heats the seats slowly and warms the back more. There is also a two-level steering wheel heating, and ventilation is still available for the front seats, so you can cool off a little in summer.
I liked the car for comfort, the suspension with adaptive shock absorbers works well for small irregularities and gently bypasses large ones, the only thing is that middle potholes with sharp edges make their way into the salon. In the silence, the car is also at a very good level, however, you can hear the noise from the wheels inside, but I think this issue can be solved by changing the rubber.
Genesis G70 is presented with one two-liter turbocharged gasoline engine, the power of which is 197 or 247 hp, it comes only in conjunction with an eight-speed automatic and four-wheel drive. The engine-box pair is tuned very well, the car obediently and quickly reacts to pushing the accelerator, including the necessary gear. In addition, the box works smoothly and without jerking in any mode. The handling of the G70 is obedient, but, unlike the 3-Series BMW, there is a kind of stiffness, it seems that Genesis restrains the driver, controlling his every action. In such a car, I would like more transparency and drive, but they are not. Despite all its impetuous appearance, the G70 is calm and a little restrained in management. There is, of course, a sport mode, in which the suspension settings and the operation of the gearbox are changed, but I don’t want to drive it all the time, and I would not say on the control itself that this is strongly reflected. By the way, the sound of the engine in the car can be brought out artificially to the salon; there are even three sound modes in the settings. I didn’t really like the fuel consumption of the Genesis G70, in mixed mode it kept at least 12 liters, and in the city it was almost 14 liters with a fairly smooth and quiet mode of travel.
In general, the Genesis G70 can be easily attributed to the premium segment: materials, attention to detail, availability of options – everything in this car meets the necessary criteria. The cost of the model in Russia starts at 2 rubles, the maximum configuration costs already 370 rubles. Probably the most interesting thing is the average Advance configuration for 000 rubles, which already has many options, including full LED optics, a full set of electronic assistants, glazing with additional noise isolation and a media system with navigation. But the maximum configurations of the G3 are already close in price to their German competitors and therefore are not so interesting.
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