The Korean Luxury Brand That Has Been Forgotten
Most Malaysian car enthusiasts already know the Genesis car brand. This is the luxury automotive division of Korean household brand Hyundai.
Yes, Hyundai owns Genesis and just like how Toyota owns Lexus, Nissan owns Infiniti and Honda owns Acura, Hyundai needed a luxury brand to persuade North American and European car buyers that they could deliver a ‘superior in all areas’ vehicle and they did it.
Awards
In February 2020, the Genesis brand took over the top spot for vehicle reliability from long standing winner Lexus. This is not the only award for Genesis. In the J.D Power 2018 APEAL study, Genesis topped German luxury brand Porsche.
The APEAL study (which stands for Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout) “measures owners’ emotional attachment and level of excitement across 77 attributes,” ranging from performance to comfort, and asks nearly 68,000 owners of new 2018 models to score vehicles on a 1,000-point scale.
In its second year ranked as a stand-alone brand, Genesis earned an APEAL score that moved the brand up 15 points to 884 and helped push it past Porsche and also past BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Volvo, Land Rover and Lexus, in order of ranking.
Most Reliable Models
And here are the top-ranked models by J.D. Power’s automotive segment classifications:
- Small Car: Honda Fit/Jazz
- Small Premium Car: BMW 2 Series
- Compact Car: Nissan Leaf
- Compact Sporty Car: Mazda MX-5 Miata
- Compact Premium Car: Lexus ES
- Mid-Size Car: Buick Regal
- Mid-Size Sporty Car: Ford Mustang
- Mid-Size Premium Car: Genesis G80
- Large Car: Toyota Avalon
Genesis ranks highest in overall vehicle dependability with its score of 89 PP100; 2020 marks the first year the brand has been included in the study. In 2019, Lexus earned the top brand slot, followed by Porsche. Now in 2020, Lexus slides to the No. 2 position and Porsche slides to No. 4.
As with most years, J.D. Power said that the area of audio/communication/entertainment/ navigation accounts for more problems than any other category in the study, and issues with voice recognition and Bluetooth continue to be pain points for owners.
Rivals
We should be seeing more Genesis models in Malaysia in the coming year as there are plans to officially introduce Genesis to Malaysia with its stand alone showroom. Just like Lexus, Genesis will have its own luxury showroom and the first model to be launched will probably be the Genesis GV70 luxury SUV. In October this year, this premium high technology SUV was previewed in Malaysia to select media and potential customers and there were three units ordered. Priced to match premium German and British SUVs, the GV70 delivers features and cabin technology that will surprise.
Coming
The next model to arrive will be the Genesis G70 luxury sedan. This rear wheel drive sports sedan comes with a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and a 3.3-liter turbocharged all wheel drive version. Designed to challenge the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E-Class, this fully imported sports sedan will be priced from RM350,000 upwards which will make it the most expensive in its segment, but also the most luxurious. Only the Lexus GS has the luxury and cabin features to match this Genesis G70 but rumors from Japan state that the Lexus GS is to be retired in favor of a whole new vehicle.
It must be noted that when Lexus Malaysia launched the GS 250 in 2012 it was priced from RM375,999 and the GS 350 was priced from RM468,884. So, the Genesis G70 asking price is actually not that bad.
Look out for its Malaysian launch in coming months.
