Genesis has redesigned the flagship G90 sedan for the 2023 model year. This second-generation of the car has a beautiful cabin, an impressive list of standard equipment, and new six-cylinder engines to replace an outgoing V8. It’s also much more expensive.
The 2023 Genesis G90 competes with other luxury options such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the BMW 7 Series, the Lexus LS, the Tesla Model S, the Volvo S90, and the Audi A8. These are just a few of the plentiful options in the large luxury sedan category. Compared to most of these, the G90 is somewhat middling, with some of these options being better choices for most buyers and some being worse.
The G90 has several things going for it. The aforementioned standard features list and standard safety equipment list are high points. Yet those lists aren’t much more robust than what’s found on the competition. The real set-apart for the Genesis G90 is in its cabin design and appeal.
High-end materials choices, excellent luxury, and a lot of smart ergonomics make the G90 a beautiful car. Most of the other competitors we’ve listed can only come close to this, with a few exceptions. Namely Mercedes-Benz and Volvo. Where those, and a few other brands, excel over the G90 is in drive excitement and wireless connectivity. The G90 does not come with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto as wireless. They are USB only. Which is odd given that other vehicles from Hyundai (Genesis’ mother company) do have that feature.
We did really enjoy the drive quality of the 2023 Genesis G90. It’s neither sport nor quick, when compared to the more sport-centric options it competes with, but it’s luxuriously comfortable and smooth in nearly all driving situations. Which will appeal to most luxury buyers. The G90 doesn’t float like an antiquated yesteryear luxury car, but manages to stay smooth without removing the driver from the roadway. The engagement and feel are still there and are only slightly muted in the name of comfort. A nice balance that we enjoyed.
Genesis decided to drop the V8 that powered the G90 in its previous generation and has replaced it with two V6 options. Both good choices and ample replacements for the somewhat thirsty eight.
Standard is a turbocharged V6 outputting 375 horsepower. That’s a good match for the car, offering confident but not thrilling performance. An upgrade option, though, is an electrically-supercharged version (called the E-Supercharger) of that V6 that boosts power to 409 horsepower and brings top torque earlier in the RPM band. These engines also improve fuel economy, compared to the V8, by about 3 mpg and 1 mpg respectively. Both enter an eight-speed automatic transmission with all-wheel drive as standard.
Another great leap for the G90 this year is its price tag. Genesis upped the price of the new 2023 G90 by about 18 percent over its predecessor, putting it at just about $100,000 to start. That’s on par with most of the offerings in this segment, though, and not outlandish given the G90’s high luxury.
Standard features in the 2023 Genesis G90 include a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a same-sized center infotainment screen with navigation, a head-up display, five USB-C ports, a wireless charger, a 15-speaker audio system from Bang & Olufsen, and Genesis Digital Key. The GDK is a smartphone app that allows the driver to use a smart phone as a key for the car along with several remote-access options.
Safety and assistance features include adaptive cruise control, forward collision mitigation, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot view (in-dash camera views), blind-spot intervention, rear cross-traffic alerts and braking, surround-view cameras, and more. Remote smart parking (aka Smaat Paak) is also included.
The 2023 Genesis G90 is one of our favorite luxury sedans this year. It’s not as exciting or feature-laden as some options on the market, but it’s the most feature-balanced and smooth driving vehicle we’ve experienced in this class.
This review originally appeared on DriveModeShow.com.
