If someone were to tell you 10 years ago that Hyundai and its sister company Kia would try to battle Germany's finest car brands with a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan, you would probably laugh at their face.
Today, the German's are not in the least amused by the Koreans efforts, which started with the Hyundai Genesis premium sedan that was launched in production trim in 2008.
Surprisingly for an Asian model, the Genesis sedan has aged well cosmetically, though, in all fairness, Hyundai's designers did take some styling notes from their counterparts in Munich…
Nevertheless, Hyundai wants to keep its mid-size model relevant against the competition, so it's currently completing the development of the second generation Genesis Sedan, which according to Hyundai Motor Company CEO Kim Choon-ho, will launch towards the end of 2013.
Our spy shooters spotted a prototype of the 2014 model Genesis outside the brand's European headquarters in Germany. The styling of the car appears to have changed significantly, with the new Genesis adopting a similar roof- and profile window-line as the mainstream Azera. In fact, if it weren't for the upright face, we could have easily mistaken it for Hyundai's other mid-size model…
Besides the sloping roof, the new Genesis gains modern LED accent lights that surround the headlamp units and a stubbier tail.
The 2014 model will ride on an updated version of the current Genesis sedan's platform that benefits from new suspension components while also shedding a few pounds in the process.
We expect Hyundai to offer the car with uprated versions of the 3.8-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 units, though, there's a possibility the Koreans may finish the development of a new 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 introduced on last year's KIA GT RWD Concept.
It also remains to be seen if Hyundai will continue to offer its BMW 5-Series-sized model at BMW 3-Series prices, as it does with the current Genesis Sedan.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoop
9 Comments:
I must this looks good. I have driven the current Genesis, and I did not like it. It felt too much like a 6 year old Lexus than a 2 year old car. But this looks pretty good...maybe this will finally sway me from bimmers?!
it looks like opel insignia in front and ford fusion/mondeo in rear
i agree the interior felt likea 1990s lexus not that it looked and felt cheap it just looked and dated and not on par with modern luxury sedans. The profile of this car looks promising and appears to be ditching the generic look of the current model
Think they have learned that if people want plain style they go to Toyota/Lexus so Sonata was a good indication that people may want something different.
Great observation.
I still think hyundai should of done what honda, toyota, and nissan did and started their own luxury brand using the azera, genesis and equus as their luxury line up. I think the current genesis and equus are great looking cars and for great value against their competitors. But at the end of the day its still a hyundai and people not familiar with cars will look at it that way.
it seems sth so niccccccccccccceeee behind the cover...from 2009 up to now i Ive loved all these genesis sedans
they should create a "genesis" brand, but they should come up with model names too.
it is already dumb enough to name models "genesis sedan" and "genesis coupe".
i like hyundai design
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