We’d have to be nearsighted not to have seen this coming. Hyundai’s been dating the luxury car customer for some time with products such as the midsize Genesis and large Equus sedans. With the announcement and launch of the Genesis luxury brand, it puts a ring on that finger.  FOLLOW DAILY NEWS AUTOS ON FACEBOOK. 'LIKE' US HERE.  It’s a small family for now, with just two products. The Hyundai Genesis is renamed, now dubbed the G80, and the replacement for the Hyundai Equus and subject of this review, the 2017 Genesis G90, serves as the flagship of the brand.  With the S-Class and 7-Series, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have dominated the premium luxury sedan market segment for decades. The Audi A8 and Lexus LS have secured smaller pieces of the pie and Cadillac has only recently made a serious attempt at courting premium luxury customers with its CT6 flagship. These brands have particularly loyal buyers, hard to lure away (just ask Cadillac), and Genesis will look for opportunities to woo customers moving up from lesser Hyundais as well as try to pry some away from lower-tier luxury brands such as Lincoln, Acura and Infiniti.  Hyundai’s approach to building a luxury channel aims to avoid the pitfalls suffered by some other luxury franchises by focusing its resources on product rather than the brick and mortar of a separate dealer network. So in the first few years at least, that means a Genesis “wing” at most but not all Hyundai dealer showrooms.  Some might say that’s like having a Starbucks corner in a McDonalds—it’s not just about the coffee but the atmosphere, the zen of the experience. Long-term, Hyundai has that one covered. Its plan is to build the Genesis family brand into a six-vehicle lineup by 2021. That would include the G90 premium large sedan, the G80 midsize luxury sedan, a smaller G70 near-luxury sedan, an as yet unnamed midsize luxury sport coupe, and midsize and compact luxury crossovers likely dubbed GX with a two-digit appellation.  That’s a lot of G-rated alphanumeric luxury and, once Genesis has achieved critical product mass, expect dedicated Genesis dealerships to start popping up.  The headliner 2017 Genesis G90 flagship is available in two flavors. The volume offering will be the 3.3T Premium, powered by a downsized version of Hyundai’s 3.8-liter V6 that’s been turbocharged to make 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque over a wide band from 1,300 to 4,500 rpm. Topping the G90 range is the 5.0 Ultimate, sporting a 420-hp V8 with 383 lb-ft of torque, a carryover from the Equus.  Most important is the addition of all-wheel drive, the only option offered and available on both G90 models. All-wheel drive is something the rear-drive-only Equus had lacked and this omission seriously crimped its appeal to buyers in the Upper Midwest and Northeast.  As of this writing, Genesis has not announced official pricing, but U.S. execs have suggested that the G90 3.3T Premium will start near the price of the outgoing Hyundai Equus, which puts it in the mid- to upper $60,000 range. Add a few thousand for all-wheel drive and tack on several thousand more for the 5.0 Ultimate V8 model.  As with the Hyundai Equus that preceded it, the G90 looms long and wide, its footprint about the same as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, Audi A8 and long-wheelbase Lexus LS.  The G90’s face incorporates an even larger version of the hexagonal grille and winged Genesis badge that first appeared on the midsize Hyundai-brand Genesis sedan a couple of years back. A long hood, stretched dash-to-front axle ratio, stately 19-inch alloy wheels, and short overhangs give the G90 the right premium-luxe, rear-drive proportions. From the doors back, and especially at the trunk and taillights, the G90 strikes a surprising resemblance to recent Maybach uber-sedans.  Inside, the richness continues. In this class, you’d expect the real wood and aluminum trim and soft leather coverings on just about everything, but the heated and ventilated front chairs – 22-way driver and 16-way front passenger – offer amazing comfort and support. The driver’s seatback can actually articulate in the middle and has adjustable lumbar, shoulder bolster and lower cushion extensions.  There’s an artful mix of analog and digital details in the cabin with a crystal-clear 12.3-inch central infotainment screen controlled using a knob mounted on the center console, wireless cellphone charging, and a full color head-up display juxtaposed with a dash-mounted analog clock, large speedometer and tachometer instrumentation, and logically arrayed, tastefully executed buttons and knobs for infotainment and climate control functions on the center stack.  For the business-class rear thrones, the G90 Ultimate 5.0 model adds additional content, bringing ventilation, recline, fore/aft, and headrest controls worthy of a rock star or captain of industry. Oddly, though, Genesis supplies no massaging seats or video entertainment system for rear occupants.  Extra-thick acoustic glass all around helps keep out a noisy world. Or for the opposite effect, the standard 900-watt, 17-speaker Lexicon surround-sound system can create considerable decibels of its own with settings you can adjust to put the music in front, in back, or all around you.  Put the G90 in motion and there’s no doubt you’re at the helm of a generously proportioned car of considerable bearing – almost 2-1/2 tons worth. Yet the Genesis flagship doesn’t feel cumbersome.  During my drive evaluation on dry highways in British Columbia, I wasn’t able to experience the traction advantages of the H-TRAC all-wheel-drive system, but during inclement weather it automatically apportions drive torque front to rear based on available stick, and should prove itself a feature snow-country buyers will appreciate. In good weather, it’s biased to make the G90 feel like the standard rear-drive car.  Acceleration with the 3.3T Premium model’s 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 is more than ample and entirely appropriate for the bearing of this car. Smooth and responsive over a wide range of driving conditions, it supplied plenty of low-speed torque for climbing a long uphill highway grade without requiring the 8-speed automatic transmission to downshift. EPA fuel-economy estimates for the V6 are 17-mpg city/24-mpg highway, regardless of whether or not the car is equipped with AWD.  In the 5.0 Ultimate model the 5.0-liter V8 delivers a bit more top-end punch and the hearty sound of eight great cylinders while giving up some fuel economy. This engine is EPA-rated at 16-mpg city/24-mpg highway with rear-wheel drive and drops further to 15-mpg city/23-mpg highway with AWD. It can sprint to 60 mph in just over five seconds, according to Genesis.  Overall, the G90 exhibits a solid and secure vibe. The standard adaptive damping suspension does a good job of controlling body movement over a variety of road surfaces and the new rack-mounted variable-ratio electric power steering tracks straight and true on center, offering decent feedback and a natural effort buildup in turns. You can feel the hundred-or-so added pounds on the nose affecting the weighting of the steering of AWD versions, especially on the 5.0 Ultimate model, but it’s not enough to spoil the balance of the car. The G90’s massive 4-wheel disc brakes, upsized from the binders in the Equus, deliver a firm top-of-pedal feel and satisfying, linear response.  A console-mounted drive-mode button allows the driver to adjust steering effort, damper firmness, throttle response, shift timing and AWD front-rear bias according to Sport, Smart, Eco, and Individual programs. The Smart mode learns the driver’s behind-the-wheel behavior and does a bang up job of adapting to inputs in real time. Eco mode dulls throttle response a bit, upshifts to taller gears sooner and squeezes out an extra half a mile per gallon or so if the car is gently driven. Sport mode firms up the steering and shocks a bit and keeps revs higher for more spirited driving. The Individual mode offers you a series of menus to customize the driving experience to personal taste.  Adding to the G90’s confident feel is the armada of electronic and semi-autonomous safety gear it packs. This includes just about every active safety technology out there, including, among others, forward collision warning with pedestrian detection and automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning and prevention, adaptive cruise control with full stop, and blind-spot warning. There’s also a driver attention alert that will beep and buzz the haptic steering wheel and flash a warning if it senses a driving pattern indicating drowsiness or inattention (this may err on the side of caution as a warning was initiated during my 150-mile evaluation drive despite my full attention behind the wheel). As with everything else offered on the 2017 Genesis G90 (aside from AWD), it’s all standard equipment.  Also standard and helping to differentiate Genesis products from more pedestrian Hyundai models in their shared showrooms is the Genesis Experience. This encompasses a portfolio of services that includes three years/36,000 miles of complimentary maintenance and valet service when your G90 is in the service bay, and three years/unlimited miles of roadside assistance with concierge service. Additionally, the Genesis Experience includes three years of complimentary connected services from your cellphone, as well as SiriusXM traffic, travel link, and navigation updates for that period of time.  The latest Genesis connected service is available for Alexa-enabled devices on Amazon Echo. While you can’t yet ask your Genesis to run out for some sushi, it will do things like lock and unlock or remote start your G90, things that previously required you to actually get up, go down the hall, and point the remote fob out the window to accomplish.  With the introduction of the 2017 Genesis G90, Hyundai firmly plants its flag on premium luxury turf. It really should come as no surprise. The Korean industrial superpower is already a juggernaut in heavy industry, shipping, and railroads and is well on its way to being the fourth largest automaker in the world after Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors. Both Hyundai and sister-brand Kia have been rising to the top rungs in J.D. Power quality and appeal surveys. And the ascendance of Korean-brand consumer electronics, cellphones, televisions, and appliances cannot be denied.  A generation of new buyers has grown up equating Korean products with top quality. It’s Hyundai’s turn.  Still, premium luxury-car buyers are a loyal lot and not easily swayed, as Hyundai discovered with fairly weak sales of its previous Equus sedan. As lovely, well crafted, up-to-date, and road-worthy as the G90 is, the Genesis flagship doesn’t raise the bar in the premium segment. What it does do, however, is present a compelling value proposition, offering an incredibly well-equipped car with so-far unmatched warranties.  Did you find this article helpful? If so, please share it using the "Join the Conversation" buttons below, and thank you for visiting Daily News Autos.
You’ve known Genesis as the name of one of Hyundai’s upscale sedans. Now it’s time to get to know Genesis as Hyundai’s new luxury brand.