Genesis New EQ900L
There's a Korean proverb
that if one constantly has dirty thoughts, their hair will quickly grow longer,
and metaphorically speaking, this saying can apply to Hyundai and its new
luxury brand Genesis.
If anything, the people at
Genesis are having ‘dirty thoughts’ about going full attack on Germany’s finest
luxury brands on all fronts, stretching from the ‘New York Concept’ headed to
the Big Apple next week and which is believed to be a veiled BMW 3-Series and
Mercedes-Benz C-Class rival that will materialize next year as the G70, to
their new production EQ900L that cheekily winks at Merc’s elongated S-Class
Maybach models.
They’re not there yet, as
buyers have very strong preconceptions about brand names and history in this
particular segment, but make no mistake; there’s a long-term plan at play here
from the Koreans, so keep an eye on them.
For now, the EQ90L will
serve the Korean market only, catering to the needs of high-paid execs with a
290 mm longer wheelbase than the regular G90 at 3,450 mm, while the car’s overall length was stretched out to 5,495 mm.
Besides the enormous
legroom, rear passengers of the EQ900L are spoiled with two reclining
individual seats with extendable footrests, special lighting, an advanced
air-conditioning system, a Lexicon premium sound system, separate 9.2 inch
screens hanging behind the front seats and a massive center console riddled
with buttons and even a cooled compartment.
For power, Genesis chose
Hyundai’s 5.0-liter Tau V8 engine rated at 425 PS and 520 Nm of peak torque, paired to a standard eight-speed automatic and an
electronically controlled permanent four-wheel drive system.
In South Korea, prices for
the EQ900L start from around 100 million won, the equivalent of about US$ 87,000
at today’s rates.
