Sunday Drive: Kicking up our heels in the Genesis G90 Flagship
It is always a great opportunity to be able to drive the flagship of a manufacturer’s line. Through the years, this has usually been a sedan, as it is with Genesis and its G90. The G90 that made its way to us was top notch; it featured not only the mild hybrid e-assist supercharger, but it was also the long wheelbase edition, with an extra 7.5 inches of room over the standard G90.
The G90 could not have arrived at a more perfect time as we had a trip planned to St. George during the same week as our test drive. Our plan was simply to get far enough south to see and spend time in some sun. Doing it in what we would call an ultra-luxury sedan was icing on the cake, as the Genesis was filled with creature comforts.
The day of our departure, a Thursday, dawned dark and overcast in Utah County. We were able to get two carry-on sized bags, three pillows, two blankets, a computer bag and a box of food into the cavernous trunk of the G90. It was almost as if we had an SUV along for the trip.
The reason for stowing all the gear in the trunk was we planned on eating dinner that evening in Mesquite, Nevada, with some friends, and we would need the rear seats of the sedan for them (as opposed to all of our stuff). We loved the one-touch button that would open and close the trunk automatically; it is a fine luxury addition indeed.
Our trip south included sun, rain and snow as Utah’s spring of 2023 continued to be cooler than usual. We hit a snowstorm around Cedar City, and it continued snowing until we reached the first Hurricane exit. The G90, which now comes with all-wheel drive, was up for all of it. It handled the poor weather with complete confidence, and we only slowed to around 65 during some of the worst parts of the storm.
We did lose most of the safety features as the snow stuck to the front of the vehicle, but they all came right back on as we got into St. George and the temperature warmed up to almost 50 degrees.
The best part of the flagship G90 and its extra length is that it is designed specifically for having folks in the back seat. It’s set up in a “Driving Miss Daisy” kind of way. The rear occupants can control all of the infotainment features, they have larger doors to get in and out, and their seats are heated and cooled and have built-in massagers.
Our friends Jeff and Judy Ostler got in the back of the G90 and pretty much took over. We were just the drivers — or really more like chauffeurs — at that point. They were so content with the seat massagers and controlling the sound system that we didn’t think we were going to get them out of the car and into the restaurant after our 10-mile drive together.
We, of course, also loved having massaging seats throughout our weekend trip as they made the drive much more enjoyable. The driver’s seat had a unique feature: It would occasionally push on the driver’s lower back and then release, helping to ease the fatigue of just plain driving.
With its combination e-supercharger and V-6 engine, the G90 had some serious mojo in the get-up-and-go department, coming in at 409 horsepower with 405 foot-pounds of torque. This would get it to 60 mph in right around 5.7 seconds. That’s not too shabby for such a large sedan!
All of the doors had buttons that opened them halfway automatically; the rider would then have to push them whatever remaining distance was needed to get out of the car. There was also a button for everyone, front and back, that would close each door all on its own also. You gotta love that as a husband saver; he’ll never be blamed for not shutting the door again.
The ride was super smooth as the sedan came clad with 21-inch tires and a suspension that made it seem as though we were riding on satin, no matter what the road happened to push our way.
The all-digital driver’s display and infotainment system were also awesome, as has been our experience in other Genesis models. These two 12.3-inch high-definition screens can be configured in many different ways, giving each user the opportunity to be very unique.
There was also a heads-up display that would project speed and driving directions when the navigation system was engaged.
With the included navigation and when using the adaptive cruise control, the G90 would automatically slow down when it approached tight curves or other road conditions that needed a gentle reduction in speed to make them safer to navigate. This feature proved its worth on our way home as we chose to take the scenic route through Milford and Delta and navigated some twisty backroads along the way.
We loved the fact that when we were using the cruise control, the G90 kept track of all the vehicles around us and showed them on the heads-up display. When we needed to change lanes, it would put the path up and help us perform the change.
The sedan was loaded with other safety features, including forward collision avoidance and assist if needed, blind spot monitoring and avoidance assist, driver attention warning and forward attention warning.
Then there was the automatic parking feature that would navigate the sedan automatically into a tight garage space or other parking space using only the key fob. This would also work in reverse, with the G90 starting on its own and backing out of the tight spot.
After our trip in the G90, we believe it deserves all the accolades it has received as one of the best sedans on the market, with luxury and technology highlighting the drive. We could have asked for nothing better to complete an enjoyable spring trip to St. George — except maybe a little more sunshine.
Base price: $98,700
Destination charge: $1,095
Price as driven: $101,295
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- Deanne enjoys the sun and the G90 at Tuacahn with the beautiful red rocks that are always part of a trip down to St. George.
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- Inside the new Genesis G90 sedan.
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- Inside the new Genesis G90 sedan.
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- Inside the new Genesis G90 sedan.
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- An exterior shot of the Genesis G90, known as the EQ900 in the Korean market.