Auto review: The Genesis G90 is cool just sitting in your driveway

OAKLAND COUNTY, Michigan — Luxury cars are becoming Brookstone gadget stores on wheels. Who needs to drive them? They’re just fun to play with.

Take the 2024 Genesis G90 sitting in my driveway.

With the key in my pocket, I walked up to the Genesis and it rolled out the red carpet. Make that lit carpet. A Genesis logo splashed on the ground in front of the door and the handles moved outward to my waiting hand. Coldwell Banker, do your house tours do this?

I slid into the posh seats, pushed the brake pedal and the door softly closed next to me. Push the door button and it swings back open (sensing the distance to the car next to you, of course). Step out, lightly tap the door handle button and the door swings closed. Show it off to your friends; you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.

Show-and-tell luxury accessories have been coming fast and furious in recent years. There’s the Tesla Model 3/Y that will follow you like a dog, the Genesis G60 SUV that you can remote parallel park, the GMC Sierra’s Multi-Pro six-way tailgate including a stairway-into-the-bed, the Ram 1500’s mega-screen, the Lincoln Nautilus’s 48-inch pillar-to-pillar display.

The G90 shows off its cutting-edge tech inside a stunning sedan. Remember those? Cadillac and Lincoln long ago exited the big sedan market, so the Genesis is left to compete with icons like the Audi A8, BMW 7-series and Mercedes S-class. In an SUV-mad world, these loooong land yachts remind just how elegant the sedan figure can be.

The G90 debuted back in 2017 as an Audi knock-off and has since matured into its own style. The band’s signature dual lamps are on display — wrapped around the front end like racing stripes — and are both instantly recognizable as one of the most handsome designs in class. My G90 tester doesn’t come cheap at $100K, but that’s 5 grand south of the comparable BMW 7-series I tested last summer — and showcases classic lines compared to the German’s new techno-punk wardrobe.

Like the Bimmer, the Genesis sports those mesmerizing auto-shut doors — and lots more toys inside. No, our tour still hasn’t got out of the driveway yet.

Fall into the palatial backseat (just press the door button and it silently closes behind you) and slip your shoes off. Press a button on the door and your chair turns into a Barcalounger.

The front passenger seat rolls forward to open up (even more) legroom while the backseat reclines. Out pops a thigh support so your legs can stretch out straight, my 6-foot-5 drumsticks dangling in the air. Ahhhh.

...continued

swipe to next page