I initially thought this as well. But almost all reviews compare them to German SUVs instead of lexus, acura, or
infiniti. So it might be that they are not competing against the Japanese rivals.
Genesis is shooting for the Germans (but with a more American bent) - which is why they went with an all-RWD lineup.
Having said that, wish the GV70 was more like the G70 in terms of handling because its sheetmetal and the Sport moniker certainly give that impression.
The GV80, otoh, is perfectly fine being a lux cruiser.
Despite not having the handling chops of say, the X5, it's the GV80 that made C/D's 10Best list.
Or maybe they are comparing the GV70 to their favorite war horses?
I’d like to see some comparisons to the RX, NX, RDX and QX50/55. Driving dynamics are a notch below the Germans. How about the Japanese?
Nah, much better for Genesis to be continued to be compared against the Germans as opposed to the FWD Japanese.
Like for the GV80, the G90 is more a luxo-cruiser, yet is ranked ahead of the 7 Series and LS by C/D.
In the MT comparison, finished 1st ahead of the LS and 7 Series hybrid (S Class and A8 weren't included) despite not being the most dynamic driving-wise.
Also, beating the Continental didn't do much for the G90.
Genesis and the press would try to promote comparisons with the Germans as they are considered the benchmarks in the luxury segment. I'd wager that strategically, Genesis is probably aiming to take market share from Lexus/Acura/
Infiniti. It'd be much easier to convince potential buyers to switch from a Japanese brand to Genesis rather than from the Germans. I wonder if there's any recent stats that show conquest buyers. I vaguely recall from a while ago a study that showed that the brand that most Genesis buyers switched from was Lexus.
EDIT: Found the link:
Genesis Plays Hidden-in-Plain-Sight Role in Luxury Market
Followed by BMW, and then Mercedes and
Cadillac (tied).
Remember, that was before Genesis had any CUVs and back when Lexus still had the GS.
The G80 and G90 undercut the GS and LS, whereas the GV80 and GV70 are priced higher than the FWD Japanese CUVs.
The top trim of the GV70 is actually priced higher than the top trim of the MDX.
Don't think it's a coincidence that the largest % of conquests were from brands that sold RWD sedans.
If Genesis had gone with FWD CUVs instead of RWD, they would be compared against the Japanese and domestics instead of the Germans.
The FWD lux CUVs are just as apt, if not more so, to be compared to the top trims of the
Telluride,
Palisade and CX-9.
Can't recall the last time the RX/RX-L was in a comparison test with the Germans.
And in numerous XT6 reviews, the
Telluride kept popping up.
