I don't agree. RWD maybe be "preferred" but as the Stones said long ago, you can't always get what you want. I personally prefer RWD because I live in a warm climate, but I shopped the TL and ES before purchasing my Genesis, and my final decision had nothing to do with RWD vs FWD. Obviously, this is a matter for V6 buyers only.
But that's you (apparently RWD isn't that impt. to you).
There are many auto enthusiasts who avoid FWD w/ a passion and here, there have been numerous R-Spec owners who got the R-Spec b/c they wanted the combination of RWD + V8.
Btw, you're probably one of the minority to cross-shop the ES w/ the Genesis.
Not sure what this means. First you say "for some" and then you say "AWD is a must". That combination is meaningless. I once lived in the snowbelt and FWD worked fine for me without AWD. RWD was not an option for me. It might work in places that have flat streets almost everywhere.
These days, an AWD option is a must for RWD-based sedans.
AWDs make up 40-50% of sales for RWD-based luxury sedans.
One would be hard pressed to find a RWD on the lots in the New England.
The V6 RLX is priced too high and Acura dealers don't discount nearly as much as Hyundai dealers (with or without special Hyundai rebates to dealers). It also has the bucktooth front grill that is plaguing all Acura sales.
Why is the V6 RLX priced too high is it is supposed to compete in the midsize, luxury sedan segment (actually, kinda in btwn the midsize and fullsize)?
At $48,450 - the RLX is cheaper than the 4 cyl 5 Series and and the
Cadillac XTS which is priced similarly sells a whole lot better.
And that bucktooth front grill doesn't seem to have hurt RDX and MDX sales much, if at all.
Not sure that I have ever seen a V8 FWD in a sedan. The engine and extra weight on front end would be just to much too deal with.
Cadillac and
Lincoln used to major in V8 powered FWD sedans.
Does it matter what Hyundai thinks, and aren't they just making wild-ass guesses? I would think it matters more what consumers think. Besides, the breadth and width of competitive vehicles shopped by Genesis customers is much wider than they would have you believe.
Do you really think Hyundai developed the Genesis, the Equus and the upcoming new RK compact sedan
willy-nilly and w/o a plan or any sense of the auto market?
Just as the Sonata is the mainstream midsize sedan (Accord competitor) and the Azera - the large, upscale FWD sedan (Avalon competitor), Hyundai developed the Genesis sedan as the midsize luxury competitor, the Equus as the full-size, luxury competitor and then upcoming RK as the compact luxury competitor.
Just as Toyota did with the IS, GS and LS and Nissan with the G, M and Q.
The big problem with RLX is the Japanese/US currency exchange rates and the bucktooth grill on the current Acura's. If Acura could somehow overcome these issues, then it would be more a threat, but Genesis will likely still have a serious price advantage (albeit with some discounting) for the foreseeable future.
Where have you been? The falling valuation of the Yen has been a huge boon for the Japanese.
Subaru just chopped off nearly $4k off the price of the BRZ in Europe.
And the similarly bucktoothed RDX and MDX are selling very well for Acura.
All of this stuff is neither and here nor there and just you trying to evade being wrong (again).
Why do you think all the buyers of the new CTS are willing to pony up (at least) a whopping
$10k more for the CTS unless they are cognizant that the 3G CTS has moved up a class and now competes with the midsizers instead of the luxury compacts?