Driving the 2015 Hyundai Genesis further up the luxury ladder

When Hyundai first launched its Genesis mid-sized luxury sedan back in 2008, it came with a sticker price of $32,000. That placed it in direct competition with cars like the Nissan Maxima, Chrysler 300 and Toyota Avalon — hefty, soft-riding cars in desperate need of a fresh entry. Despite dated tech that looked like something out of the original Robocop, the world’s most unwieldy dashboard, and inconsistent performance, the Genesis did pretty well for a new model, selling up to 20,000 units a year. The company showed skeptics that it could make something other than competent econoboxes.

For 2015, Hyundai has relaunched the Genesis, no longer aiming for the middle of the road. It now intends play the luxury game with the BMW 5-Series, the Mercedes E-Class, the Lexus GS and the Audi A6. There’s a whole new suite of technologies, wood accents, soft-touch leather, a tighter chassis, and a pared-down dashboard that looks less like some cheesy vision of the future. It starts at $38,950, but once you add options packages, suddenly you’re $10,000 over that. While that price substantially undercuts the competition, the Genesis’ ultimate success rides on one important question: Who’s going to spend $50,000 on a Hyundai?

2015 Hyundai Genesis

• Engine: 3.8L V-6; 5L V-8

• Power: 311 hp V-6; 420 hp V-8

• Transmission: 8-speed auto

• Drivetrain: Rear-wheel drive; AWD optional

• MPG: 18/29 V-6; 15/23 V-8

• Base Price: $38,950

• As Tested: $51,500 (V-8)

Like every other automaker, Hyundai claims that its target customer for the Genesis is between 38 and 55 years old, a middle or upper-middle level manager who makes $75,000 a year. The more likely driver is 65 years old or older, and the Genesis is the automotive equivalent of a gold watch, a pension plan on wheels. This new ride isn’t going to change that substantially.

We drove the new Genesis last week in the desert east of Scottsdale, Ariz., where people and cars go to retire. First up was the 3.8-liter V-6, which gets just a hair above 300 hp and seems to be the natural engine for the car. Hyundai consulted with Lotus Engineering for the body redesign, and while they won’t say exactly what Lotus contributed, they will say that the chassis is 40 percent stiffer than the outgoing model. That seemed about right; it hugged the road nicely through modest curves. Though the speedometer never got above 90, and was there only for a second because of Arizona’s notoriously low speed limits, acceleration didn’t seem to be a problem. It was obviously a well-built machine.