OFFICIAL: Hyundai's sub-$30K Lexus killer

Amazingly clean, elegant and refined design...

Gorgeous Grill!

I'm betting this one will be a Huge Hit.

I don't get why people are just saying that this car will eat up the market share of Lexus, that frankly is misleading, because it will eat up the market share of models even from Acura, Infiniti, and even BMW to a certain extent. Certainly this car will be a threat to Lexus ES and to a lesser extent to IS, and then to Acura TL, and lastly even the Infiniti G and the BMW 3 seires may loose some market share to this car, because it provides much more for such small money. This is mind boggling achievement by Hyundai.

Hyundai already has been working on a more upscale vehicle than Genesis under project name VI which will be targeting LS, 7, and S.

Hyundai is not trying to become Toyota/Lexus.

They will be better.

Ps1982k

Obviously, you just hate the company Lexus because youre a fool and you have a lame 3 series, if not, you would have specified which car it looks better than rather than just putting "lexus".

Honestly...think about it

The reason I stay away from Lexus is that I don't want to be seen as someone stupid enough to pay for something that is overpriced.

Lexus takes existing ideas and improves upon them. They take no risks because they're just a bunch of copy cat "female cats" that overhype the crap they produce. -Rosko

female cats???
wtf are u talking about?

youre the 1 that would EVEN consider voting for hillary...lol..get a life

EnnNorak- you care too much about what people think about you. Thats why you make poor decisions when purchasing a car. You need to stop being a follower and think for yourself. You will learn when you become an adult.

GO HYUNDAI!!!!!!!STICK IT TO THE MAN(LEXUS)!!!!!!!DOWN WITH LEXUS!!!!!!

in what way is lexus "the man"??

Oh dear..

the exterior is pretty good looking, more the rear than the front. the interior isnt bad, but i dont think it looks that great. either way, it looks like it will be a big hit among accord, camry, malibu buyers

Yes, ones looking to move upscale into the V8 powered luxury market...

Note: NOT as a direct competitor (as you seem to have insinuated).

as good as it is, in reality, it doubt that anybody would cross shop a 30K car with a 50-80K car. seriously, think about it.

high prices=more exclusiveness=more class perception

Rosko,

You are the stupid one if you think that it is that smiple.

PS, the Celsior is a rebadged Lexus.

Hyundai is correct... the Celsior came after the LS400, and was created exclusively for the Japanese market.

and for all the fools who THINK it is an insult to call lexi "mere" rebadged toyotas...

in japan and asia generally, toyota is MORE respected than mercedes, bmw, audi, cadillac, and even rolls-royce.
the toyota century was designed specifically to be a japanese alternative to RR, for the Imperial family, heads of state, and other high prestige personages. it offered a v12 engine (even RR depended on gm sourced v8s for many years), and all the known lux fittings.

even lexus (designed primarily for the american market and ONLY RECENTLY directed toward others) does not and never had an equivalent to the TOYOTA century.

it was perfectly natural to offer the american oriented lexus LS in japan as a TOYOTA. yes, a TOYOTA celsior was "just" a rebadged lexus!

so much for the idea of "cheap toyotas!"

Of course the headlights look like they're off the BMW 3-Series and the rest is the LS460.

It's needs to be restyled before they put this crap on the market.

^I second that!

Being european and all, I find this car quite amazing. Design is not on pair with europeans, but is more than on pair with Lexus and I believe it will be more sucessfull then lexus here in the old continent.

One thing that always puzzles me with the koreans:
their workforce is as expensive or more then european. So, they cant save on the salaries.
their taxes are on pair with european taxes. So they cant save with that.
Materials cost the same wherever you go. So they cant save here.
Technology is worldwide avaliable with a constant price, so they cannot be saving here.
Production volume is on pair or worse compared to europeans. So, they cant be saving here.

So how come that as much metal as Mercedes E costs 60 % of mercedes E? The only way they are could be saving is either:
- old technology (cheaper) and this is probably a fact
- less, cheaper materials - also probably true
- better, cheaper, faster engineering? I kinna have hard time believing that.
- business model that pays of with the warranty repairs (servicing) and spare parts?

at the end of the day, I believe this is really something we need to ask ourselves: how come Hyundai's are cheaper then EU or japanese or US cars? The only answer to that: they are just not as good regardless of their size and weight to price ratio.

Or the answer could simply be that -

The Others Are Overpriced, and Hyundai sees merit in offering consumers actual value.

What A Concept!

Well, at the end of the day, companies have to be profitable and have to finance their RnD. Hyundai is no exception to this rule. Unless they have this socialist feel towards providing world with products with 0 profit revenue? Dont think so, specially not with koreans.

Just so you'll know...

Manufacturing automobiles is but one of many markets in which Hyundai is successfully involved, so I'm confident that if a smaller profit margin is what they feel is the most effective way to become better established in the automotive world, they have the financial resources to support that decision.

Consumer Reports of late has reported that Hyundai quality now approaches that of the japanese, which in turn is SUPERIOR to that of american nameplates (altho' by a lesser margin now) AND ALL the euro nameplates.

the ONLY thing that sustains the euro lux brands are prestige, heritage, and 'magic feel.' oh, and of course, snobbery.

ok for you, quality = JD power index?

Still, question remains, how can they do produce and sell a vehicle for 50 % of the price?

JDPower's various indices may or may not reflect true quality. a large part of what they measure is SUBJECTIVE, like 'owner satisfaction,' 'buying experience,' etc.

their 'Initial quality' studies only covers 90-days. their "long-term" ratings still only covers 3-yrs. CR has had ratings out to 6-years, and lately out to 8 - 10 years.

JDP makes their living by selling their survey results to mfgrs. they have to sometimes INVENT categories that show up well for certain makers.

CR, a non-profit organization which INFORMS consumers, holds NO preferences and also holds no punches in their evaluations of autos (and other products).

people in europe (and snobs and idiots in the u.s.) may aspire to euro cars.

but go anyplace ELSE on the planet where buyers appreciate good design, STATE-OF-THE-ART mechanicals, and world leading reliability, and toyota/lexus becomes the OBVIOUS NUMBER ONE choice.

how else can you explain the on track trajectory that will push toyota PAST gm (to say nothing of mb, vw-audi, et al) to become NO. 1 on the planet?

you simply can not. because your hatred of toyota and lexus BLINDS you to basic TRUTHS.

Rosko and XYZZ... you both sound like absolute idiots.

Rosko, Japanese cars are quite impressive as a whole. They may not be the design leaders, but they give the customer what he wants, period. That's why they are now the largest automotive country on the planet.

XYZZ, it's fairly obvious that Toyota/Lexus aren't the "NUMBER ONE" choice for everyone, as you stated. European or even American cars can also be preferred. There is no clear BEST car in the world, and there never will be. I hope you were just getting angry and know that's not true.

s4:

"XYZZ, it's fairly obvious that Toyota/Lexus aren't the "NUMBER ONE" choice for everyone, as you stated. European or even American cars can also be preferred."


not for EVERYONE, but ON AVERAGE for consumer groups across the planet it is. how is this not obvious?

HOW ELSE would you explain toyota/lexus selling more cars and trucks than vw/audi, mercedes, and even the former #1, general motors.

but the margin is not 50 % of the product price, is it?

in the world of art and art galleries, IT IS indeed!

you mentioned a $/lb evaluation. which is not a bad STARTING point. all mfgrs pay the same amt for the basics of steel, plastics, glass, rubber, etc.

and as you say, profits ARE necessary. but a big ? is production and sales volume. on low volume luxury cars, the margins are and MUST be high.

the vw phaeton has been a commercial flop. look at how much the price has been slashed from the original asking prices. you know there was at least that much in profit margin.

true, some models have higher margins, but overall, average looking at a car class, margins should be similar since input costs are almost totally the same in western world (and S korea is there with production prices).

The interior looks very nice and elegant.

OFFICIAL: Hyundai is not Lexus competitor.

btw it looks like Toyota Aurion and maybe even aimed at it. Badge is a Bentley copy, Grille Mercedes, roofline is GS copy.

both a good and poor effort Hyundai. Be more original next time.

JUGNU

Lexus in europe (ok, UK is a little bit different) means less then alfa romeo in prestige class.

LS emission are cool, but sustainability factor EU wants to play on, makes it fairly poor.

jezus... its kinna hard to believe its totally impossible to have normal conversation here.

i believe andraz was referring to rosko retard, in saying how NORMAL conversation is difficult here at times.

Obama - don't talk about what you don't know.

The LS600h is in no way dominating the luxury segment, as Merc, Audi and BMW all offer lower emission large luxury cars, which cost far less than the overpriced Lexus.
And Lexus sales fell 17% for 2007 in Europe, I believe.

And as far as prestige in Europe (and the UK), Lexus is below Alfa, more in line with Volvo.
Lexus has had 17 years to improve sales in Europe, but still, they sell 10% of what the Germans do.

The front is the old Infiniti I30/35, the back looks like if an I30/35 was refereshed, the dashboard is the failed Infiniti Q45, the side looks like the new Nissan Altima. I honestly not seeing any interesting thing in it. But though it will sell good due to its price. The only reason I would buy it is its price.

Taking the price out, comparing it to a Lexus is a shame, and only Lexus haters would be unashamed. When you see a GS/LS/IS/LX/SC (my favorate Lexus brands) you can't control it not being amazed by their looks.
Lexus looks much better than the BMW, MB, Audi. Now BMW is saving itself with the new CS concept and that's a really killer design, but the other two are dead in the water, especially MB, it just copied the failed 7 series design and now they're stuck with it for another 6 years or so until they change it.

its crazy the kind of stuff the Lexus psychos can get away with on here...you have to be careful to not say anything about Toyotas Deluxe brand on this site....but i will correct you anyway.....the 7 series wasnt a failed anything for BMW it sold more of the "COntroversial" 7 series than of the previous generation by a considerable amount.....not stopping there it obviously set alot of trends for the luxury class as well. TO say that a Lexus looks better than anything is a lie, and subjective. I dont called warmed over toyota desighns with a wee bit more chrome appealing, bland, garish, maybe and it is really hard to be both at the same time so i give Lexus credit for that at least....but aside from these idiots making every post about Lexus, the Hyundai looks amazing for the price, it will be interesting to see how the market takes to it

I think Hyundai should create a new emblem to replace the current slanted 'H'. That way, they can easily place it on the bonnet or grille with pride. They are bringing great products to the market and should not become demure with their image. It's obvious they are stepping up in the world... so Hyundai, let the world know who you are or market under a new nameplate like Genesis.

i'm sure hyundai execs are far smarter than their vw counterparts, who thot they could sell a luxury car without UPgrading the VW IMAGE/nameplate and ended up with the phaeton phailure!

i'm sure hyundai execs are far smarter than their vw counterparts, who thot they could sell a luxury car without UPgrading the VW IMAGE/nameplate and ended up with the phaeton phailure!

Well, remember 30 years ago we all laughed at Toyota.

370HP? Wow.

Does anyone see that the 'controller' looks right out of the new Audi's?

It will serve its purpose and sell, sell, sell.

I AM impressed by the price. If the quality holds, what a car.

Looks like a G35 to me. Even though this is targeted at the LS/GS M35/45 5-Series vehicles, I see it cannibalizing G35/IS250-350/3 Series sales.

last year when hyundai brought out a bunch of highly competitive models, domestic fans predicted they'd be conquesting sales from toyota, nissan, and honda.

turned out the VAST majority of conquest sales were actually from the domestics. which CONTINUE to lose market share. while godzilla toyota just CONTINUES to grow and grow.

i would not be surprised if this new hyundai/genesis REPEATS the process with the EURO brands.

(despite the misleading title at the top of this thread, the article mentioned it was the EURO lux cars that would be most threatened.)

Are you ApexAlex?

Because you CAPITALIZE words in the middle of your sentences in the same annoying way he did.

To me, this car is a threat to EU similar cars, most definately, but time will probably tell, where the catch in price reduction is. It is a proven fact that hyundai/kia ceed, a car on pair with Fiat Bravo, VW Golf , Astra and others, costs the same as the competition. Actually last time I checked, VW golf was 300 euros cheaper (diesel version vs diesel version). Meaning, in order for hyundai to make an on pair car, brings the cost up to the european competition. Meaning, if its cheaper, its probably crappier.

I believe Top Gear figured that out too with the Getz, a true on pair to VW Polo, Clio, 207 and Punto. But also similar priced. So you gotta favourite the hyundai brand over the competition in order to buy getz.

Learn to spell before you write.

"werks" is not mispelled.

Honestly, not on my to-buy-any-time-soon list

Actually lookin 4ward 4 the new c class or the is

Will kill the Avalon in comparison tests. That's it.

I'm just waiting on the Genesis coupe... bring it on! Oh, and this sedan is nice too. Actually, I can see this car's V6 versions fighting with the premium Accord and Camry crowds. Just from a design point alone, I'd choose the Hyundai over the V6 Accord ( which is IMHO, is ghastly.)

stay with your comic books, capt retard. obviously your knowledge of premium cars is less than zero.

Well I wouldn't call a single model a Lexus killer. If Hyundai creted a line of good cars that can compete then maybe. This is a good start for Hyundai to compete in a SEGMENT of vehicle. Especially a segment that it took its stylig queues from (Infiniti M, Lexus GS, BMW 5 Series, etc...).

Could this be the GT-R of the mid- Luxury segment??

By the way...the fan boy comments are getting old. I wonder what pleasure people get by trying to irritate others via the internet?!?

if i dont like a certain car design, i express it. i deboost comments that i dont agree with and i usually dont care when someone doesnt like the car that i want or that i bought already. i come here to learn and to see what is coming out in the near future. people like rosko, EnnNorak and BMW3series are straight-up haters. once they read "lexus", they start to post comments about how much they dislike it and they call people "tards" that happen to prefer lexus over other "luxury" brands.

It looks awesome--I'm not sure if the wood is fake or not, but I'm loving that interior.

HOWEVER, I just don't know where it fits into the market. Obviously, nobody will be cross-shopping it with an S550 or LS460 any time soon. I don't think it will seduce any GS or 3 Series buyers, either. So what does that leave? Does it compete with the Toyota Avalon? Because it just seems to be a class or two above. Any thoughts?

I wonder if we'll get it in Europe - if we do I see it destined for minicab status for life. Large, powerful, no premium cars sell about as well as ready filled sandbags in the Sahara - and it has some competition, oddly.
Renault Vel Satis (not sold in UK anymore), Peugeot 607, Citroen C6, Vauxhall Signum and Fiat Croma are all alternatives - and they do not sell well at all.

Never mind the fact that most people will just buy a 3 series.

Take one cookie cutter to the mix (a new BMW a dash of Lexus the profile of a new Honda Accord with a touch of Benz/Maybach front end) and what do you get?.....the stunning Hyundai Genesis (inside and out)!! All these other cars are looking more and more alike, but looks like Hyundai got the mix just right! Best looking hands down as far as I'm concerned and I'm sure alot of new car buyers are going to agree!

"It doesn't have the prestige."

Isn't that exactly what Lexus fans argue against?

no, that's cliche the Euro fanbois always fall back on, in their ceaseless criticisms of lexus.


meanwhile, how many buyers in the u.s. really gave a F about those empty claims and criticisms? and what brand came from out of nowhere in 1989 and now TOPS ALL lux brands?

that's the cliche...

Lexus doesn't have prestige...

for those appreciative of engineering and fine automobiles generally, lexus has MORE prestige than the major euro brands.

which all have cheap 4-banger models at the bottom feeder end of their lineups.

ALL lexi are v6 or v8 powered. (excepting ONLY the is200, which has a diesel 4 and is offered ONLY in europe.)

ALL lexi engines are also dohc and 4-valve. mb actually went BACKWARD for a while, offering a 3-valve motor. Lexus (and japanese cars generally) also tends to offer more hp/liter in naturally aspirated engines, while many competitors have to offer turbo engines to get competitive hp ratings.

for engineers, lexus has MORE prestige than all the common run euro brands. only the EXOTICS have more prestige.

that's a LOT of car for the money.
nice job hyundai.

Thank heaven they changed the grille to a unLexus design. The BMW back end can stay. Very upscale looking.

From a satisfied Azera owner who might consider upgrading.