The (Not Hyundai) Genesis New York Concept Is Our Kinda Car
Just whatever you do, don’t call it a Hyundai.
Whatever you do, don't call the Genesis New York Concept a Hyundai. Just don't do it. The nascent luxury brand has moved out of its parents' house (or auto show stand, as it were), and is striking out on its own. Yes, Genesis is a standalone brand now, hosting its own press conferences at the New York Auto Show—and revealing a sneak peek at its future BMW 3-Series rival, the Genesis New York Concept.
There's enough publicist-speak in the press release to choke a yak, so we'll distill it down to the short-and-sweet. The New York Concept's design is meant to foreshadow not just the brand's next model, but the automaker's design language for the foreseeable future. The front grille is big, broad, and bold; the headlights are an LED-laced Clint Eastwood squint. The rear deck is long and rounded, jutting out past the rear axle like a desert mesa. And the whole thing is wrapped up in "Ceramic Blue" paint that's a little bit feminine.
Look past the obviously-not-production-spec yoke that sits in place of a steering wheel, and you'll spot a 21-inch infotainment display dominating the interior. (Yes, twenty one inches.) The single-piece setup combines both many of the instruments and the multimedia setup into one screen—though blessedly, there are still old-fashioned analog dials for the most important stuff. The input has multi-touch gesturing, iDrive-like click controls, and 3-D motion recognition to offer a nearly ridiculous number of ways to simply change the radio station.
Despite its concept car flourishes, the New York Concept's powertrain is brow-praisingly ordinary: a four-cylinder hybrid setup making 242 horsepower, connected to an eight-speed automatic. Don't be startled to see such a powertrain under the hood of a production version. The people at Hyundai—er, Genesis—hasn't said when said production version will arrive, but considering the splash the New York Concept made with the assembled masses, they ought to as soon as possible.
