2023 Genesis G90 wows the neighbors, but not the driver

2023 Genesis G90 3.5T E-Supercharger AWD vs. 2023 Audi S8 Quattro: Going in style.

This week: Genesis G90

Price: $100,570 as tested. (The fancy blue paint brought us into six figures, at $575.)

Conventional wisdom: Edmunds likes that it’s “loaded with standard features,” with “sophisticated cabin design and materials,” and an “impressive bundle of safety features and driver aids,” but not that it “costs the same or more than coveted European luxury cars,” is “not particularly exciting to drive, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto require USB cable connection.”

It’s also Motor Trend Car of the Year. (The award has been given to some excellent vehicles over the years, though for perspective, it’s also gone to some duds like the 1981 Dodge Aries, 1983 Renault Alliance, 2015 Volkswagen Golf, and 2022 Lucid Air.)

Marketer’s pitch: “An emotionally satisfying personal space that goes beyond transportation.”

Reality: I’d prefer an emotionally satisfying driving experience, thanks. But the neighbors were impressed.

What’s new: The G90 got a whole bevy of updates for the 2022 model year, which carry over to now, adding special suspension and rear-wheel steering and a new elegant exterior.

Competition: BMW 7 Series, Audi A8/S8, Lexus LS500.

Not from around here: There’s nothing like living in a quiet development and having a new car delivered weekly that sports a license plate from such exotic locales as California, Texas, New York, Michigan, or South Carolina to get the neighbors talking. Especially when the highest-priced examples invariably pull over in front of the same neighbors’ house on the corner for a last-minute polish and buff-up.

Cue the text message from curious onlookers. Nothing to see here, folks, I assured them.

Well, nothing nefarious.

All the stuff: At least the G90 is good at bringing the neighbors together. Mr. Driver’s Seat reached out and decided to test this bloated behemoth (the car, not the driver) with Mr. and Mrs. Neighbor 1.0 on a Saturday afternoon to see what this fancy-pants vehicle had to offer.

We pressed a button, and the driver’s door opened. Just a little, mind you; you have to finish the job yourself.

But, to be fair, they are dubbed Easy Close Power Doors, so I guess asking it to open them was above its pay grade. (Although for this price, a concierge to open the doors would be expected.)

We pressed the button again, and they closed right back up — the whole way, just as advertised. The true ideal would be a fob function for both opening and closing, like we have for sliding doors and lift gates. I’ve often been carrying a few groceries and wondered why this wasn’t A Thing.

We unboxed all the different scent cartridges and varied the aroma. Sweet (and spicy and manly and flowery — so many choices)!

We played with the Mood Curator. That’s a thing. It adjusts all manner of features — music, scent, lighting, curtain, and massage — in modes labeled Vitality, Delight, Care, and Comfort.

Up to speed: Almost forgot, breathing in all the fumes, that it also takes you places literally.

The 3.5-liter V-6 with 48-volt supercharger creates 409 horsepower. This gets the big sedan to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, according to Car and Driver.

It also provides awesome passing capability. Be careful or you may suddenly be going very, very fast indeed.

On the road: The multichamber air suspension is probably the saddest part of the G90 experience for a driver who enjoys driving. That’s what I’m blaming, anyway, because it’s on the bill of sale, but it could be all kinds of factors.

Whatever the reason, the vehicle floated and glided here and there, allowing the neighbors and any other passengers to enjoy the best ride of their lives, while I was up front desperately trying to keep things together. (I exaggerate.) Even in Sport mode.

Is a little bit of joy for the pilot too much to ask?

Worse, though, while the vehicle was as challenging on country roads as expected, and highways were no delight either, it seemed to drift from side to side, especially with the highway driving assist (HDA) adaptive cruise on.

One bright side — rear-wheel steering feels really cool in the tight corners.

Shifty: The 8-speed transmission offers shift capability through steering-wheel paddles, but the car doesn’t inspire using them.

A dial controls the rest of the transmission functions.

Driver’s Seat: You’ll definitely feel like a hundred thousand bucks up here, with the fancy wood and the pretty 12.3-inch screen, the snazzy gauges, and all the trim, riding in the leather seats with massage and seriously toasty heaters. Nicely appointed.

Friends and stuff: Backseat passengers will also have the chance to control functions, setting up disputes among family members — the first thing Mr. and Mrs. Neighbor noted, thinking of their daughters.

When the Neighbors 1.0 buy this, those girls will get the cushiest seats in the house, with the ability to stretch out and recline, feet up and all, as well as warm and cool settings, and massage.

Cargo space is a tiny 10.5 cubic feet. The e-supercharger takes up a bit of space in the already small trunk.

Play some tunes: The Bang and Olufsen 3D Premium Audio offers good playback, but not the best ever; about an A-.

Operation of the system is not bad, with a well-done touchscreen or dial controller running the show. The dial controller may be a bit retro but it also does feel like your eyes can stay focused on the road. Roller bars for volume and tuning feel awkward.

Keeping warm and cool: A digital display controls the temperature and other HVAC functions as well as the scent. It’s easy to see and operate.

Night shift: The interior lights provided the kind of ambience you’d expect, from the accent lighting to the map lights. The headlights, however, disappointed, cutting very low and taking some adjustment — maybe there’s a Vitality setting I missed there.

Fuel economy: I averaged a ho-hum 20 mpg in about 250 miles of mainly highway driving. But not very slow highway driving, so you may see better numbers.

Where it’s built: Ulsan, South Korea

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the reliability of the G90 to be a 3 out of 5.

In the end: Despite all the fawning choices, my mood remained as cranky as ever.

Next week: Maybe the Audi S8 will help.