What's the difference?
Anybody who doubts that Hyundai is gunning for the number one in the world has rocks in their head. Big heavy ones. Korean companies do not settle for anything less than number one. The second-generation Genesis (our first taste here in the Antipodes as the gen-one had its steering wheel on the wrong side) is proof.
What's different about Hyundai's unstoppable rise is the way they're going about it. They've always done their own thing in Korea, reinventing themselves time and again when they strayed off the beaten path.
The Genesis is a gamble for a Korean company in foreign markets whose default setting for luxury is marked, Britain or Germany. If Hyundai gets the Genesis wrong there will be howls of derision, or at best patronising pats on the back - "Nice try, you'll get there one day". But if they get it right...
Remember when electric vehicles were the next big thing? Well they still are, it's just that hybrids are making a huge comeback and have entered a new era of the super hybrid. These are plug-in hybrids with enormous driving ranges and Chery’s just arrived Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is one of these.
The Tiggo 9 is a large seven-seater SUV that competes with the likes of plug-in versions of the Hyundai Palisade and GWM Tank 500, only for less money.
The value is excellent, but how does the Tiggo 9 score in other areas such as the way it drives, its practicality and safety, or its styling and interior feel?
We found out in this first Australian drive.
The Genesis is not quite a match for cars twice its price but it makes you think what's possible. It doesn't have the dynamic brilliance of a BMW or the self-assured faultless execution of a Mercedes. Lexus ought to be worried, though - why would you have an LS when you could have this? The only answer is 'badge'.
The Genesis is an epoch-making car for the Korean manufacturer. As the company has got better, there are fewer excuses for overlooking it. While the Genesis is pitched into a shrinking market, it's not really meant for the average i30 buyer to buy, but to see.
It's bristling with tech and is not only a halo car but a shot across the bows of both Lexus and the Germans. Attached to that shot is a note: "We're coming for you." In other words, Hyundai got it right.
The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid is outstanding in many ways, especially value and the way it drives. I can only stress the importance of charging this vehicle frequently, however, otherwise it will go from super hybrid to super fuel consumer.
The Genesis is like no other Hyundai. For a start, it's gigantic - it looks easily as big as a BMW 7 Series (it isn't) with the road presence to match. There's a lot of BMW from most directions, but with a sharper approach to the creasing and character of the sheet metal.
Towards the rear it's more BMW 6 Series Gran Coupe and is all the better for it. The style is understated and technocratic.
Inside is also very Germanic, but with a bit more of a Lexus feel
The big wheels from the Ultimate pack help make it look lower and sleeker, too.
Inside is also very Germanic, but with a bit more of a Lexus feel. Our car had the lighter leather which meant that the wood and the metal materials didn't necessarily work well together.
The interior is expertly put together and feels like it will last forever.
The only jarring moment is the gear selector is shared with our long-term Hyundai i30 - it looked a bit cheap in what is otherwise a beautifully executed cabin - it needs more heft.
On Australian-delivered cars there is just one Hyundai badge, sitting proudly on the boot - you get the feeling this was debated long and hard and when the decision was made to go for it, a big one was chosen.
However, the winged Genesis branding takes pride of place everywhere else. When you approach the car at night and the puddle lamps come on, the Genesis logo is projected on to the ground, crisp and clear.
Chery has crafted a superb-looking SUV here. Sure, the design isn’t ground-breaking or unique, but styling is beautiful from the large grille and multi-spoke wheels to the chrome framed windows and smooth lines of the tailgate.
Our car was painted in 'Aurora Green', which looks stunning in the sunlight. There’s also 'Cosmic Black', 'Star White' and 'Technical Grey'.
The cabin is super modern and luxurious looking, with only a few physical buttons for the hybrid system and climate control. The leather seats are a lovely high-end touch, and while the level of refinement is not up there with the likes of Audi and Lexus flagships the build quality appears to be good.
The Tiggo 9 stretches 4800mm end to end and is 1930mm wide. That classifies it as a large SUV, albeit not an enormous one. A fairly short wheelbase of 2750mm means the cabin space isn’t as voluminous as you might have thought.
The only way to describe the Genesis' pricing is aggressive - kicking off at $60,000, it's the most expensive Hyundai money can buy, but with a spec list like this, you won't feel at all short-changed.
Your sixty large buys you a huge cabin with a seventeen speaker stereo, auto headlights and wipers, LED ambient lighting inside and out, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, powered front seats which are heated and cooled, satnav, front and rear parking sensors, and plenty of other bits and pieces.
Our car had the $22,000 Ultimate package, adding 19-inch alloys, blind spot sensor, front and side cameras, around-view display, real leather, more adjustments for the driver's seat, ventilated seats in the front, heated rear seats, panoramic glass sunroof, acoustic glass, heads-up display, powered bootlid and LED foglamps.
The Genesis is like no other Hyundai
You can have a lot of the more useful features in the $11,000 Sensory Pack. It's a good middle ground that, for example, features the excellent heads-up display.
The 9.2-inch screen splits the asymmetric air-conditioning vents. The software is unique to the Genesis and a huge leap forward over the rest of the Hyundai range - classy, smooth graphics, a good responsive screen.
You control the seventeen speaker stereo from here, which kicks out a rich sound and an impressive Bluetooth performance - rear seat passengers can also run the stereo from their armrest. The satnav is detailed and chatty, while the excellent heads-up display shows a configurable information set in strong, clear graphics.
There is only one grade in the Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid line-up - the Ultimate - and it lists for $59,990. It’s remarkably affordable compared to many rivals and the value is outstanding.
As you might imagine the Ultimate is fully loaded with features.
There are leather seats - powered adjustable, massaging, heated and ventilated in the front, while the second row outboard seats are heated and ventilated, too.
There are big screens - a 15.6-inch media display and a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster as well as a head-up display. There’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, a 12-speaker Sony sound system and digital radio.
There are LED headlights and tail-lights, 20-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic glass roof, privacy glass and a power tailgate.
The Genesis is powered by Hyundai's own 3.8-litre V6 developing 232kW and 397Nm, mated to Hyundai's eight-speed automatic transmission.
Despite weighing just under two tonnes, the Genesis completes the dash to 100km/h in 6.5 seconds.
It has a claimed 11.2L/100km on the combined cycle. In what must be a first, we got below that, averaging 10.8L/100km over two weeks. And that's without stop-start fuel-saving to blunt the effect of lot of city driving.
The Genesis is not going to tempt you into a track day, even with rear wheel drive
We'd still like to try the V8 - only available in left-hand drive markets - though.
At five metres long, with a ride firmly pitched in the luxury camp, the Genesis is not going to tempt you into a track day, even with rear wheel drive.
Blindfold your passengers and swap them between a Lexus, a BMW and a Genesis and the overwhelming impression they'll get is one of incredible smoothness.
If you're wanting sudden movements, this isn't the car for you
Sitting in the back of the Genesis, it's easily as good as the German and luxury Japanese competition. The seats are hugely comfortable, there's ample head, leg and shoulder room and it feels lot nicer than anything within a bull's roar of its price.
No matter where you sit, it's an incredibly quiet car. The engine is a distant whoosh, the tyre noise muted and there's almost no wind or ambient noise. It's supremely comfortable and the excellent stereo will wash away what little noise does invade.
It certainly feels its weight from the driver's seat, with a competent, soft turn-in, but if you're wanting sudden movements, this isn't the car for you.
The Genesis is an epoch-making car for the Korean manufacturer
On fast flowing roads you can have some fun, but things will get floaty and that will quickly kill that fun. The ride and isolation from the rest of the world is completely worth it.
The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid drives silently and smoothly with strong acceleration just like an electric car for the most part while in the city at lower speeds.
Hills and higher speeds call on the engine to help but even then the transition is almost imperceptible.
A comfortable ride with well set up suspension, light and accurate steering make for an impressive and effortless driving experience.
There are downsides, like the brake pedal feel. As in many hybrids there’s a ‘wooden’ sensation and I felt I needed to depress the brake pedal harder and longer to pull up at times. This is a heavy vehicle at 2200kg and brake response could be better.
The active safety tech is also intrusive, as is the case with so many cars these days, but the alerts and warnings can be turned off.
Nine airbags, traction and stability control, lane departure warning, forward collision control, ABS, brake force assist and distribution and traction and stability control bring the ANCAP count to five stars.
The Sensory and Ultimate packs add blind spot sensors and around view cameras.
The Chery Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid hasn’t been assessed by ANCAP yet, but the safety tech is in abundance with everything from AEB, front and rear cross-traffic alerts with braking, lane keeping assistance and blind-spot warning.
For child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX points in the second row only.
There are also 10 airbags onboard.
I’ve mentioned the intrusive safety alerts in the driving section, and while they can be turned off, they can also be life saving.