[Courtesy of Hyundai]
In a desperate move to challenge high-performance foreign sedans on its own turf, Hyundai Motor released G70, an entry-level high-performance sedan for its luxurious brand Genesis, hoping to attract South Korea's car enthusiasts.
The new and third model of Hyundai's revamped Genesis lineup which was launched to promote the company's brand image as a high-end carmaker, drew a good response from consumers when it hit the domestic market this week.
The sleek-lined sporty sedan's 2.0 gasoline turbo model came with a price tag of 38 million won (33,679 U.S. dollars) while the most expensive model, the 3.3 gasoline model was priced at 52 million won.
With its slogging sales at home and abroad, Hyundai decided to lead a special promotion for G70 through showcases which were held in private sessions to a limited number of people in early September. People who participated in the promotion were generally satisfied and uploaded honest reviews on to online communities.
"This is a must-have for who think acceleration and handling are the most important aspects of a vehicle," said "radioshack" a user from an automotive forum at an online community "Clien". "It's also ideal for singles and couples without kids," the user said, describing G70's interior as a little smaller than other mid-sized or full-sized sedans.
Another user "IIllIIll" said G70 was a "well-made piece of art", pointing to its comfortable steering and seats. "Hyundai has added great details to G70's design and it feels like they have done a marvelous job in adopting good bits from its German rivals. The way how the car's weight is balanced is just very nice."
There were some concerns about prices. "Even though that G70 is from Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis, the price is still a bit too high," said "strong", a user from South Korea's second-largest web portal Daum.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
