Genesis GV90 might be the best thing Genesis has done in years

The Genesis GV90 feels like one of those rare cars that makes a manufacturer’s broader strategy suddenly make sense. It is a luxury SUV with the scale and presence Genesis has been building towards, while its status as an electric SUV finally gives the brand a genuine flagship. Better still, it gets air suspension, a detail that matters far more than another set of oversized wheels or an unnecessarily aggressive body kit. Genesis Australia already lists the GV90 as coming soon, and I am prepared to admit I rather like the idea before having driven it.

Genesis GV90 gives the brand a proper flagship

Genesis has generally been at its most convincing when it behaves as though it has nothing to prove. The GV80 and G80 each entered established luxury territory with a degree of confidence that could have looked optimistic, yet both showed the brand was capable of producing genuinely credible alternatives to familiar European names.

The Genesis GV90 follows that same logic, only on a considerably larger canvas. At 5,285mm long and with a 3,245mm wheelbase, this is an enormous vehicle, but it does not appear to have been designed as a rolling exercise in visual excess.

Its cleaner design language is one of the most persuasive things about it. The thin two-line lighting, broad surfaces and uncluttered rear treatment help this luxury SUV look expensive without resorting to fake vents, fussy creases or the sort of illuminated ornamentation that often dates a car before its first service.

Genesis has resisted the temptation to fill every available panel with styling drama simply because the body is so large. That restraint should give the Genesis GV90 more lasting appeal than many current flagships, which can look like they were designed during an argument between a wind tunnel and a jewellery counter.

Then there is the Neolun version, which turns up the theatre without entirely abandoning the central idea. Its rear-hinged coach doors open without a visible fixed B-pillar, while Genesis says reinforced steel beams, a strengthened cabin structure and an aluminium-intensive body help retain rigidity and crash protection.

Inside, the Neolun Executive Suite takes a similarly unapologetic approach to excess. The front seats can rotate 180 degrees when parked, while the four-seat arrangement includes a real-wood floor, radiant heating, privacy blinds, a configurable glass roof and a pop-up OLED display that expands when stationary.

Some of that is plainly extravagant, but a flagship should contain a few details that make you wonder who decided they were necessary. The important thing is that this electric SUV does not appear to confuse novelty with luxury, because much of the cabin concept is built around comfort, privacy and a sense of occasion rather than simply fitting more screens.

Air suspension is where the flagship case gets serious

Genesis has also supplied enough hardware to ensure the theatre is not carrying the whole argument. A 123.5kWh battery is paired with dual electric motors producing a combined 490kW and 800Nm, while Genesis estimates around 500km of range for the seven-seat version.

The company also says a 350kW charger can take the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 22 minutes. Those numbers matter, although they are not the most interesting part of the Genesis GV90 for me.

What sits underneath the vehicle is arguably more significant than the headline outputs. Multi-chamber air suspension, electronically controlled dampers, dual electronic limited-slip differentials and rear-wheel steering of up to five degrees suggest Genesis has made a serious attempt to give this luxury SUV the control and composure its size demands.

That air suspension is especially important because a two-and-a-half-tonne electric SUV cannot rely on brutal acceleration to disguise its mass. A proper flagship needs to isolate its occupants, settle its body movements and feel smaller from behind the wheel than the tape measure suggests, rather than merely winning every traffic-light sprint.

I cannot wait to find out whether Genesis has managed that balance, because the brand has already shown an understanding of comfort, isolation and control in the GV80 and G80. The Genesis GV90 feels like the point where those lessons have been given their biggest and most ambitious application yet.

For Australian buyers, the crucial detail is that this is not merely another desirable overseas model to admire from a distance. Genesis Australia lists the luxury SUV as coming soon and is taking expressions of interest, which means the brand’s most ambitious electric SUV is genuinely headed our way.

There is a broader opportunity here too, particularly because Genesis still lacks the G90 in Australia. If the GV90 attracts the sort of attention it deserves, Genesis should regard that as encouragement to bring more of its properly ambitious products here, including the big sedan that would make its Australian range feel even more complete.

Genesis does not need to ask permission to compete with the established luxury brands, and the Genesis GV90 looks like its clearest statement of that yet. Bring us the strange details, the enormous proportions and the properly engineered air suspension, because this is the sort of confidence Genesis has been missing at the very top of its range.