Hyundai's Genesis G70 revealed

Genesis G70 (Hyundai-Genesis)

Hyundai is a manufacturer that appears to have no fear whatsoever of taking on the establishment, even in an area of the vehicle market it's not traditionally known for competing in. The days of producing the cheap and cheerful and little else are now consigned to history, and the new Genesis G70 that's just been unveiled by Hyundai is the perfect example of where the South Korean manufacturer is today.

Genesis used to be a luxury sedan in the Hyundai range, but it's now the name of the company's semi-independent luxury brand in a similar way to Lexus with Toyota, Infiniti with Nissan and Acura with Honda. The G70 is the brand's new entry-level model, and this long-awaited compact is aimed squarely at taking on the likes of the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Of course, those two have been honing their craft for many decades, so this could be seen as the biggest test to date of the Korean automaker's growing luxury vehicle prowess.

The original Genesis is now known as the G80, and after its introduction almost a decade ago into a segment dominated by the BMW 5 Series, the brand's luxury momentum has been growing steadily ever since. The Equus, that's now the G90, followed as a rival to the full-size models such as the 7 Series and S-Class, and so far the combination of a lower price and tons of standard kit has seen all Genesis models well received.

Genesis enlisted the talents of former Bentley, Lamborghini and Audi lead designer, Luc Donckerwolke to lead the team that designed the new G70, and it's hard to fault what they've come up with.

The G70 is primarily aimed at the Russian, Korean and American markets, and although BMW and Mercedes might not be too concerned for the moment, the likes of Jaguar who have put a lot of effort into challenging in this part of the market may struggle against the G70 due to its inevitably keen pricing structure.

Underneath the G70 is the same platform used for the Kia Stinger, and although the engine lineup is likely to vary from country to country, it's basically the same as the Stinger with a 2.0-liter petrol, a 2.2-liter turbodiesel and a 3.3-liter V-6 turbo available.