Payne: The Genesis G90 is cool just sitting in your driveway

Oakland County — Luxury cars are becoming Brookstone gadget stores on wheels. Who needs to drive them? They’re just fun to play with.

Take the 2024 Genesis G90 sitting in my driveway.

With the key in my pocket, I walked up to the Genesis and it rolled out the red carpet. Make that lit carpet. A Genesis logo splashed on the ground in front of the door and the handles moved outward to my waiting hand. Coldwell Banker, do your house tours do this?

I slid into the posh seats, pushed the brake pedal and the door softly closed next to me. Push the door button and it swings back open (sensing the distance to the car next to you, of course). Step out, lightly tap the door handle button and the door swings closed. Show it off to your friends; you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.

Show-and-tell luxury accessories have been coming fast and furious in recent years. There’s the Tesla Model 3/Y that will follow you like a dog, the Genesis G60 SUV that you can remote parallel park, the GMC Sierra’s Multi-Pro six-way tailgate including a stairway-into-the-bed, the Ram 1500’s mega-screen, the Lincoln Nautilus’s 48-inch pillar-to-pillar display.

The G90 shows off its cutting-edge tech inside a stunning sedan. Remember those? Cadillac and Lincoln long ago exited the big sedan market, so the Genesis is left to compete with icons like the Audi A8, BMW 7-series and Mercedes S-class. In an SUV-mad world, these loooong land yachts remind just how elegant the sedan figure can be.

The G90 debuted back in 2017 as an Audi knock-off and has since matured into its own style. The band’s signature dual lamps are on display — wrapped around  the front end like racing stripes — and are both instantly recognizable as one of the most handsome designs in class. My G90 tester doesn’t come cheap at $100K, but that’s 5 grand south of the comparable BMW 7-series I tested last summer — and showcases classic lines compared to the German’s new techno-punk wardrobe.

Like the Bimmer, the Genesis sports those mesmerizing auto-shut doors — and lots more toys inside. No, our tour still hasn’t got out of the driveway yet.

Fall into the palatial backseat (just press the door button and it silently closes behind you) and slip your shoes off. Press a button on the door and your chair turns into a Barcalounger.

The front passenger seat rolls forward to open up (even more) legroom while the backseat reclines. Out pops a thigh support so your legs can stretch out straight, my 6’5” drumsticks dangling in the air. Ahhhh.

Feeling sleepy? A center screen of controls is at your disposal so you can 1) close the rear sunroof (did I mention there are separate sunroofs for the front and rear passengers?), 2) cover the rear windows with blinds, 3) activate a massage, 4) heat/cool your seats, and 5) put on your favorite tunes (assuming the driver doesn’t mind).

Oh, yes, the driver.

The front thrones are not only beautifully designed (check out the concave steering wheel, flying buttresses bracketing the instrument display and butterfly console doors), but the cockpit can also be customized to your liking. Choose your graphic themes, font size, screen color, head-up display content. Three buttons on the steering wheel can be programmed with shortcuts to your most-used features — I performed mine for preset radio stations, audio mute and AM radio.

While Genesis has come into it own on interior/exterior design, the brand seems determined to give you feature options you might find on other premium brands. The center console screen can be controlled by touch (like an Audi) or by remote rotary dial (like a Bimmer). Radio presets can be swiped though via a Mercedes-like steering-wheel touchpad. And volume and adaptive cruise speed controls are easily manipulated via raised toggles like a Cadillac or GMC.

Speaking of speed, you’ll eventually want to drive the Genesis after ogling its blizzard of features. The experience doesn’t disappoint.

Mash the pedal and the 409-horsepower, twin-turbo V-6 responds with a mighty roar — thrusting you into traffic with impressive velocity (a 48-volt battery provides extra oomph) despite the yacht’s 5,156-pound curb weight. Sixty mph blows by just 5.1 seconds while the all-wheel-drive system provides welcome stability. A SPORT mode is on offer — tightening the seat bolsters around you — but this is no sportscar.

More enjoyable is adaptive cruise control, which automatically changes lanes on interstates. Parent Hyundai has been at the forefront of usable ACC systems, and the Genesis is no exception with lane-keep assist that is excellent for long drives.

I especially appreciated that Genesis had located the rotary shifter to the left of the rotary infotainment controller in the center console. Other Genesis models stack them, which can bring confusion — I’ve been caught out shifting the sister GV80 SUV into neutral, for example, when I though I was rotating between radio stations. Ugh.

Other ergonomics  still need tidying, however. For all its technical wizardry, G90 still requires a cable to operate Apple CarPlay and Android auto — cluttering the console. The dreaded STOP-START switch is in the nether regions of the left dash rather than right next to the ignition button as in BMW and Mercedes.

It's hard to be mad, though, when you have so many goodies at your fingertips.

I thrilled at the authoritative roar of the V-6 under my whip, but otherwise the cabin was whisper quiet during my week of cruising. Mrs. Payne and I conversed easily. In a sudden March blizzard, the all-wheel-drive system was unfazed and confident in the slippery conditions. Alas, that 48-volt battery cramps the cargo sub-space, meaning no spare tire should a tread come to grief.

Genesis competes with Bimmer and Merc with its 6-cylinder powertrain. The Germans up the ante to V-8s in their top-line models. Genesis is content to offer a 375-horse V-6 and the (48-bolt assisted) 409-horse mill in my tester.

After a haircut, my barber was keen to take a tour. She slipped into the driver’s seat, then beamed when the door closed at her press of the brake pedal.

I’m going to have to start charging for these tours.

Next week: 2024 Acura ZDX

2024 Genesis G90

Vehicle type: Gas-powered, all-wheel drive, five-passenger luxury sedan

Price: $90,450, including $1,195 destination charge ($100,695 e-Supercharged model as tested)

Powerplant: 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6

Transmission: Eight-speed automatic

Weight: 5,156 pounds

Power: 375 horsepower, 391 oound-feet torque (base); 409 horsepower, 405 pound-feet torque (e-Supercharged)

Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.1 seconds (Car and Driver); top speed, 132 mph

Fuel economy: EPA est. 17 city/24 highway/20 combined (as tested)

Report card

Highs: Tech-tastic; handsome design

Lows: Wireless Apple CarPlay, please; gets pricey

Overall: 3 stars

Henry Payne is auto critic for The Detroit News. Find him at hpayne@detroitnews.com or @HenryEPayne.