When it comes to spending money on a full-size luxury sedan, there are three ways an individual could go.  There is the flashy way with the Rolls Royce Phantom or Bentley Flying Spur – but if you must ask how much, clearly, you can’t afford them.  The more traditional route would be the Mercedes-Benz S550 or BMW 750i, both starting with fire more figures than my bank account will ever see.  However, if you’re the kind of person that possesses the taste of fine wine on a beer budget, there is a third option, and it won’t hurt your wallet’s ego. The Lexus LS 500 and Genesis G90.

Both brands are certainly not new to the luxury sedan segment, the Lexus LS has remained consistent in its name since the dawn of the early 1990’s.  The G90 on the other hand may seem new to the industry, but in fact, it has been around for longer than you think, starting in life back in the late 1990’s as the Hyundai Centennial in the Korean market, later became the Hyundai Equus in the American market in 2009 and now known as the G90 after Hyundai spun off their premium flagship, the Hyundai Genesis, into its own luxury brand in 2015.

Let’s get the financials out of the way first. The Lexus LS 500 is surprisingly cheaper than the Genesis G90, by nearly $10,000 with a base price of $78,535.  However, as soon as we built up our test subject by tacking on all-wheel drive, the F SPORT package and a few other options like the Mark Levinson 23-speaker sound system, the LS 500 soon jumped to $88,965. But where our Lexus taps out, the G90 barely begins; despite the G90 starting at $88,400 with standard all-wheel drive, the one we have kicks it up a nickel with boosted performance, a luxury package and an additional $10,000 premium turning our example into a six-figure head turner at $100,370.

The thing is, while these two vehicles represent the same demographic, they service two different kinds of buyers.  One that is the driver and one that is to be driven.  Since the LS 500 carries the F SORT badging, something tells me you already know where this could be heading – and you might be right with its sporty influenced design cues, engaging seat bolsters that tighten up in sport mode, and a theatrical gimmicky digital cluster that was cool a decade ago that lights up like a video game whenever the RPM’s exceed its recommended shift point. Whereas the G90 with its massaging seats for all four occupants, a recline feature for the back seat passengers and even a drive mode called Chauffeur, speaks to the obvious truth of its desired buyer.

On paper, these two vehicles are nearly alike.  The LS 500 is powered by a 416-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 with 442 lb-ft of torque through a 10-speed automatic.  The G90 on the other hand has a little more complicated, but sophisticated system powered by a 409-horsepower single turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 supported with an electrified 48-volt supercharger. However, with all that complication, the G90 carries 40-less torques than the LS and uses 2-less gears with an 8-speed automatic transmission. In which, should these two pair up in a drag race, the LS would have a .2-second lead on the G90’s 5.4-seconds to 60-mph. But really who is racing these?  

Despite the alikeness, there are subtle differences that separate the two’s performance. The twin-turbo found in the LS does represent a little more finesse, it has an engaging robustness that feels raw and alive. There isn’t quite a sense of quickness when we put our foot down, but as the rpms climb and the digital cluster starts to flash, there is something about it that feels empowering, engaging the driver to be a little rambunctious. But where there are joys, there are headaches and with the twin-turbo system, at higher speeds, we start the see the system have its fault with delayed responses – the turbo lag starts to present itself and when you’re trying to move such a heavy vehicle, the lag becomes cumbersome and more so apparent.

The G90’s powertrain, however, has a more linear, smoothness to it. It represents a sense of be ushered rather than straight up harsh acceleration. It gives the feeling that it doesn’t want to be driven like a 10-second car; its off-the-line acceleration is creamy smooth with unnoticeable transition between gears. It’s a kind of acceleration that never sets you in the back of your seat, but seconds later you’re seeing the digital cluster surge pass the legal speed limit. And that’s where the electric supercharger plays its upper hand, it’s the kind of energy that is there to pick up where the turbo is still trying to spool, so at higher speeds, the e-supercharger system kicks it for the consistent power flow that was lacking in the LS 500. However, driving it like a chauffeur the G90 has its own set of faults; the transmission tends to shift too early in the attempt to keep things smooth and the vehicles auto engine on/off feature is far too rough for something of this caliber – it shouldn’t shutter and lunge forward, it should be as graceful as a woman hiding a sneeze.

On the road, the LS 500’s F SPORT tuned adaptive dampers don’t quite generate that smooth road appetite we would prefer from a full-size luxury sedan. Rolling on 20-inch wheels, every road crack and surface was identified and with every minor pothole, the entire suspension system felt like it didn’t know what to do with itself. But when it came to handling, the adaptive dampers played their role managing the body control and keeping the sedan from becoming this overly floating land yacht.

The air suspension in the G90 has quite a different experience. Even with the wheels being 1-inch bigger than the LS, the ride quality is superb. Almost to a limousine level kind of smooth washing out the outside world of its imperfections. And because the air suspension can adjust based on your driving mood, putting the G90 into sport mode creates an elevated experience that too manages its body control and weight distribution for a balanced ride quality. It even can raise the suspension up for easier entry and exit.

Inside, there is a world class difference between the two sedans. Sitting in the Genesis G90 is like sitting in a first-class seat on a British Airways 747 compared Lexus LS 500 which is the business class section on a Delta Airlines 737. The LS 500’s overall interior is attractive with the use of leather on every touchable surface, but when it comes to a luxury sedan, it isn’t quite as dazzling as one would come to think. Sitting in the G90 however, there is a sense of, I feel special. Being cocooned in this silent oasis surrounded by plush nappa leather, elegant wood design accent, metal finishes; there is an elevated design and sophistication to the G90 that the LS 500 lacks. And that’s before we get into the back seat, which is the ultimate party piece of the G90.

The back seat of our LS 500 is like any traditional sedan, there is nothing special about it. It doesn’t even have heated seats or a four-zone climate control system. But the G90 is oh so quite the opposite. Settling in, it is immediately noticeable the level of relaxation one falls into resting into the ultra-soft comforts of the seats and suede headrest pillow. The center console folds out revealing a fully encompassed control panel that operates a 4-zone climate control system, massaging seat functionality, heated and cooled seat controls, power sunshade control on the back, side and panoramic sunroof, and to kick it all off, it even offers interior lighting control to manage the color temperature of the overhead lights. But most of all, if you’re resting on the back passenger side, it features a rest function that moves the passenger seat forward and raises an ottoman for when you’re ready to have a first-class nap after a day of brunching.

The problem that really lies here is that we have the wrong type of Lexus LS 500 to compare against the Genesis G90. You see there is another LS 500 that would properly compare, the LS 500h, hybrid. The LS 500h offers all the same exclusive comforts as the G90 with 4-zones of climate, massaging seats, center console display for similar controllability and a rest mode for the back seat passenger. It even offers a $1200 Haku trim option that elevates the cabin with crystal accents; however, at a cost of $116,335, the Genesis G90 is the still $16,000 cheaper and manages to make you feel more at peace with a level of emotions that leaves you joyful and feeling special.