A high-end automobile marketed as a luxury car must provide a special experience in all of its aspects. Take the seats, for instance, the part of a car that is in direct contact with its occupants. The seats can make or break the value of a luxury car, as the ride feel perceived by the occupants is greatly influenced by the materials, shape, and structural features of the seats.
The seats happen to be one of the heaviest parts of a car. Since occupant safety is a priority, seats have to be manufactured to certain weight specifications. Due to their heft, seats impact a car’s driving performance and fuel efficiency, which is why luxury carmakers invest heavily in seat development.
As a rising global luxury brand, Genesis also takes seat development seriously. Genesis has developed the Modern Ergo Seat, approved by Aktion Gesunder Rücken (AGR, Campaign for Healthier Backs), and the Ergo Motion Seat, which dynamically interacts with its occupant’s body by inflating internal air pockets after a certain driving time has elapsed. Genesis developed these special seats so that Genesis drivers always have the best possible driving experience.
The seats in the Genesis are developed by Hyundai Transys, a global leader in automotive seating. Hyundai Transys entered the automotive seating business in 2004, and has spent 20 years building its expertise. On the journey from the Genesis brand’s inception with the 2008 Hyundai Genesis (BH) to its current position as a luxury vehicle brand, with the G90 as its flagship model, Hyundai Transys has been there—creating car seats with the highest quality, technology, and refinement, a vital component of the premium cabin spaces of Genesis vehicles.
BH: The Beginning of Genesis
The Hyundai Genesis (BH) is a rear-wheel drive luxury sedan that was created over a four-year development period to compete with global luxury vehicle brands. Featuring the latest technologies of the time, including electronically controlled air suspension and smart cruise control, the BH was a monumental achievement that announced that Hyundai was ready for the global luxury vehicle stage. In 2009, the Genesis BH was named the North American Car of the Year, becoming the first Korean car to gain this recognition.
The Hyundai Transys seats in the Genesis BH are a core element of the vehicle's unique value. To boost the driving performance and fuel efficiency of the Genesis BH, Hyundai Transys used magnesium as a material for its seats. A lightweight material, the magnesium applied to the frames of the front-row seats reduces the weight of each seat by 3.5 kg.
Released in 2013, the second-generation Genesis (DH) was an improvement over its predecessor in design, technology, quality, safety, and all other aspects—a true masterpiece. It was the first Hyundai to feature an all-wheel drive system (HTRAC), and comes with an increased range of cutting-edge safety features, including autonomous emergency braking, which detects frontal collision risks and stops the vehicle automatically, and an active hood system, which mitigates the injuries sustained by a pedestrian in the event of a collision. In 2014, the Genesis DH became the first passenger vehicle to receive the highest rating in all the collision safety categories tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), earning it the designation of “Top Safety Pick+” for 2014.
The seats in the Genesis DH are yet another step forward in Hyundai Transys’s innovation. The Nappa leather seats feature a melting bond technology which prevents the genuine leather from forming bubbles and creases over time. The driver’s seat in the DH features side bolsters that allow the cushion, backrest, and headrest to be adjusted, providing greater lateral support and driving stability for the driver.
The Genesis EQ900 and the Modern Ergo Seat
Released in 2015, the EQ900 heralded the beginning of Genesis as a standalone luxury vehicle brand. Sharing its lineage with Equus, Hyundai’s previous flagship model, the EQ900 is a full-size luxury sedan, and the current flagship Genesis model.
Since the launch of the EQ900, Hyundai Transys has developed “flagship” seats for Genesis vehicles. The Modern Ergo Seat features high-strength steel for reduced seat frame vibration, and keeps the driver comfortable on long drives with its optimized pads that support the driver’s body. The power driver’s seat is 22-way adjustable to optimally support the driver’s body for the ultimate driving experience.
The rear seats in the EQ900 are another example of Hyundai Transys’s flagship seats, inspired by first-class seats in airliners and luxury sofas. The occupant of each rear seat can simply press a button to switch between different seating modes, including relaxation, reading, and media viewing. The seat control switches echo the shape of the seats and can be adjusted by the occupants intuitively to achieve the ideal seating position.
The GV80, the First Genesis SUV, and the Ergo Motion Seat
After the innovations of the Genesis were favorably received, Hyundai Transys continued to evolve its seat manufacturing technology. Released in January 2020, the GV80 was the first SUV to bear the Genesis emblem, coming just four years after the launch of the Genesis brand. By then, Hyundai had realized that its sedan-only Genesis line-up lacked competitiveness in the global luxury car market, given the rapid growth in demand for SUVs. With its line-up of SUVs subsequently expanded with the new arrivals GV70 and GV60, Genesis was now a luxury carmaker recognized worldwide.
An SUV that embodies the Genesis design philosophy of “athletic elegance,” the GV80 is a luxury SUV that combines an array of technologies to achieve a premium ride feel, including electronically controlled suspension with road preview (uses front camera and navigation system data to provide ideal ride comfort) and active road noise reduction (analyzes and reduces road noise in real-time for a pleasant cabin environment). The GV80 is equipped with Ergo Motion Seats that further enhances ride comfort with embedded controllable air pockets.
The driver-side Ergo Motion Seat in the GV80 has seven embedded air pockets, three supporting the driver’s back, two supporting the sides, and another two supporting the buttocks, to provide optimal driving comfort. The Ergo Motion Seat is an advanced ergonomic seating solution with individually inflated air pockets. The air pockets allow for a thinner seat cushion to achieve a larger cabin space, while ride comfort is enhanced by the air pockets.
The Ergo Motion Seat boasts a number of breakthrough features. In a world first, the Ergo Motion Seat allows the driver to use the infotainment system to set the desired level of cushioning. The inflation levels of the Ergo Motion Seat’s individual air pockets adjust according to the set drive mode to produce the optimum seating position, another world-first. For example, in Sports Mode, the air pockets in the side bolsters become more inflated while the air pockets in the cushion are slightly deflated, providing firmer side support with a lower driving position.
Another feature of the Ergo Motion Seat is smart seat positioning. After a certain time in driving has elapsed, the air pockets in the backrest and seat of the Ergo Motion Seat inflate and deflate in alternation to ease fatigue on the back and buttocks through a stretching effect. Intensity, target areas, and duration of smart seat positioning can also be set by the driver through the infotainment system.
Like the GV80, the third-generation G80 launched in March 2020 also features the Ergo Motion Seat. Along with the Genesis BH and Genesis DH, the G80 is one of the vehicles that formed the Genesis brand. The GV80 and the G80 are the two vehicles expected to take the Genesis brand into the markets in China, Europe, and beyond.
The G80 range includes the G80 Sport and G80 Electrified (EV), giving luxury car buyers a wide range of options that suit their individual tastes. The Sport and Electrified versions of the G80 differ in seating from the base G80 to reflect their respective personalities. While the G80 Sport looks the part with seats that come in an exclusive colorway adorned with quilting and piping, the G80 Electrified comes with naturally dyed Nappa leather seats for the environmentally conscious driver.
The G90's Unparalleled Seating Technology
As the G90, the flagship Genesis, entered its second generation in 2022, Hyundai Transys furnished it with seating technology appropriate for its positioning. Building on the flagship seats found in the EQ900, in the second-generation G90, Hyundai Transys succeeded in offering a luxury experience that exceeds first-class seats in an airliner.
All four seats in the G90 have ten and two embedded air pockets in the backrest and cushion, respectively, allowing occupants to enjoy Genesis’s Ergo Relaxing Seat technology, which supports four massage modes (Full Body, Back, Pelvis, Torso). The massage modes are adjustable in duration and intensity in three levels. A “mood curator” function allows you to set one of four moods in the cabin to complement your massage experience. Just a single control arranges the mood lighting, sound system, cabin scent, seat massage mode, and power curtains to your liking.
In the G90, the right rear seat is the seat of honor. A legrest and footrest provides VIP guests with the greatest comfort attainable, the footrest being heated and ventilated for good measure. The G90 Long Wheelbase, eclipsing the standard G90 by 190 mm in length to provide more space for rear occupants, comes with quilted seats in semi-aniline leather, with a legrest added to the rear left seat.
The rear seats in the both the standard and long wheelbase versions individually recline, by 42° in the former and by 45° in the latter. Another cutting-edge feature of the G90’s seating technology is the pre-active safety seat feature, which quickly returns reclined rear seats to a safe position when a collision risk is detected.
As the flagship Genesis, the G90 boasts seats embellished with luxurious quilting and piping. Beyond the feel of opulence and calm they impart, the quilting and piping prevent the leather from stretching over time, allowing the G90 to keep its original pristine condition for years and provide luxury consumers with the timeless value they seek.
Genesis will be strengthening its lineup of luxury vehicles to include large electric SUVs, convertibles, and coupes, giving Hyundai Transys the opportunity to further innovate seating technology and provide experiences consistent with the values associated with luxury brands. If you ever find yourself in a Genesis, you will be sure to be surrounded by word-class seats developed by Hyundai Transys.