THERE'S a new kid on the block, in boxing terms, a bit of an unknown, but prepared to take on all comers.

It is called Genesis, a Korean brand taking to the ring in the executive corner and brushing aside the ubiquitous crossover opponents by offering something fresh and left field.

Well, it not completely new, and is part of the Hyundai brand, selling under that name in America, Canada, Russia, Australia and the Middle East. It has now been launched here as a standalone premium brand taking on the likes of BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Lexus, Jaguar and Volvo and with a starting price of £33,400.

Genesis is not messing around and have launched a number of new models including the Bentley lookalike GV80 SUV sitting at the top of the range and the G80 saloon sitting above the G70 driven here.

It features a powerful 2.2-litre diesel engine mated to an eight-speed auto box that offers reasonable economy while delivering decent pace. Like some of its German rivals, it also offers rear-wheel drive.

It is spacious and well equipped with a premium interior and a raft of high-end technological goodies of the more expensive siblings, not forgetting that five-year Hyundai warranty. It also features artificial intelligence that learns about the driver and builds on existing state-of-the-art advanced autonomous driver assistance.

It offers some novel and clever touches and like its bigger sibling, the two main binnacle dials turn into cameras to show the road it is turning into when the indicator is activated.

It certainly catches the eye with a striking design that caught the eye of many passers-by with what its designers describe as its athletic elegance' design language

The front features a large ‘crest' grille featuring the brand's winged logo and the particularly striking thin LED quad Lamps that stretch outward like the wings of the Genesis emblem.

It has a sporty profile with bulges and creases in all the right places and the quad lamps also feature in the taillights. Distinctive alloy wheels add a nice finish. And just in case you hadn't noticed what it is called, the word GENESIS is emblazoned across the boot lid.

It is a roomy car with plenty of space to accommodate five adults.

The interior is high end with this model featuring leather interior with aluminium trim and inserts, ambient lighting and powered seats.

Prominent are the 10.5-inch HD infotainment screen and 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster which are the brains of the car controlling connectivity and navigation functions. The touchscreen also controls the high-end sound system, while the Genesis Connect system offers voice recognition and live updates and smartphone integration.

On the road, the refined 200PS diesel delivers smooth acceleration. It powers to 60mph in around 7.5 seconds, with little diesel noise. Plenty of punch but delivering real world economy of around 43mpg.

In addition, the driver can select Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Sport+, to go from fuel economy right through to a more sporty drive, by tweaking steering, suspension, throttle and transmission response.

The ride and handling are excellent, with tuned suspension and electronically controlled adaptive dampers soaking up the worst of the potholes, while delivering agile handling for such a big car.

As you would expect with a premium vehicle, safety kit is impressive

The latest ADAS technology includes blind spot monitoring, evasive steering assist, smart cruise control, lane following assist, driver attention warning, forward collision alert with pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus advanced airbag technology.

There are 10 airbags with front centre airbags that are deployed if there is a side impact and these prevent the front occupants colliding with each other.

The boot is large and long with 335 litres of space, the usual array of cubby holes bins and holders are arranged throughout the cabin.

Quite a package and with a competitive price. It may not knock out the opposition, but it certainly takes the fight to them.

200PS, 2199cc, four-cylinder, diesel engine driving rear wheels via 8-speed automatic transmission

143mph

7.4 seconds

43

48

166g/km

37%

5yrs/62,000 miles