This Affordable Luxury Sedan Has Rear Reclining Seats For A Quick Nap During Lunch Break

Have you ever ridden in the back of an Equus? (Have you ever even heard of the Equus?) It was once the largest sedan in Hyundai's lineup, and it brought a ton of high-end comfort features to one of the more affordable entry points into the luxury market. We'd go as far as to call it one of Hyundai's best designs ever. One of its most unique features: the rear reclining seats. That's definitely not something you see all that often outside of a chauffeur's car, much less a sedan you could walk into your local Hyundai dealership and buy yourself.

Those rear reclining seats were just a small part of the Equus' broader focus on bringing chill, luxury amenities to a sedan that didn't come at such a high luxury price (you can find used ones under $20,000 today). You'd also get a premium-looking interior, some handy driver-assist features, both heated and cooled front seats (and a massaging driver's seat), plus a 598-watt Lexicon 7.1 audio system. And, of course, those power-reclining rear seats with more than enough space and angle adjustment for passengers to sit back and relax comfortably. Sounds nice enough to start looking for one yourself? Alas, the Equus never made it past its 2016 model year. But that's not to say that it went away completely. When Hyundai and Genesis split in two, it meant new life for the Equus and its neat seats.

While the Hyundai Equus isn't in production anymore, the Genesis G90 is. What do these two ostensibly unique vehicle names have to do with one another? The Equus is the G90. At least, for the sake of argument. First entering into production in 2015 and beginning with model year 2017 onward, Hyundai turned the Equus and its rear-reclining seats into the flagship sedan of the Genesis luxury car brand. 

Apart from this initial name change and other minor tweaks at launch, the Genesis G90 underwent a major overhaul in 2020. Still, those rear reclining seats remained (at least where the left and right seats were concerned. The middle seat didn't get that same luxury). The G90 is still in production to this day, with the 2025 model year even earning our Editor's Choice badge. Starting MSRP is $92,700, which is significantly higher than the 2016 Equus' MSRP of $61,500 (and a used one is far cheaper now). Even adjusting for inflation, and inflated car prices at that, the G90 is not exactly the affordable luxury sedan the Equus was called. In fact, it's one of the most expensive AWD sedans on the road. But hey, maybe those rear-reclining seats are worth the gouge?