Hyundai has announced pricing for its all new Genesis flagship sedan. The base price for the 3.8-liter, 290-hp V6 model will be $33,000 and the 4.6-liter, 375-hp V8 model will start at $38,000. Both prices include a $750 shipping charge. Standard safety equipment includes electronic stability control, eight air bags, and active head restraints.

The Genesis is Hyundai‘s first entry into the rear-wheel-drive luxury sedan category, and it is equipped to compete with more expensive models from Cadillac, Lexus, Infiniti, and Mercedes-Benz.

The South Korean automaker has made great strides in our reliability and testing the past few years and for 2008, two of its vehicles made our Top Picks list: The Hyundai Elantra SE small sedan and Santa Fe midsized SUV.

We’ll see if Hyundai can continue the trend with the Genesis when we put it through the paces at our test track in the coming months. For more information on this new sedan, see our preview and video.

The Genesis will arrive at Hyundai dealerships in July.

—Liza Barth