The Genesis G80: A Masterclass in Design and Performance

So, the last G80 from Genesis was fine. The styling was inoffensive, which is totally good for a vehicle you're trying to sell. But this is a fantastic looking machine. This is how you make a brand statement. This is the all-new Genesis G80.

You have the Genesis G70 at the top of the lineup as the sporty sedan, followed by the flagship Genesis G90, which we'll refer to as the "big dog." And now, Genesis has also added an SUV to their lineup in the GV80. The G80 slots somewhere in the middle and, slotting it does well.

This color is gorgeous on the G80. The wheel design is simple but has the same elements that you see on the rest of the family, which works wonderfully on this package. You can't help but notice the amount of grill up front, but the lower grille design is excellent. They're throwing serious design at this thing without overdoing it, and that's very smart because cultivating brand image couldn't be more important for Genesis.

Your base engine is a two and a half liter turbocharged four cylinder, making 300 horsepower. It's backed by an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The more exciting engine option is the twin turbocharged three and a half liter V6, which makes 375 horsepower. Think of this as a luxury Stinger when you opt for the V6.

The outside of the Genesis G80 is nicely sculpted, almost having a slightly fast back sedan shape to it. And this paint looks wonderful. Even cooler, though, is what's inside the car. When you open the door, there's an optional blue interior that looks amazing, complemented by this almost brownish trim to mix it up. Flat finish wood is always better than shiny wood for speakers and grille surrounds, and all the knurled buttons probably look nice too.

This cabin space on the Genesis G80 is excellent to spend time in. The lower screen for climate controls is wonderful to look at, with great display clarity and gauges that have a 3D effect to them, which is really neat. There's also this nice landscape laid out screen up here that can display as much or as little as you want. The seats are super comfortable, and everything you touch looks and feels nice. This almost crystalline effect around the knurl metal of the shifter gives it a nice heft when twisting the dial.

So, how much does this all cost? The base price is just over $47,000. Add another thousand for destination, and that's a good place to start if you're considering this competing against a BMW 5 Series. We can't tell you how it drives just yet, though - you'll have to get a rear-wheel drive version or spend a little more and get the all-wheel drive version, which is on the two and a half liter turbocharged engine. If you go all the way to the top of the mountain with the three and a half T in the fanciest package, you're starting at $65,000.

Still, this is relatively a bargain when considering the competition. And what's more, with that three and a half liter turbocharged engine, you can still choose between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. So I'm thinking of a rear-wheel drive spec car with that three and a half liter T - it's nearly 400 horsepower! The interior is beautiful, so why would you spend money on the BMW? It looks more interesting to look at. And the Genesis G80 has great tech, great safety features, a better warranty too, and you save money by buying this instead.

Genesis is clearly on the track that Lexus took back in the day when it separated from Toyota to become its own luxury brand. They're moving at maybe a quicker pace than Lexus did - they took their time building strong vehicles and taking over a segment of the market. Genesis could really be doing that here, with this G80 being one of those vehicles. We're seeing them with other models like the entry-level G70 now they have their SUV in the GV80, making it a strong looking machine with a wonderfully designed interior and two great engine choices - all available at a price tag that makes sense for more people.

So what's not to like here?

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enso the last g80 from genesis was fine the styling was inoffensive which is totally good for a vehicle you're trying to sell but this is a fantastic looking machine this is how you make a brand statement this is the all-new genesis g80 so you have the genesis g70 to start the sporty sedan at the top you have the flagship g90 the big dog and now you also have an suv in the gv80 the g80 slots somewhere in the middle and slot it does well this color is gorgeous the wheel design is simple but it's got the same elements that you see on the rest of the family and it works wonderfully on this package this is a lot of grill up front but the lower grille design is excellent they're throwing serious design at this thing without overdoing it and that is very smart they are cultivating brand image and that couldn't be more important for genesis so your base engine is a two and a half liter turbocharged four cylinder that's making 300 horsepower and it's backed up by an eight-speed automatic gearbox the more exciting engine is the twin turbocharged three and a half liter v6 that makes 375 horsepower think of this as a luxury stinger when you opt for the v6 so the outside of the genesis g80 is nicely sculpted it almost has a slightly fast back sedan shape to it and as i mentioned this paint looks wonderful but even cooler move to the inside open the door there's an optional blue interior that looks amazing and then it's complemented by this almost brownish trim to mix it up and then you have a flat finish wood flat finish wood is always better than shiny wood metallic elements for the speakers and the grille surrounds and all the knurled buttons those are probably plastic but they look nice this is a wonderfully laid out cabin it's smartly designed it looks good too not enough people are paying attention to the design of the interior you design the outside of a car and then the interior becomes a throwaway not so on the genesis g80 so this cabin space is an excellent place to spend time this lower screen for the climate controls is wonderful to look at the display the clarity looks great the gauges have a 3d effect to them which is really neat and then you have this nice landscape laid out screen up here which can display as much or as little as you want the seats are super comfortable everything you touch looks and feels nice and this almost crystalline effect around the knurl metal of the shifter it has a nice heft to it when you twist the dial and i like the steering wheel design too which incorporates some of that blue and brown aspect into it now how much is this going to cost you to get into one of these the base price is just over 47 dollars add another thousand for destination so that's a good place to start if you consider this competing against a bmw 5 series and it does at least in terms of content and all that stuff we can't tell you how it drives just yet you can get that with a rear-wheel drive version spend a little bit more and get the all-wheel drive version and that is on the two and a half liter turbocharged version if you go all the way to the top of the mountain with the three and a half t in the fanciest package you are starting at 65 000 a lot of money but still considering the competition relatively a bargain and with that three and a half liter turbocharged engine you can also still choose between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive so i'm thinking a rear-wheel drive spec car with the three and a half liter t that's nearly 400 horsepower it's a beautiful interior why would you spend money for a 5 series again i mean this is more interesting to look at it has a far more interesting interior it has great tech it has great safety features it has a better warranty to boot and you save money leave it in your bank account and buy cooler stuff more important stuff this is a heck of a machine offered at a heck of a value so genesis is clearly on the track that lexus took back in the day when it separated from toyota to become its own luxury brand and i think it's moving at maybe a quicker pace than lexus did they took their time they built strong vehicles and they took over a segment of the market genesis could really be doing that here and we're seeing with vehicles like this g80 the entry level g70 now they have their suv with the gv80 this is a strong looking machine with a wonderfully designed interior and two great engine choices and it's available at a price tag that makes sense for more people what's not to like here soso the last g80 from genesis was fine the styling was inoffensive which is totally good for a vehicle you're trying to sell but this is a fantastic looking machine this is how you make a brand statement this is the all-new genesis g80 so you have the genesis g70 to start the sporty sedan at the top you have the flagship g90 the big dog and now you also have an suv in the gv80 the g80 slots somewhere in the middle and slot it does well this color is gorgeous the wheel design is simple but it's got the same elements that you see on the rest of the family and it works wonderfully on this package this is a lot of grill up front but the lower grille design is excellent they're throwing serious design at this thing without overdoing it and that is very smart they are cultivating brand image and that couldn't be more important for genesis so your base engine is a two and a half liter turbocharged four cylinder that's making 300 horsepower and it's backed up by an eight-speed automatic gearbox the more exciting engine is the twin turbocharged three and a half liter v6 that makes 375 horsepower think of this as a luxury stinger when you opt for the v6 so the outside of the genesis g80 is nicely sculpted it almost has a slightly fast back sedan shape to it and as i mentioned this paint looks wonderful but even cooler move to the inside open the door there's an optional blue interior that looks amazing and then it's complemented by this almost brownish trim to mix it up and then you have a flat finish wood flat finish wood is always better than shiny wood metallic elements for the speakers and the grille surrounds and all the knurled buttons those are probably plastic but they look nice this is a wonderfully laid out cabin it's smartly designed it looks good too not enough people are paying attention to the design of the interior you design the outside of a car and then the interior becomes a throwaway not so on the genesis g80 so this cabin space is an excellent place to spend time this lower screen for the climate controls is wonderful to look at the display the clarity looks great the gauges have a 3d effect to them which is really neat and then you have this nice landscape laid out screen up here which can display as much or as little as you want the seats are super comfortable everything you touch looks and feels nice and this almost crystalline effect around the knurl metal of the shifter it has a nice heft to it when you twist the dial and i like the steering wheel design too which incorporates some of that blue and brown aspect into it now how much is this going to cost you to get into one of these the base price is just over 47 dollars add another thousand for destination so that's a good place to start if you consider this competing against a bmw 5 series and it does at least in terms of content and all that stuff we can't tell you how it drives just yet you can get that with a rear-wheel drive version spend a little bit more and get the all-wheel drive version and that is on the two and a half liter turbocharged version if you go all the way to the top of the mountain with the three and a half t in the fanciest package you are starting at 65 000 a lot of money but still considering the competition relatively a bargain and with that three and a half liter turbocharged engine you can also still choose between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive so i'm thinking a rear-wheel drive spec car with the three and a half liter t that's nearly 400 horsepower it's a beautiful interior why would you spend money for a 5 series again i mean this is more interesting to look at it has a far more interesting interior it has great tech it has great safety features it has a better warranty to boot and you save money leave it in your bank account and buy cooler stuff more important stuff this is a heck of a machine offered at a heck of a value so genesis is clearly on the track that lexus took back in the day when it separated from toyota to become its own luxury brand and i think it's moving at maybe a quicker pace than lexus did they took their time they built strong vehicles and they took over a segment of the market genesis could really be doing that here and we're seeing with vehicles like this g80 the entry level g70 now they have their suv with the gv80 this is a strong looking machine with a wonderfully designed interior and two great engine choices and it's available at a price tag that makes sense for more people what's not to like here so\n"