2021 Genesis G80 3.5 AWD Prestige: A DriveWays Review…

by Frank A. Aukofer

There’s a new boss luxury car in town. It’s called the 2021 Genesis G80, an all-new full-size four-door that behaves more like a capable compact or a scrappy midsize sports sedan.

Depending on which of nine versions you select, you can drive off in a relatively inexpensive near-luxury rear-wheel drive family car well suited to long-distance motoring. Or if you have more bucks to slap on the table, a dazzling twin-turbo performer with all-wheel drive and the bones to challenge luxury/high-performance European marques.

In automotive terms, Genesis is still in kindergarten, just five years old. It started as the top model in the Hyundai lineup from South Korea. In 2015, the company established it as Genesis Motor LLC, a separate luxury brand, not unlike Acura issued from Honda and Lexus begat from Toyota.

Now it has moved from a company with a few sedans to rudely intruding with its GV lineup into the luxury crossover sport utility territory, threatening competitors from Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lincoln, Acura and Lexus. The GVs likely have the potential to follow in the tire tracks of the G70, G80 and G90 sedans, as well as the acclaimed new Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride midsize crossover sport utility vehicles.

The 2021 Genesis G80 was one of 10 semifinalists for North American Car of the Year. They were selected by a panel, or jury, of 50 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada, of which this reviewer is one. Competitors come from Acura, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Nissan and even Hyundai, the Genesis parent company.

Two of the nine Genesis models — called trim levels in the industry — were evaluated. One was the G80 all-wheel-drive Advanced, a step-and-a-half up from the base Standard. It’s a classy near-luxury car with a turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that delivers 300 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque via an eight-speed automatic transmission with a manual-shift mode. The EPA city/highway/combined fuel consumption rating is 22/30/25 mpg.

The Advance comes with 19-inch alloy wheels, a panoramic sunroof, ventilated faux leather seats, three-zone automatic climate control, a power trunk-lid, and a 21-speaker audio system. All G80s come with rear-wheel drive standard but all-wheel drive is available for $3,150.

The other Genesis was the top-line 3.5 AWD Prestige model, with a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 engine, delivering 375 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque, also with an eight-speed automatic transmission, all-wheel drive and a manual-shift mode. Its EPA fuel economy is 18/26/21 mpg.

Starting prices range from $56,475, including the destination charge, for the 2.5 Advanced to $68,675 for the 3.5 Prestige. As tested, the 2.5 had a bottom-line sticker of $56,475 and the 3.5’s came to $69,075.

Either way, the G80 is a lot of a car. With 122 cubic feet of interior space — divided into 107 cubic feet for passengers and 15 cubic feet in the trunk – it is classified as large by the EPA. It can carry five comfortably with four commodious seats and a fifth center-rear seat that is less accommodating but not as onerous as those in many other cars.

Both models give you a sumptuous interior, including perforated Nappa leather upholstery on the 3.5, beautiful Matte finish interior wood trim that would not look out of place on a Bentley or the stock of a bespoke Holland and Holland shotgun, and a host of state-of-the-art safety features, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, evasive steering torque assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot warning, lane-keeping assist and rear cross-traffic braking.

On the performance side, both G80s have much to recommend them. The all-wheel drive Prestige delivers rocket acceleration, estimated here in the five-second range for zero to 60 mph. The 2.5 is not as quick but won’t be embarrassed anywhere, more in the seven-second range. Both are quiet cruisers with straight-line stability and capable handling on twisting mountain roads.

In this era, infotainment simplicity is becoming increasingly important. It seems that luxury manufacturers make their systems needlessly puzzling — perhaps thinking that customers equate complexity with the pricey drain on their pocketbooks. Yet infotainment systems on inexpensive cars are often more intuitive than those on luxury cars. The Genesis G80 mostly falls into the ease-of-use category, though a few functions can be frustrating.

But, hey, we said at the outset that the Genesis G80 is the new boss in town. Get over it.

Specifications

Model: 2021 Genesis G80 3.5 AWD Prestige four-door sedan.
Engine: 3.5-liter V6, twin turbochargers; 375 hp, 391 lb-ft torque.
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic with manual-shift mode and all-wheel drive.
Overall length: 16 feet 5 inches.
EPA/SAE passenger/trunk volume: 107/15 cubic feet.
Weight: 4,500 pounds.
EPA city/highway/combined fuel consumption: 18/26/21 mpg. Premium fuel required.
Base price, including destination charge: $68,675.
Price as tested: $69,075.