2021 Genesis GV80 Shakes Up Luxury SUV Market

Covid-19 has shaken everything up, so why shouldn’t it flirt with Christmas traditions too? One of the main stables of our Christmas seasons is visiting “Candy Cane Lane” with another family in a nearby town. It’s usually a warm-hearted night of wandering through a central neighborhood in which their houses and gardens are decorated in a potpourri of Christmas themes. But this year in Southern California everything is out the window: no gatherings, no vibrations, and so no Candy Cane Lane. So what does this have to do with the new Genesis GV80 SUV, you may be wondering. The simple answer is that the GV80 has become our vehicle for a new stop on sticking to our Christmas tradition at least after fashion.

Among the many tests we passed the GV80 was the test of transporting the entire Nerad family – all five of us – to and through the 2020 Holiday Festival at Dodger Stadium just north of downtown Los Angeles and about 25 miles from our home. It just so happens that the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series this year, sadly not at Dodger Stadium but at a neutral location in Arlington, Tex., And this Holiday Festival represents the first an opportunity for many Dodger fans to gather – in their individual vehicles – for a combined concert of Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanza, and a World Series tournament. So we were all inside.

And the Holiday Festival turned out to be a special test for the GV80, which is not only the first SUV from the luxury brand Genesis but also the vehicle that many feel will eventually bring strong success to the upscale Hyundai . The creation of the Genesis brand was announced in late 2015, and the first models from the standalone Genesis brand were launched in late 2016 as 2017 model vehicles. But the luxury sedans hit the market just as American luxury buyers did. abandoning sedans for SUVs in the highest numbers. Without an SUV, Genesis was left on the outside looking into this wonderland. Now, however, in the GV80 the brand has a very operational competitor in the region with more SUVs to follow immediately.

So there’s a lot of pressure on the GV80 not only to be good but realistically to be a game-player. Fortunately, in most areas, the vehicle has the goods to do so. In fact, he has impressed the members of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility Jury of the Year that he is a Finalist in this year ‘s 2021 model competition. (Winners of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year will be joined January 11. I will be Vice President of the voluntary nonprofit organization.)

As I discovered during my weekly test run of two versions of the GV80, there is a lot to see. First and foremost is a bold exterior-style style that SangYup Lee, vice president of Hyundai and head of global Genesis design calls “Athletic Elegance.” The rear, long-wheel GV80 violet is certainly not a fading violet. Its logo grille is as big in your face as those of other luxury SUVs but, in our eyes, it is more artistic to make, and has quad headlamps on each side that offer a distinctive light signal. In fact, during our slow ride through the Holiday Festival at Dodger Stadium, one load of avengers lowered their windows to tell us how much the headlights on our GV80 were so popular. Mission accomplished, Mr. Lee!

Inside the GV80 offers an extra but unadorned elegance aimed at “the beauty of a white space.” In a densely populated South Korea, open space equals luxury, and so the GV80 offers enough space for five passengers and in some flights it also offers less generous space for two more. On our trips in the GV80, our family of five found it very well stocked, and it was easy to get in and out of the generous back doors.

Among the most extensive vehicles in its class, the Genesis GV80 accentuates its interior width with a slippery horizontal track marked by thin air fans that run over the passenger compartment. In high-end variations like the GV80 3.5T version we brought to the Holiday Festival, soft materials cover all surfaces, from the inside of the door handles to the quilted knee pads on the sides of the console. The impressive 14.5-inch screen-display display is making a big impact on the fashion. For aesthetic reasons, designers decided to limit the number of buttons and switches to control various functions, instead of relying on controls rooted in the infotainment system.

The center console is equally low. There is a dial type gear selector and another circular control cap in a similar shape that was clearly attached to the infotainment unit. The “Genesis Integrated Controller” is designed to allow users to set a destination or enter data without operating a keyboard on the address screen using handwritten letters on the writing recognition control system. Now there is an idea. But if typing on a touchpad isn’t something, the cap itself and the rotating ring around it are also controllable. And in our experience, this is the only area where this elegant design came off the rails a bit. For example, a move from SiriusXM and FM radio, required by the Holiday Festival, has become a very challenging process drawing the whole family into a confab on how the “thing” has to work. “Eventually, I reached for voice commands, usually the best iffy gambit, to return to SiriusXM as we left Dodger Stadium and turned left onto Sunset Boulevard.

The good news is that the recalcitrant infotainment unit was the only issue we had with the GV80. On the road in both versions, the SUV is a champ, and we strongly recommend its rear-facing architecture, even though our 3.5T version was equipped with all-wheel drive. The most challenging test we could give that system was floating through puddles that leave lawn sprinklers running amok.

The engine options are 300-horsepower, 2.5-liter, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinder in the 2.5T or 375-horsepower, 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged V-6 engine in the 3.5T. Both engines are packed with an 8-speed automatic transmission, and both feature a dual-fuel injection system that Genesis says combines the benefits of direct-injection and in- multi-port injection.

The 2.5T is powered by an electronically controlled wheel drive system with 4-cylinder power and standard on 3.5T GV80 models. Under normal driving conditions, power rotation is largely driven by a rear wheel, and almost no torque goes to the front wheels in steady state driving to aid efficiency. But when conditions warrant 50% of torque can be directed to the front wheels. The 3.5T offers EPA estimates of 18 mpg city / 23 mph high street / 20 mpg combined, not-so-great figures in the region.

To sum up the great charms of the GV80 we have to mention the elegant exterior design and the striped interior style, its overall space, and the fun but reasonably fun feel on the road. With prices starting at well below $ 50K for the 2.5T and potentially up to around $ 70K for a fully equipped version of the 3.5T Advanced Plus, the GV80 is competitively priced. In comparison, the base of the Lexus RX 350 starts at just over $ 46,000. Sure, presence and gravitas are in the eyes of the keepers, but we think the GV80 outperforms many of its competitors in both of those genres. It seems that Genesis has finally come of age.