Genesis GV80 Review
You might have seen one of these before, or sort of It’s the Genesis GV80, and it’s the brand’s first SUV from only a few years ago.
But since they brought this out, there’s been the smaller and more popular GV 70 and the electric GV 60. Now there’s this, the GV 80 coupe.
This blingy big dog wants to take on the likes of the BMW X six and Merc GLA coupe with its sloping roof line.
The GV80 range now consists of just one drivetrain with three variants, two SUV and the new SUV coupe.
Genesis GV80 Pricing
The GV 80 is also now a lot more expensive than before. But Genesis says customers almost always opted for the expensive options, like the luxury pack, which is now standard.
The traditional seven seat GV 80 starts from $130,000 before on road costs, with a standard second row of three seats plus two in the back.
Stepping up from that, the six seater starts from $133,000 and has two captain’s chairs in the second row instead of the three row seats, meaning more room for one fewer people and a nice little center console.
Finally, the new body style in the range. The coupe loses the third row thanks to its sloping roofline.
It comes only as a three seat second row, meaning it’s a five seater. And it’s also the most expensive variant of the range, starting at $136,000.
Strangely, for the GV 80, less is more when it comes to seats, each $3,000 step up in price means one fewer seat.
Features
What links all three is that they’re spec’d up to the eyeballs. There are just about no optional creature comforts in the updated GV 80 because they’re already here.
There is plenty of leather upholstery, heated and cooled massage seats in the front, plus heated and cooled seats in the rear, with plenty of electric adjustment for all of them.
A heated steering wheel, which is also electrically adjustable, also heats the armrest in the center console of the front two seats.
There is an 18 speaker bang and all of some sound system, wireless phone charging.
And, of course, ther is the massive 27 inch oled screen, encompassing the multimedia touchscreen and the driver display, which looks incredibly expensive to replace or fix.
Genesis GV80 Exterior Design
The GV 80 looks mostly the same as it did back when it launched, save for a few small tweaks that will give away the updated version to proper anoraks.
Any Genesis spotters will note the suv now has a double mesh grille, two lines instead of one, plus larger air intakes and microlens array lights that perform a dynamic welcome pattern on unlock.
New 22 inch wheels at the sides and a chrome side strip give it away in profile, while at the rear, a redesigned bumper hides the exhaust exits.
But of course, the coupe is much more obvious with its sloping roofline joined by tweaks like a boulder grille inlay.
Single strong lines rather than the mesh crest design from the suv, and more air intakes.
Again, its 22 inch wheels are exclusive to the coupe, and at the rear, a more aggressive design is finished off with visible sports exhaust exits.
Its no bad thing that the GV 80 hasnt changed significantly as it hasnt really aged much in its few years, and its design language seems to do a decent job of appealing to both traditional and modern minded customers.
Interior Function
Inside, it’s properly plush, and there’s a couple of things I wanted to show you because they stand out quite significantly in this car, the main one being this 27 inch single screen that encompasses the multimedia and the driver display.
Over here, of course, it’s a touchscreen and it’s pretty simple to use. There’s big buttons for everything and some odd settings with things like the mood curator and a car wash mode as well.
Seat
In terms of the comfort, like I mentioned, this seat is heated and vented. The steering wheel is also heated, and so is this armrest.
When you have the seat heater on, this armrest heats up as well, which in some areas of the world is pretty good. Otherwise, kind of useless.
Underneath that, there’s another kind of cool gimmick, which is a uv sterilization thing in the center console where if you put your phone or your glasses or whatever in there, it’s supposed to kill the germs on them, which I’m not sure how often that’ll get used, but it’s kind of neat in terms of the ergonomics.
Everything in here is quite easy to use, which is great. Even this touchscreen, which controls all of the climate stuff, it’s pretty easy to use.
It’s clear, and it’s almost always on underneath that. Telescopically, I found a really comfy seating position, and there’s a good tilt and leg support underneath you.
So if you’re pretty much any height, you’ll probably be able to find a pretty good position, this being a large SUV.
Second Row
The second row is suitably spacious. the sloping roof line doesn’t seem to have done too much to headroom.
There’s also plenty of amenities back side. You’ve got armrest with its own little storage space and a couple of cupholders.
Plus you’ve got your own climate controls back here for the second row, and each seat back here can be heated and vented as well.
The other thing that’s worth mentioning is that they’re also almost as adjustable as the front seats. You can adjust the tilt under your thighs for more support.
You can also lean the seat back or forward for a little bit more comfort on a long trip.
This being the coupe, it’s only available as a five seater, but in the SUV you can have a six seater with two captain seats in the middle row and then two seats at the back. Or you can have a seven seater with seats like this in the middle row and the other two seats at the back as well.
There’s also a pair of rear seats in the third row of the SUV, which are pretty well equipped and roomy enough as far as third rows are concerned, with some electric adjustment for the seats, but it would be a stretch to call it a luxurious space.
Boot Space In Genesis GV80
Boot space is fairly generous, the suv boasting 735 liters with the third row down or or 1097 with the second row also folded down.
The coupe has a smaller 644 liters with the second row up, or 1033 with the second row down.
Neither will be great for transporting large, bulky items, but can handle plenty of luggage for trips away.
Engine Specs
Genesis has limited the engine options in the GV 80, doing away with the diesel and offering only the twin turbocharged 3.5 liter petrol V six, which makes a decent 279.
That figure is unchanged for the engine since the model’s launch in Australia. The engine makes its peak torque from a relatively low 1300 revolutions per minute and is paired to an eight speed torque converter automatic.
Interestingly, the suv has a claimed zero to 100 sprint of 5.6 seconds, but the coupe, which is lighter by 20 kilos at a maximum weight of 2325 kilos, is a 10th slower according to Genesis, with a 5.7 2nd sprint.
It’s a pretty traditional engine offering for a large SUV but not offering any kind of electrification, especially when parent company Hyundai is making strides in that space, means the GV 80 engine feels a little bit stuck in the past, much to its fuel consumption detriment.
Efficiency
It’s a good thing the GV 80 has an 80 liter fuel tank because boy is it thirsty. Combined fuel consumption claims for both suv and coupe are 11.7 liters per 100km.
However, Genesis offered us a GV 80 to drive home for a few days and after a couple of hundred kilometers of mostly highway driving, if you’re buying a GV80 for long trips, that could be a fairly realistic figure for you.
Road Experience
But if you’re going to be driving mostly in the city and suburbs, expect to regularly see figures north of 13 liters.
When it comes to the update, the GV 80 feels pretty familiar to drive if you’ve driven it from before the update.
But the difference is that the coupe feels probably a little bit less comfort focused and maybe a little bit more sports focused than the suv does.
Genesis says it’s taken on the global tune for the Genesis GV80, and there’s no specific australian tuning, but in the suv it still feels really plush.
The suspension does a very good job of soaking up big bumps, while also making sure that on rough like gravelly corrugated roads, there’s not a lot of vibrations and stuff coming into the cabin, getting out of the suv and into the coupe, it’s pretty clear that the suspension is a little bit stiffer.
It was immediately noticeable driving along things like gravel and bumpy roads where the coupe started to feel a little bit more like it was sort of performance focused, even though it isn’t actually any faster.
In fact, Genesis actually says that the coupe is a little bit lighter, but a second slower to 100, and they didn’t really have an explanation for that.
When it comes to encouraging you to drive quickly, the GV 80 does not do that. But that’s okay because it fills its niche really well.
As a big comfy suv, the GV 80 is great, and even in coupe form, where the suspension is a little stiffer, it’s pretty comfy and feels like it would be good for long drives on highways or even in semi windy roads.
The coupe also gets a different drive mode. It gets sport plus, which dulls the ESC just a little bit.
It’s pretty responsive and has more than enough power at about 279 kw. In terms of some of the peripheral stuff that affects you while you’re driving, things like the tech and the safety stuff in this car, nothing’s too distracting.
Everything, as long as you’re using the screens in a kind of safe way, is pretty easy to do and none of the driving assistance really intervenes in a way that you wouldn’t expect it to.
Pretty subtle, and it feels quite well tuned. The twin Turbo 3.5 liter V six is now the only engine you can get here in Australia.
But that’s okay, because even though it’s probably not the best on fuel, it is pretty responsive and has more than enough power and torque.
Even if on paper those figures look a little bit more like they would encourage you to drive a little bit more dynamically than they actually do.