Genesis G80 Electrified review

Genesis is Hyundai’s luxury diffusion line, a well-known quantity in its home market and the US, now tilting at the establishment in the UK and Europe. Many have tried and indeed are still trying, but Hyundai’s top brass see it as a matter of honour to lock swords with the big players. And they want to do it by being different.

Large saloons and SUVs are the traditional pathways to showroom glory and this, the G80 saloon, along with the GV80 crossover, were the cars it used to open its account. But Genesis didn’t stop there. Now, there’s also a smaller G70 saloon and estate/shooting brake (call it what you like), and a smaller GV70 crossover. Oh, and an all-electric GV60.

What is the difference factor you speak of?

Key here is the fact that the company disavows the conventional retail model and is prioritising customer service above shiny-suited commission-incentivised salesperson patter.

So there are no showrooms. Instead, Genesis plies its trade via a little-known tool called the internet and retail ‘studios’. Its first was in London’s Westfield shopping centre, now there are a total of 14 across the UK.

Genesis also allocates customers an individual personal assistant, most of whom have been recruited from non-car spheres (one is ex-Harrods). There’s a mighty five-year warranty, five-year servicing, and five-year roadside assistance package, and the car is collected and returned on covered transport.

What of the car itself?

South Korea’s rep in the world of painless consumer durables is well established but we’ve come a long way since ‘that’ll be the Daewoo’. The G80 is an imperious looking saloon whose dropping rear roofline and cut-off tail suggest coupé-like grace in a sector populated by largely trad saloons. 

There’s the usual stuff about being able to render the car’s silhouette with just two lines, although to be fair to the creatives here the G80’s two-line game actually is strong. It’s there in the headlights, the details aft of the front wheelarches and in the rear lights. The ‘matrix’ grille is the usual punchy Asia-Pacific fare, although better executed than many.

And it’s big, measuring 5mm shy of 5m in length, closer to a Mercedes S-Class than the E-Class with which it competes, and arguably generating more presence than the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and the near-invisible Lexus ES.

A mid-life facelift in mid-2025 saw the wheelbase extended 130mm, meaning even more space for backseat passengers, while up top it now gets a massive 27in screen that incorporates both the driver display and infotainment displays. Plush indeed.

You haven’t mentioned powertrains yet…

At launch you had the choice of a 2.2-litre, 207bhp four-cylinder diesel in rear-wheel drive only, or a 2.5-litre, 300bhp turbocharged four-cylinder with AWD. But if you want internal combustion now… tough. These have been discontinued in the UK.

Instead, your sole offering is the G80 Electrified, which gets a 365bhp dual motor powertrain and a range of 354 miles from its 94.5kWh battery. That’s up on the 323 miles and 87.2kWh of the pre-facelift car. Onwards and upwards.

Alas, that means we need to hastily revise this car's opposition. Suddenly you're looking at the BMW i5, Mercedes EQE, and Audi A6 e-tron. The Polestar 2 is a smaller alternative, and heck, why not the Porsche Taycan if you're entertaining that kind of entry price?

What kind of entry price?

Ah, well... things kick off at an eye-watering £75,615. If you're looking for a small crumb of comfort, it's that there's only one specification and it gets all the toys already fitted as standard. So there's that. Still though...

In some respects the Genesis G80 Electrified is as soothingly reassuring as a BBC Sunday night sitcom. Whatever else is bothering you, the its primary goal is to make all the bad stuff go away. At least for the duration of your journey.

This is a noble aspiration for a car of this type and provided you don’t start asking it dynamic questions it doesn’t really want to answer, the G80 is generally impressive.

It’s extremely well made, easier to operate and less showy than some of its rivals, and ticks all the tech boxes. The interior experience, in particular, is world class.

Just a shame it costs so much. And that you can't take much stuff with you.