In this test drive article we gonna take a closer look at the Genesis GV60 Sport+, the G80 Electric and the GV80.
We had the possibility to test each car for around 1 hour.
This wont be a big details test-drive review, but we are comparing all the cars against each other and want to give you tipps for the best usecase of them.
GV 80 – “The Big One”
– The GV80 is currently the biggest Genesis available in Europe (for customers)
– 3.0 Liter Diesel Engine / 4WD
– All packages have been there (Lexicon, Tech-package, Nappa-Leather etc.)
Engine
The GV80 with the 3.0 Liter Diesel (278 HP) is a great choice for people who realy like to tow heavy stuff. It is mandatory to talk about it (again), since it was the online gas-powered engine in our test drive event.
There is not much to say beside the normal stuff from other reviews. The enigine feels like a engine from another company which is famous for their 6 cylinder… (starts with B**)
It has a good punch at any speed and there is not really often a reason for the automatic transmission to change gears. The transmission is an “old-school” transmission (no DCT) but it works great and is beyond smooth.
The car used around 9,2 liter in our testdrive (when driving normal), if you want to save the enviroment at all costs it is possible to get the car down to around 8 Liter/100km.
This is not the best in class (like i said in my GV70 review), due to the change to a full electric lineup soon, but it is ok since it is not too much.
Driveability
The car drives great, even when it is a bit too big for small town-streets/roadworks, the car is nearly 2m wide, it does not feel big while driving.
It has a good suspension and does not feel to smooth on the 19″ wheels.Sometimes big SUVs start to get to soft while driving and this is definetly not the case with the GV80.
The brakes are something i would like to highlight, they are good while driving slow and they are excellent if you need an emergency brake.
Interior
As i said earlier the car had the full package list. So what can i say about the interior?
It is great, you have massive space in the front and also in the back. Even tall persons like me (1,92m) can easily sit in the back and still stretch their legs.
The seat heating/cooling works great on all seats and the nappa-leather is one of the best.
As a typical Genesis, the luxury steering-wheel feels good with the soft leather and after a short time you get used to the 2-spoke design.
The entertainment system is on par with the GV70 (see my review) but there are minimal differences.
The Lexicon Sound system has slightly better bass, but the high and mid tones dont feel so on spot compared to the GV70.
It is still one of the best sound-systems you can listen to but the GV70 has a nearly perfect/better balancing.
The climate system is not touch control and has black buttons with soft-paint and dont feel so high-class (still good) like the touch GV70 or the G80 system.
But this is a bit more of a personal preference.
There is one nice feature in the GV80, since this car can also be a 7 seater you have the option to start a “Fond conversation”.
The microphone from the driver side will give the speech over the soundsystem to the middle- and reaseats. Nice idea 🙂
Conclusion
This is your car if you need some kind of utility vehicle, with enough space, a sweet engine, luxury, comfort and decent towing capacity.
Keep in mind that it is really big for european parking lots and the engine is not the most efficent of its class.
Beside that, great car with a good price comparing to the other big SUVs.
G80 Electric – “The Quiet One”
– First electric Model from Genesis
– 370 HP / 4WD
– Full package (with executive package)
Engine
370 HP dual-motor with all-wheel-drive… Nothing to say here, this beast drives like a champ, but wait, there are some small infos i would like to share.
First of all, if you dont switch the drive modes to Sport, your G80e will always drive and feel like a RWD, since it is only using the rear engine.
Works great, and drives great. Additionally you have a suprisingly low consumption. It is possible to drive this car on normal/eco with under 19kWh.
Driveability
If you activate the Sport mode you instantly notice how fast and “responsive” this car can get. This car performs like a sport car but with such an awesome silence inside the cabin (thanks noise cancelling)
0-100 km/h (0-60mph) in slightly under 5 seconds, no problem… Since there are parts of the E-GMP included you have the wonderfull 800V and this makes charging/refuelling the car fun. You need around 22 minutes for the normal 10-80%
The range is WLTP 520km… But to be fair, you will always achieve around 400km+ even with bad conditions. It also heavily depends on your driving style and enviroemnt (city, highway etc.)
The car has a very good comfort but also a rather low center of mass. This gives you a comfy ride which has no fear of curvy roads.
Cornering is fantastic and to absolute no time I had the feeling the car looses grip or starts to get clumsy. The brakes are good and in average situations you will always brake with the recuperation system.
Interior
Fantastic! <- (TL;DR)
I could write hours over all the details in the Genesis Interiors, but you wont read it at all or it will get boring after some time…
Genesis is not comparable to everything else from the Hyundai Motor Group. Especially if you order your car with the nappa-leather it is not even miles ahead, there are countrys between it…
Dont get me wrong, the interior of Hyundai and Kia are nice and i really like them, but the leather, buttons, armrests leather, doorboard materials etc. are just ahead.
Even the inside of the doorboard (the bootle holder) is leathered and so soft it can easily compete against my Genesis Coupe seat-leather and it will win 🙂
The rear seats from the G80 are great. You dont have as much space as in the GV80 but it is enough for me (remember… I am 1,92m), have a very comfortable but sporty feeling and the tablet (executive package) has a very good response time and resolution.
You have several options on them, Navigation, Cameras, News and for example if you have Videos on a USB stick, you can watch them on it with your own headphones plugged in.
With the brown interior, the one we had, you instantly see how good and where all the leather is used and one nice detail for me is the seatbelt in the same colour. Great work 🙂
Offtopic: I love such good working style, like the interior “Dark Marine-Blue” in the GV70 with the red stitches and red seatbelts.
Beside all the leather stuff, the buttons, as i said earlier, are top notch, the climate control is intuitive like the GV70 one and you still dont have to crawl through the touch screen to get the climate running.
Great job and not often the case today.
But! There is a downside on the G80… The trunk.
It is way smaller than in the G80 (with combustion engine) and you have a “bump” in it. If you need an even trunk, this car will not be your favorite…
If you are not needing all the space from the normal sedan trunk, then it wont hurt you and you can go
Conclusion:
We had a great time with the G80, if you look for a very well balanced electric car in the upper premium-class (not price wise) you should go for it.
Beside the trunk this is a great car which can be drive sporty, comfortable and makes zero problems on long range drives.
Genesis GV60 “The Wild One”
– First new all electric model
– up to 490 HP (Sport+ and Boost)
– Fancy Colours available
Engine
Whoa, not many people will know it (for example Lennox Lewis), but can you guess the feeling when “Vitali Klitschko” punches your neck/stomach?
No? Drive this car and test the Boost mode! Around 4 seconds to 100 km/h ist just amazing.
But it can still be driven with rather low battery usage. We managed to get around 21kWh/100km with some “boost-punches”.
Driveability
If you need it, this car performs good. With the standard wheels (Michelin Pilot Sport EV) you can make some really fast turns/corners.
The car is pretty well balanced and takes a big potion of steering/speed to get to the car limit.
Like all the other Genesis Models this car also is pretty wide for his class. Nearly 1,90m is (like the ev6/ioniq5) big.
For example, the ID4/5 or the Mazda CX5 are all around 1,85. This leads to a very good stability and the AWD also works pretty good. When you boost out of corners (with ESP etc. on) you will never experience tire screeching or grip problems.
Interior
Well here comes on small negative part (for me!)
While 99% of the car is, like the other genesis models, very good regarding haptics, infotainment and usability, the bad part in this car is the trunk.
Not the space of it, but you have everywhere nice leather and more than appropiate floor covers, the trunk is on the sides “pure” plastic. This does not really goes hand in hand with the rest of the interior.
It is something we instantly noticed when we checked the trunk. If there will be a facelift soon, just give the GV60 the same trunk materials like the GV70 and there wont be a real negative for me.
The rest of the interior is good till very good. Our Yellow car had a dark-blue / yellow interior colour, that has much to do with personal taste, but it was very well processed.
For me personaly i would go with a black or grey/white interior colour, since it wont be so “flashy”.
The Bose soundsystem was good, but not as (perfect!) good as the GV70 Lexicon soundsystem. But that is ranting at a very very high level (i am too spoiled 🙂 ). GV60 Soundsystem = Good.
Conclusion
You want to feel the punch and around 73,000+ euros are fine for you, Go with the GV60 Sport+ model.
If you need a very well balanced car with good recharge options and enough space for a daily car, the GV60 can be your companion.
Beside the small faux-pas with the trunk “side-boards” there is not really much to worry about. You have a rock-solid E-GMP GV60/Ioniq5/EV6 model with better processing than its Hyundai/Kia counterparts.
It is fast, it loads fast and you can still drive sustainable (~21kWh/100km)
If the price is not too high for you, take the chance!
