Honda has Acura, Nissan has Infiniti, Toyota has Lexus. The South Koreans at Hyundai, meanwhile, keep pushing Genesis as the go-to luxury brand in this particular segment. With the top-to-bottom redesign of the G80, color us impressed at how much the company has improved in only five years since its founding.
The spiritual successor of the Hyundai Genesis – codenamed RG3 – starts at $47,700 in the United States for the 2021 model year. Metallic and pearled paint options cost $400 while freight adds $1,025 to the tally. Even at this price point, there’s no mistaking the G80 is trying to steal customers away from the Japanese brands as well as the German triad consisting of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.
For reference, the Acura RLX costs $54,900 while the Lexus GS is $51,065. Infiniti doesn’t have a mid-sized sedan anymore, so let’s turn our attention to the European interlopers. The A6 kicks off at $54,900, the 530i will set you back $53,900, and the three-pointed star wants no fewer than $54,050 for the E-Class in E 350 specification. The question is, does the Genesis make sense against these guys?
In a nutshell, yes. The so-called 2.5T RWD Standard comes with 300 horsepower (296 PS), 311 pound-feet (422 Nm) of torque, an eight-speed automatic of the torque-converter variety, and quite a few standard features. The full-LED quad headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, Highway Driving Assist II, 12-way power front seats with 4-way power lumbar adjustments, leatherette seating surfaces, heated front seats, and 14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system are a few of them.
Also available with a 3.5-liter V6 twin-turbo option and all-wheel-drive for both powertrains, the G80 is backed up by three years or 36,000 miles (57,936 kilometers) of Genesis Service Valet and complimentary scheduled maintenance. Like the full-size G90 and compact executive G70, the newcomer is made in South Korea at the Hyundai Motor Company's flagship production complex in Ulsan.
Look forward to the first units of the mid-sized luxury sedan arriving at U.S. dealers this summer, and yes, the Tau V8 from the previous generation has been unfortunately axed.
For reference, the Acura RLX costs $54,900 while the Lexus GS is $51,065. Infiniti doesn’t have a mid-sized sedan anymore, so let’s turn our attention to the European interlopers. The A6 kicks off at $54,900, the 530i will set you back $53,900, and the three-pointed star wants no fewer than $54,050 for the E-Class in E 350 specification. The question is, does the Genesis make sense against these guys?
In a nutshell, yes. The so-called 2.5T RWD Standard comes with 300 horsepower (296 PS), 311 pound-feet (422 Nm) of torque, an eight-speed automatic of the torque-converter variety, and quite a few standard features. The full-LED quad headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, Highway Driving Assist II, 12-way power front seats with 4-way power lumbar adjustments, leatherette seating surfaces, heated front seats, and 14.5-inch touchscreen infotainment system are a few of them.
Also available with a 3.5-liter V6 twin-turbo option and all-wheel-drive for both powertrains, the G80 is backed up by three years or 36,000 miles (57,936 kilometers) of Genesis Service Valet and complimentary scheduled maintenance. Like the full-size G90 and compact executive G70, the newcomer is made in South Korea at the Hyundai Motor Company's flagship production complex in Ulsan.
Look forward to the first units of the mid-sized luxury sedan arriving at U.S. dealers this summer, and yes, the Tau V8 from the previous generation has been unfortunately axed.