2022 Genesis G80 aims for sporty along with the luxury
After a redesign for 2021, the new G80 3.5T AWD Sport series takes the luxury value sedan and adds more competent suspension and rear-wheel steering for better road manners.
Genesis G80 3.5T AWD Sport Prestige: Genesis aims for sporty with its luxury sedan.
Price: $69,195 as tested, charging $500 for blue paint and $5,495 for the Prestige Package.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “lovely interior design, packed with features, bargain pricing,” but not that the ”bold grille design isn’t for everyone, not as athletic as rival sedans, people will ask if it’s a Hyundai.”
Marketer’s pitch: “Creating tomorrow, today.”
Reality: Lots of luxury but just a little sporty.
What’s new: The redesigned-for-2021 Genesis G80 adds the new AWD Sport to the lineup for ‘22, but this doesn’t greatly change the G80 for the new year. It gets some visual touches and more agility than the previous sedan, thanks to suspension changes and rear-wheel steering.
The model still takes its visual cues from the latest Audi offerings, a great look to emulate. The gently sloping back end makes for an attractive profile; the front looks like a cross between an Audi and a Bentley.
Up to speed: The V-6 creates 375 horsepower and turns the sedan into a rocket. It boasts 25% more horsepower than the 2.5-liter four in lesser G80s. Motor Trend coaxed the 2021 version of the G80 to 60 mph in 5 seconds.
Shifty: I prefer tradition in the form of a gearshift, even if that is electronically controlled. Genesis offers a dial, but in a different pattern — twist hard clockwise for Drive, or hard counterclockwise for Reverse. And if you only know digital clocks, well, haha, figure it out, youngster.
The 8-speed transmission operates smoothly, though.
On the road: Speaking of smooth, the AWD G80 is the automotive version of Barry White on both limited-access highways and on country roads. It’s more fun than the average Hyundai or Kia, probably thanks to both the suspension and the low profile of the sedan. It’s not great excitement on the curves, but it goes where it’s pointed; highway driving is comfortable.
Sport mode, as in other Korean vehicles, feels extremely heavy in the steering. Custom seems a better blend of smooth and handling.
» READ MORE: 2020 Hyundai Sonata redesign hits almost all the right notes
Keeping it safe: Beyond the usual lane keeping and driver attention warning, the G80 offers a whole bunch of features here, with forward collision avoidance that watches out for pedestrians and cyclists, plus junction turning and junction crossing, lane side, and evasive steering assists, plus highway driving and lane following assists.
Driver’s Seat: The Nappa leather-covered seat is comfortable and supportive, with plenty of luxury touches and 12 directions to adjust.
The gauge pod — er, excuse me, 12.3-inch 3-D digital instrument cluster — features a digitally created speedometer and tachometer, and these turn into side view cameras when the turn signal is engaged.
The dashboard sports wood trim and silver accents, and the colors at night equal some of the fanciest choices out there. Heated and ventilated seats are standard on the trim level.
Friends and stuff: Rear-seat occupants will enjoy great accommodations in the corners, with heat and ventilation, as well. Legroom and foot room are generous, although headroom is a tad compromised by the aforementioned beautifully sloped rear end.
Cargo space is 15.3 cubic feet. Only the armrest provides a pass-through from the trunk, so big items won’t make it.
Play some tunes: The Lexicon Premium Audio system features a 14.5-inch touchscreen to make things easy to see. Several buttons outside get users from place to place, and I found a couple could be stubborn now and again. But the touchscreen itself works nicely.
That’s good, because an odd touch ball control thingie works less than seamlessly. Owners may have time to find that the dial twists from function to function as well as presses left-right-up-down on the chrome ring, but someone unfamiliar is going to fight with it.
Chrome rollers also control volume and tuning, and everything requires more force than traditional knobs and buttons.
Sound features a variety of settings a la Volvo, with different locations in a concert hall among the choices, plus bass-treble-midrange beyond that. Sound from the 21 speakers was pretty good, about an A-.
Keeping warm and cool: The heater seatings are also on a graphic LED interface. It’s pretty snappy looking, but it can be difficult to operate on the fly, including getting the seats heated or ventilated. And it also requires more force than you’d think. Dials control the temperature.
Heat vents are a 1970s-esque strip across the dashboard, without much ability to adjust.
Night shift: The LED headlamps are pitiful on low beam. The lights barely illuminate parked cars on the street before I’m up against them; automakers are definitely counting on the world having more streetlights than it does. The interior lights are pleasant and subtle.
Fuel economy: I averaged about 21 mpg in a rather easygoing week of drives around Philadelphia, King of Prussia, and Delaware.
Where it’s built: Ulsan, South Korea
How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the G80 reliability to be 2 out of 5.
In the end: Not a bad sedan, but if I were able, I’d probably go for the Audi A6.