Genesis GV80

Since its 2015 launch, the Genesis brand has spawned three luxury sedans; the flagship G90, the middle child G80, and the junior class G70, and these three saloons are the rising stars of the luxury car market dominated by the Germans. With these three rising stars busy honing themselves on the road, the time is just right for Genesis to unveil their first-ever SUV, the GV80.

2021 Genesis GV80

The GV80, priced at 65,800,000 Korean Won, is the first SUV from Genesis, the luxury arm of Hyundai, and it's a bold take on the ever-popular German luxury crossovers of its size such as the BMW X5, the Audi Q7, and the Mercedes-Benz GLE. Whether you like it or not, the GV80 is all about utility and ruggedness while retaining the driving character of what makes a Genesis.

2021 Genesis GV80

First off, let's observe the design although the side view is downright impressive to look at, there's something unsure about the front and rear because according to them, the hexagonal-shaped grille and the split lamps are heavily inspired by the Genesis logo and looks like they do have a point. They did this once on the G90 flagship saloon and we can expect more to come wearing the Genesis design language someday.

2021 Genesis GV80 interior

Questionable looks aside, the GV80's interior blends the perfect balance of tech, convenience, and comfort, a common feat for luxury crossovers. On the driver's side, it still has the odd-looking steering wheel like you'd expect from the G70 but with the interest of tech, the GV80 nicks all of the familiar tech stuff you get from the opposition, meaning it works like every luxury crossover you're familiar with. Strange but not bad.

On the comfort side, the GV80 can be a five-seater or a seven-seater, depending on how you use it, and when hitting its sweet spot, you're in for an out-on-a-limo feeling because it's about as comfortable as a fancy apartment wealthy Koreans live in and it's all thanks to the world's first Road Active Noise Cancellation which sharply drops road noise while driving. 

It's a poor man's Cullinan for all the right and wrong barrels and space-wise, the GV80 offers a good boot space for just about everything.

2021 Genesis GV80

The GV80 is powered by the same 3.0L diesel engine as the Kia Mohave but it produces 278PS of power and 60kg-m of torque and it is mated to an 8-speed AT. On its five-seater guise, it returns with a combined fuel economy of 11.8km/L.

Despite being an SUV, the GV80 is rear-wheel drive as standard and before you have second thoughts, it's too bulky and too social to poke its back end like most rear-wheel drive crossovers, but for the sake of intelligence, it comes with the electronically controlled suspension with road preview, which allows the GV80 to recognize road conditions via the front camera. 

To get the most out of the GV80, there's an optional all-wheel drive system that works on all road conditions; be it tarmac, gravel, or snow, and it's good off-road as well but not quite as good as a Range Rover.

The GV80 ups the technology ante with a wide range of safety features and it is the first production car in the world to apply new safety features such as Smart Cruise Control with Machine Learning, Highway Driving Assist II, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Blind-Spot Collision-Avoidance Assist, and Driver Attention Alert Warning. Stuff like these results in being the most intelligent luxury car ever made for the most intelligent people who know how to drive one.

The Genesis luxury brand really started the year 2020 with its first-ever SUV, the GV80, and despite its questionable looks and the diesel engine, the premium sedan riding comfort, near good capability on and off the road, and tech really results to be the most intelligent car ever built and it's hard to put an argument with it.

Photo: Hyundai Motor Company