2021 Genesis G80 revealed with sleek style, turbo power
Genesis' new midsize luxury sedan is chocked full of tech, too.
The 2021 Genesis G80 is here, and boy, is it a looker. That's not a total shock, of course -- Genesis gave us a preview of its new sedan earlier this month. Now, though, the official details are all here and it sounds like there's a lot of substance to back up this style.
Making its debut on Sunday, the 2021 Genesis G80 will arrive in the US in the second half of 2020. It shares a lot of its underpinnings with the recently revealed GV80 SUV, including its turbocharged engines. US customers will be able to choose from a 2.5-liter turbo I4 with 300 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque, or a 3.5-liter turbo V6 with a much more substantial 375 hp and 391 lb-ft. The G80 will also be available with a 210-hp turbodiesel I4, but this engine won't be coming to the States.
The G80 will be available with either rear- or all-wheel drive, and a host of driver-assistance systems are included as standard equipment. Adaptive cruise control comes on every G80, featuring tech that learns your driving style and adjusts its behavior accordingly. Forward-collision warning and blind-spot assist are also included, as is Genesis' Highway Driving Assistant, which bundles the adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assist and lane-change tech to make your long-distance commutes much easier. I used the Highway Driving Assistant on the Hyundai Palisade and Kia Telluride SUVs, and it's a real treat.
Blue leather? Yes please.
Now, let's get to the really good stuff. For starters, check out that interior. The G80 takes a lot of its styling cues from the GV80, and that's definitely a good thing. The cabin's design is elegant and modern, and the blue leather pictured here looks freaking amazing, especially with the contrasting open-pore wood. I hope this interior scheme will come to the US, and I won't say no to the green-and-brown cabin from the GV80, too. Genesis' parent company Hyundai is doing some amazing things with interior design these days, and the G80 is obvious proof of this hard work.
On the tech front, the G80 comes with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, with a 14.5-inch infotainment system perched atop the dash. The multimedia tech supports over-the-air updates and has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built in. Drivers can control this via the knurled dial on the center console, with a pad in the middle that supports handwriting recognition.
All of this goodness comes wrapped in a seriously attractive wrapper. Genesis' huge grille is here, yes, but the more I see it on cars like the G90 and GV80, the more I like it. The new G90's quad-element headlights carry over to the G80, and it's super cool how the daytime running-light signature carries over past the wheel well to the front fender. Overall, the G80 has a sophisticated silhouette, and from some angles, reminds us of the Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class -- specifically the second-gen model.
Following the 2021 G80's debut on Sunday, it goes on sale in South Korea later this week. Roadshow will have more details on things like pricing and fuel economy closer to the sedan's arrival in the US later this year.
First published March 29.