In a world flush with gargantuan SUVs and tall-riding crossovers, proper, old-school 4-door saloons such as the Genesis G80 are truly a rare breed. Bringing a slice of luxury that you’ll only ever find on a BMW, Mercedes, and Audi, if not more, but made far, far more accessible, the Genesis G80 is nearly enough the everyman’s full-sized, uber-luxurious barge. Give it a battery and electric motors, and it becomes a much more tantalising package.
As an electric luxobarge, it’s a concept that Genesis has since improved and refined even further since I last drove the outgoing Genesis Electrified G80 nearly 2 years ago. However, with the rest of the market having evolved by leaps and bounds in that time, is the slightly updated and refreshed Genesis Electrified G80 still the one to spring for?
What Is The Genesis Electrified G80 Dynamic About?
Visually, while this new Genesis Electrified G80 still retains the same design language that we’ve seen with its predecessor, including Genesis’ distinct lighting signature and the massive, imposing front grille, as well as all that chrome-filled bling, this refreshed model does feature a few distinct changes. The front headlights have a new set of bulbs and clever intelligent lighting systems, on top of a set of dynamic ‘welcome home’ lights.
Below that, the lower front bumper has been redesigned a tiny bit, too. Additionally, even the Genesis winged badge on the bonnet is ever so slightly different. Personally, probably the most noticeable styling upgrade with this updated model here is those huge, polished, Maybach-style 19-inch alloy wheels. These wheels don’t just look especially imperious and cool, but they’re exceptionally aerodynamic, as is the rest of the new G80.
In fact, the Electrified G80 has an impressively low 0.25 Cd drag coefficient, which I reckon will help to maximise your range. The updated Electrified G80 is also longer now, featuring an extended wheelbase that expands the car by 130 mm. Personally, I quite like how it looks, even if, subjectively, I might want perhaps a tad less chrome, and those wheels might be hit or miss depending on who you’re asking, but as a whole, it’s very good-looking.
How Does It Drive?
Peel away all that metal, and you’ll find that the new Genesis Electrified G80 runs on a dual-motor configuration, 272 kW in total (136 kW front and rear, respectively), thus making it all-wheel drive. For such a gigantic 4-door saloon, there’s a decent bit of oomph to be found under your right foot, with up to 370 PS of power and 700 Nm of torque. Interestingly, those electric motors are bundled together to form a Power Electric (PE) system.
Packaging-wise, this ought to save weight and space, creating a compact mill that combines an electric motor, transmission, and inverter into a single unit. This should allow you to sprint from 0 to 62 mph in a respectable 5.1 seconds, before topping out at 139 mph. Yet, despite it being a sizable as it is, the Electrified G80 isn’t nearly as cumbersome or as large to drive as you might expect, as you could opt for a rear-wheel steering system, too.
This means that at slower speeds, your rear wheels would turn as much as 3.5 degrees in the opposite direction, drastically reducing your turning radius for easier manoeuvrability. Meanwhile, when you’re driving at higher speeds, such as when you’re storming down your local motorway, your rear wheels would then turn in the same direction as your front wheels, as far as 2.0 degrees, to net you even better stability and responsiveness.
Or, if you want to hammer down every single corner at speed, the G80 also has Dynamic Torque Vectoring, allowing this absolute beast of a luxobarge to boast surprisingly deft cornering performance and handling ability by enabling it to distribute torque more effectively to each wheel using the brakes and the motors. For improved agility and high-speed stability, the battery itself is mounted pretty low down in the chassis, between the front and rear axles.
That said, this ought to give the Electrified G80 an optimal centre of gravity and weight distribution. It’s actually quite potent when you give it the beans, especially when it comes to straight line speeds, and it has a lot more poke than you might expect out of a car like this. Of course, the new and updated Genesis Electrified G80 isn’t just about performance or speed, but rather, comfort is its main focus, and it has this in great abundance.
As such, the G80 comes with a trick suspension set-up, which Genesis calls ECS (Electronic Control Suspension). It basically uses your front cameras to look at the road ahead and then dynamically primes the adaptive suspension accordingly. For instance, if it ‘sees’ that there’s a speed bump ahead, the suspension would soften, offsetting any excess body movement, aftershocks, and that rough crashing feeling as you’re hitting the apex of the hump.
On the other hand, if it ‘sees’ that there’s a large pothole ahead, which, I suppose, is more relevant for us here in the UK, the suspension would actively calibrate itself to reduce any impact reverberating into the cabin. Driving it, the Electrified G80 is undoubtedly a splendidly comfortable car, with the high-tech suspension, the active noise cancelling tech (more on that later, and it’s worth the shout), and the fact that it’s an electric car, too.
As a result, it’s a shockingly quiet and serene thing to drive, and even compared to most other, far pricier luxury saloons, like the Mercedes S-Class, or even if you’re looking at a completely different price bracket altogether, comparing it against Bentleys and Rolls Royces, the G80 is still incredible at keeping NVH levels to a minimum. For a car that costs a mere fraction of the latter two, the G80 definitely punches far above its weight class.
Furthermore, among the drive modes that you could fiddle with, if you press and hold the drive mode selector, you could activate the car’s Chauffeur Mode, which further softens, dampens, and slackens off your suspension, your brakes, and your throttle, for an even comfier, more relaxed ride. Now, like other Genesis cars, one of the highlights of the experience is the safety systems and driver aids that watch you as you’re pootling about.
Genesis’ ADAS suite has only gotten better since I last drove one, and their new-ish Electrified G80 is the perfect showcase for how far they’ve come. You’ll find quite a few familiar systems that we’ve covered in the past, but made slightly better, safer, and with improved performance under the hood, such as the fantastic 360-degree surround-view camera that gives you a crystal clear look around your car, which makes parking a breeze.
In addition, there’s the blind-spot view monitor, which offers you a clearer peek at what’s hiding in your blind spots, thanks to the array of cameras throughout. Other improvements with the G80’s safety kit include a capable cruise control system, which combines features such as the Genesis G80’s improved lane-following and lane-changing assist systems, as well as its Highway Driving Assist 2 and Remote Smart Parking Assist 2 systems, respectively.
In all, all those sensors, cameras, and the computers that run them make driving the G80 even more effortless and easy-going than it already is, automating the boring, tedious bits away from you, even automatic lane changes. Yet, you’re cocooned with more safety nets, courtesy of their upgraded Forward Collision Avoidance Assist 2 system, now more capable at predicting and avoiding potential collisions. Plus, with a digital key, you needn’t carry around the fob, either.
What Is It Like Inside?
As with its exterior design, this new and refreshed Genesis Electrified G80 has a restyled interior, too. You’ll find most of those changes on the dashboard and centre console, with a much sleeker dash design, and unlike the quirky steering wheels that I’ve handled in prior Genesis models, you’ll now get a conventional 3-spoke wheel. The most noteworthy uplift versus the outgoing G80 is the tech that dazzles you once you take a step inside.
Instead of separate screens for your instrument cluster and your infotainment display, you now gain a singular, expansive 27-inch cockpit, complete with a crisp, gorgeous, vibrant OLED screen. As far as infotainment systems go, Genesis has some of the best, most intuitive, and easiest-to-use systems on the market today. It’s also accompanied by another tinier screen below that for their new touch-based climate controls, as well.
Altogether, Genesis isn’t holding back with its in-car tech, as you get fancy gadgets like an augmented reality (AR) navigation system that overlays your satnav directions onto the road ahead to help you get around a bit easier, in addition to the pretty handy heads-up display unit. If you ever get bored, stuck waiting for a colleague or friend to arrive, the G80’s infotainment system even comes with Netflix and YouTube to keep you entertained.
There is a generous fitment of other amenities and nice-to-haves inside the new Genesis Electrified G80, and in this Dynamic trim level, most of them come as standard. This includes some acoustic glass on the windshield and rather neat active road noise-cancelling tech to further shield you from the outside world, and it absolutely helps maintain that exceptional silence and quietness in the cabin, as your speakers cancel out unwanted road noise.
Elsewhere, in the Dynamic spec, it features heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, lots of leather as far as the eye can see, first-class materials and interior trim pieces, and loads more. Speaking of, it offers up one of the most luxurious interiors that you can get for the money, with a sea of plush leather upholstery, a marble-like textured finish on the centre console, in addition to the beautiful crystal look finishing on your drive mode selector.
For added luxury, there’s a handy wireless charging pad for topping up your phone, and the superbly outstanding 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen surround sound system. One other detail that I’d be remiss in not mentioning, and it’s definitely something I’ve not seen in other cars, is the inclusion of UV-C LED ultraviolet lights in the centre armrest cubby box that sterilises anything you keep in there, which sounds quite useful for getting rid of bacteria.
If you’re willing to spend more, you could make it a lot more upscale with an abundance of optional extras. For £2,640, you can tack on plenty more creature comforts for rear passengers with the ‘2nd Row Comfort Pack’, adding features like heated rear seats, power closing (and soft-close) rear doors, a little control centre in the central armrest, and rear window blinds. Since it’s an extended wheelbase, there’s no shortage of room back there.
Then, there’s the £1,780 ‘Comfort Pack’, bundling in 18-way electrically adjustable front seats, with way more adjustability for your side bolsters and leg extensions, and a massage function for your front seats, as well as ventilated front seats. Besides that, if you’re willing to part with £2,620, you could also get a raft of soft and supple Nappa leather for your seats, paired with lovely suede upholstery and even some quilted leather, too.
The Experience
It’s nice to see Genesis improving the G80’s EV-specific bits, as well. Take a look underneath, and you’ll find a new, and even bigger 94.5 kWh battery pack. Packed with some really clever engineering, the updated Genesis Electrified G80 is built atop an 800 V architecture, which is always welcomed for speedier charging and more efficient running in fairly regular day-to-day driving. Specifically, it’s rated for up to 354 miles of range (WLTP).
And, to help maximise range on a single charge, in particular during winter, it comes with a battery heater and a heat pump. Naturally, you get regenerative braking to recuperate charge as you’re driving. Optionally, you could spec the optional vehicle-to-load (V2L) function that turns your G80 into a huge power bank, letting you tap into the battery to power any electronics or electrical devices, or use it as an emergency backup power source.
Once your battery runs flat, charging can be done quickly and easily, as long as you’re able to find a fast charger. Thanks to the Genesis Electrified G80 and its 187 kW peak DC charge rate, you could top up your battery from 10% to 80% in under 30 minutes, which is quite rapid for a battery this large, and it maintains that peak charging for a lot longer and in a way more consistently, courtesy of the battery’s cooling system and the charging logic.
On the subject of cold weather, one fairly neat bit of attention to detail is how the G80’s front charging door is heated, ensuring that it won’t freeze shut in the winter. One other fascinating engineering feature on the Electrified G80 is the Disconnector Actuator System (DAS), which can otherwise smoothly and quickly disconnect the front motor from the drive wheels, and go from AWD to RWD in an instant to further maximise energy efficiency.
Genesis Electrified G80 Dynamic Cost
Currently, at launch, the updated Genesis Electrified G80 is only available with one single trim level, which is the Dynamic variant that I’ve been driving around here, which starts from about £75,615. Granted, you could very quickly go up from there, particularly with the rather generous selection of personalisation options, like bespoke paint options and interior finishing, not to mention some of those optional extras that I mentioned earlier.
Verdict
While it’s hard to find value for money or bang for buck when you’re spending this much for something as vain as a luxury saloon, the Genesis Electrified G80 is the exception to the rule. It’s jam-packed with features, tech, and refinement, yet packaged inside a stunningly handsome car, and it’s supremely comfortable, as well. This is a proper luxury cruiser, bar none, and when you consider everything that it comes with, it’s an extraordinarily great value.
Specification
Genesis Electrified G80 Dynamic Specs
- Price: £75,615
- Engine: Dual-motor EV, 94.5 kWh battery
- Power: 370 PS
- Torque: 700 Nm
- 0-62mph: 5.1 seconds
- Top speed: 139 mph
- Weight: 2,410kg
- Economy combined: 354 miles
- CO2: 0 g/km