2024 Genesis GV80 long-term review

Update 1 – Making an impact

Model: Genesis GV80
Price as tested: $130,000
This month: 1243km @ 11.7L/100km

I suppose it had to happen at some point. Despite having held a driving licence for 37 years, I had somehow escaped – and is there any delicate way of phrasing this? – being rear-ended in a car. Well that run of luck came to an end on Wellington Road in Melbourne last month, mere days after collecting my new Genesis GV80 long termer.

It all seems so banal, of course. The snatch of locked brakes on the wet road and then the impact from behind. I pulled to the side of the road and there was an old Mercedes-Benz C-Class looking distinctly the worse for wear. Expecting a corresponding amount of damage to the Genesis, I was pleasantly surprised to see just a bit of cracking of the plastics and trims on the lower valance, and that seemed about it. Insurance has done its thing and it has an appointment with a local repairer, which isn’t an ideal start to its tenure in the Wheels garage, but otherwise I think it got off rather lightly, all things considered.

3

Prior to being shunted rudely in the chuff, the GV80 had been making a very good impression. I might merely be projecting here, but you’re forgiven if you’re somewhat bamboozled by Genesis’s nomenclature. The GV80 is the range-topping SUV, a kind of BMW X5 rival. It’s now only available with one engine choice, a meaty 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6, and the sole option is a choice of six or seven seats. Otherwise it’s as if it’s had the entire options list shoehorned into it.

It retails for $130,000, which looks decent value against the BMW X5 40i M Sport, which carries a $138,900 sticker price, doesn’t come with anything like the kit list of the Genesis and is also some way down on outright grunt. To whit, the BMW’s 3.0-litre straight-six develops 250kW and 450Nm, where the Korean is good for 279kW and 530Nm. What’s more, the Genesis has been recently updated. The most obvious difference is the old dash binnacle has been replaced by a stunning widescreen 27-inch OLED that includes both the dash clocks and the infotainment system. That’s not all though.

Genesis has also added new colours, tweaked the styling, added a bunch of safety and convenience kit, and the car now features all of the gear that was in the previously optional Luxury pack. You sit on beautiful quilted Nappa leather seats with suede trim elsewhere. There really is a feel of ‘baby Bentayga’ about the cabin execution, with high-quality touch points, an 18-speaker Bang and Olufsen stereo and, in this car at least, a smoky green/earth brown two-tone cabin that works well with the olive ash wood dash and centre console finish.

3

We’ll get into the nuts and bolts of how it drives in a later report, but first impressions are promising. The engine certainly delivers in terms of acceleration, scoring a 0-100km/h time of 5.6 seconds, but I’m more than mindful of its fuel thirst.

The spec sheet reckons on 11.7L/100km, well up on the 9.2L/100km of that X5. I’m generally quite gentle with the loud pedal in normal driving, and over 1243km this month, I’ve averaged 11.72L/100km – bullseye on the WLTP fuel figure.

The cosmetic damage on the back of the car is going to be fixed next month. Shouldn’t be an issue, but I’ll let you know how that goes.