One of the many problems Hyundai had when they first launched their luxury brand "Genesis", was they came with sedans instead of an SUV or cross-over in an age when folks in general, not just the well-heeled or those wanting to be perceived as such, were jumping out of cars en masse. Well, that's all but a memory as here we have one of three cross-over's from Hyundai, err, Genesis. Ladies and gents, behold a Genesis GV80. If you're like, excuse me. A what? Well, you're not alone.
It's Hyundai's top-of-the-line "Genny" and it's been around since 2020. I guess I missed that press release about its release when I was hunkered down in quarantine in the early days of the pandemic. It's probably most famous for being the vehicle Tiger Woods was driving when he had that horrific accident last spring. Based alone on Tiger not getting killed in the multiple roll-over and subsequent slam into trees at eighty-seven miles per hour, it's apparently one robust vehicle.
Our '80 here shares the Genesis side of Hyundai showrooms with the similar looking but smaller GV70 and all-electric GV60. Have to imagine that a "GV90" is in the works that will be styled similarly to the elephantine Hyundai Palisade and Kia Tuluride. Unlike Honda, Toyota and Nissan, Hyundai didn't set up a separate dealership network for Genesis. Yet?
The GV80, which is based off the Genesis G80 sedan, looks like a mash-up of Acura, Lexus and Infiniti cross-overs with some Audi, BMW and Mercedes thrown-in. The end result is a puree of disparate styling details that simultaneously sort of works and comes up short. Perhaps "Generic GV80" would be a better name for this thing although that doesn't quite have the same ring. "Genericis", anyone?
The interior is a different story. It's fabulous. These are stock photos; I learned a long time ago not to photograph the inside of people's cars. I want to rub my face all over these things. Lick them too. They look delicious enough to eat.
This interior wouldn't look out of place in a Bentley or Rolls, not surprisingly it was designed by a former Bentley staffer. This makes the interior of any modern Mercedes-Benz of Bimmer look dowdy. But I have to remind myself, Chuckie, baby, this is still a Hyundai.
Fun-fact - Hyundai's not targeting their "Genesis" brand at the well-heeled "BMW customer" but rather younger millennial's and Gen-Z's who aren't brand loyal to anything let alone BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and the like and to whom the value proposition of the Genesis brand makes sense. Those kids with money to burn and a long runway before retirement see a nice looking widget and don't have any preconceived notions about it.
If you can wrap your mental bumper around that you begin to realize the entire world doesn't revolve around you, your opinion and your generation and that Hyundai might be onto something. Personally,
"The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come" in me doesn't see a bright future for Genesis but time will tell.
Auto scribes giving the Genesis GV80 high-praise for it's performance capability and build quality falls on my tone-deaf ears; I simply don't care. Again, I'm not a fan of anything Hyundai stemming from a piss-poor experience with one decades ago and even an Elantra my wife and I rented recently failed to impress me. Bottom line, I think Hyundai's are junk and there's no telling me different. That's just my two-cents and my opinion is probably worth less than that.
With a base sticker of $66,000 that supposedly undercuts the tonier makes and models it obviously emulates, it's still a ton of money for a vehicle that has an atrocious resale value. At the end of the day that fact should tell you all you need to know. If you're so inclined, be as smart with your disposable income in the ways that got you in the fortunate space to be able to afford a vehicle this expensive; lease these suckers, don't buy them.
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