Here’s Why the 2021 Genesis GV80 Is a Serious Luxury SUV Contender

this is the new

genesis

gv80

2021

and it is the first

genesis

suv finally genesis was launched a few years ago as hyundai's

luxury

brand like the toyota of lexus and acura and honda but they were launched with three sedans in a world of suv but the first genesis suv is finally

here

and today i am going to review it before we start be sure to check out the cars and bids which is my new online car auction website for enthusiasts with cool cars of the modern era if you are looking buy a cool car at Cars & Deals from the 1980s onwards has the best selection and variety with auctions all the time of cool and interesting cars and if you are looking to sell a cool car from the modern era, Cars & Deals is the place w

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gv80

this one is going on sale shortly and has a starting price of around fifty thousand dollars which puts it right on par with the volvo xc90 and the lincoln aviator and a bit.

Slightly more expensive than the popular Lexus RX and Acura MDX, two-row seating is standard, but the GV80 is offered with an optional third row if you want to use it for child-hauling duties under the hood. The gv80 offers two options. The base models come with just a four cylinder but it's a 2.5 liter turbo 4 with a surprisingly powerful 300 horsepower or you can upgrade to a v6 like in this gv80 which has 375 horsepower which is a big number and comes with a Starting price of just over 60 thousand dollars. Also important is the fact that the gv80 is here as I said genesis was launched with three sedans modeled after the launch of lexus when it first came out about 30 years ago but obviously the market has changed since then and it took genesis too long create an SUV, but it is finally here and now Genesis can really start to rival established

luxury

brands like Volvo Lincoln Lexus Acura Mercedes-Benz and all the others and today we will find out if it is a strong challenger first.

I'll take you on a tour of the gv80 and show you all of its cool quirks and features, then I'll take it out on the road and drive it and then I'll give it an excellent rating. Well I'll start with the quirks and features of the gv80 it probably has its quirkiest quirk and that would be the fact that I can move it with the remote control while I'm outside, look at this on the remote control, there is a small button with a circle marked as hold if you press and hold that button on the gv80.

It lights up as you can see, then there's a little button with a car and an arrow and a p. If you press and hold it, the gv80 moves forward on its own, as you can see, I'm not in it, I'm not sitting in it. driver's seat but I'm holding the button and the gv80 moves forward on its own like a remote control car and it can also do it in the other direction, press the other p and arrow button on the key fob and as I can Look, the gv80 is now rolling back. I'm standing outside, there's no one inside.

I'm just controlling it with a remote, which is great. Now you might wonder why anyone would want this feature according to genesis thinking. is that if you live in a tight city and you park in a tight parking lot or if someone parked too close to you in a parking lot, you can just pull the car out without having to squeeze and notice, you can just stand there and move it just go forward or backwards it doesn't turn or avoid obstacles but you can move the car with the remote control and that's how it works but anyway I already showed you that trick of moving the car by remote control in my review of the genesis g80 sedan now I'm going to go over some peculiarities and features that are unique to the gv80, starting with opening the tailgate where the tailgate lock is in a strange place.

You look back here and you don't really see it, that's because it's built into the wiper housing, you can see a little picture of an SUV with the tailgate up, you push it and then the tailgate opens like this. Now, once opened, you can see that there is a lot of cargo space back there. This model has the third row. seat but it's folded and for a vehicle this size it's a pretty big cargo area at least while the third row is folded down, but let's say you want to put the third row seats in the back of the gv80, you're lucky there is many new ones.

Luxury SUVs have power folding and lifting third row seats and the GV80 does too, but the cool thing is they're labeled with this circular button back here, you can see 3l 3r 2l 2r and in a lot of SUVs you're pressing the button thinking I'm not. not sure if this raises the left or right seat, but here you press 3l and the 3rd row seat on the left side goes up or down however you want, that's smart and makes it much easier to determine which seat to actually seat. Now we're raising or lowering them like many luxury SUVs with power-folding third-row seats.

You can raise or lower the third row. Here you can raise or lower them, which is a nice touch unlike many SUVs with this feature. You can also lower the second row seats, you press the two l buttons and the second row folds down on the left side press two r The second row on the right folds down quite simply, unfortunately you can't raise the second row again from the back if you want to put it To raise the second row, you actually have to go around the seat and raise it manually, but probably the best thing when it comes to moving the third row seat is that in the third row you have this little button on the side divided into two. one with an arrow on the backrest pointing up and one pointing down, you press it and it actually moves the backrest forward or back automatically on the side of the seat you're sitting on.

This car has power seats in the third row, at least the backrest. Component which is something I have never seen before in any vehicle at any price and is a pretty cool feature for third row passengers who are usually stuck with the cheaper, poor quality materials as they are not intended to be there on very long trips. and they're usually kids, but that's not the only interesting quirk in the third row, so let's go back there and look at the rest, unfortunately, it's easier said than done now, getting access to the third row is pretty easy, you've got this little Circle button on the side of the second row when you open the door, you push it and with a single movement the seat moves forward and the backrest folds forward to provide easier access to the third row.

It's very nice to see just press once and the third row is Many affordable SUVs force you to do a two step process and it's the same if you're sitting in the third row and you're trying to get out, you can see there's a button on the backrest for the second row you press. that and again, you press the seat forward and it folds forward to make it easier to get out of the third row. This is probably the best third row entry and exit button system in the entire automotive industry and I will use it now and demonstrate the problem.

Going into the third row, which just isn't that big back here, even though the seat slides forward, there's just not a lot of room and when you get in the back, you can see how incredibly tight it is in here when I get in. stuck in the seat belt and since I can barely fit in the third row and it's really very small back here, one of the smallest third rows, as I mentioned before the gv80 comes standard with two rows of seats, you just want to get the third row. If you are going to use it for children or for very short trips, it is not a large full size SUV with a large third row that you can sit comfortably in, it is just for children, but if you bring your children here, you will see some interesting benefits , although I'm going to start with a drawback: there are no charging points in the third row.

Many new third-row vehicles have charging points back here so returning passengers can plug in their devices and charge them while they travel. drive, but not in the gv80, it's a bit of a demerit and frankly a shame, however there are some nice touches here, for one you have your own vents on each side of the third row and not just one small ventilation integrated under the seat. You can't really see that it doesn't provide as much air. It has real climate vents on each side that look like what you would have in the front so they can pump real air to the third row passengers, which is often a complaint.

Of many three-row SUVs, you also have cupholders back here, a single one for the passenger side and one for the driver's side, and you get this little storage cubby. You press this button, the cubby opens and you have a small storage space in the third row. Back here, although you only have that on the passenger side, the third row passenger on the driver's side can't store anything in the third row. Another thing that really stands out about the third row of the gv80 is the quality of the materials back here. It's all surprisingly nice for a third row, for example the climate vent is beautifully trimmed in this knurled aluminum look and looks great.

Same with the cup holders. Same with that button that would automatically raise or lower the backrest for the third row seats. We are usually stuck with the crappiest materials. This is quite good in the rear of the GV80 and the high level of quality of the materials is something that carries throughout the GV80 and for me is a big selling point for this car. This is just a medium trim level. gv80 is not the top of the line model and yet everything here is really nice, for example I am now in the second row of the back seat and you can see that the rear seat climate control dials are bordered with this beautiful silver texture.

The finish looks better than what you would find on any other rear seat climate control at this price, even the small button to fold the second row seat forward is surrounded by this beautiful silver trim, that simple functional button looks Well, everything in this car, the materials. They are simply fantastic and speaking of fantastic, it is worth noting that the interior space is much better in the second row of seats than in the third row. I have the front seat quite a bit back from where I would sit, you can see I have decent knee room back here, good head room and the seats are very comfortable, so the second row in the gv80 is a very comfortable place and nice to compare to the third row, which you really only want to use in a pinch and then we move on. at the front of the gv80 where there is a lot to cover, but again one of the most important things to notice here is the quality of the materials, everything is magnificent, the entire interior looks good from the driver's perspective, it has this beautiful wood molding. the center stitched leather on the entire door panel the window controls and power mirrors are very nice everything here looks good feels good this gv80 has a sticker price of around 66,67,000 and for me it has the interior of a car that is much more expensive than that and again I think it will be a great selling point for people who prioritize comfort and luxury quality over anything else, but high quality materials are not of By no means the only notable element here, there are quite a few interesting quirks and features that start with the gear shift, which is a little strange, is this circle of glass on the center console and to put the car in drive, you turn it clockwise. right to go into gear, you turn it to the left to go into reverse and of course, neutral is like a half turn in the middle, if you want to park you press the p in the center of the shifter and then you're in park, a little unorthodox, but looks good and feels very heavy. and heavy when you move it and the gear lever is not the only strange control on the center console, another is this big circle next to the gear lever that can be used to adjust the infotainment system this big screen in the center too It's a touch screen, but it's placed quite high on the board so it can be a little hard to reach, so you can use this little circle as a dial to scroll through several different pieces on the screen in case you don't. you want to reach, go up to the screen and touch it.

Also unusual on this center console is the volume control, which is this dial. Here it is not a usual knob that you turn left or right, but rather you move it up or down in the center and that adjusts your volume. It is unorthodox, but I must say that it looks and feels good on that position and works well. The next notable item in the center is the climate controls, which on the gv80 are not physical buttons, but instead you have a climate control screen, as you can see. here and it is a touch screen, you can use itto move the airflow to turn on the heated seat, the heated steering wheel and it works quite well, very intuitive, very responsive to your touch, it works exactly as you would expect, but it allows them.

To clean up the look of the center, not jam as many buttons here and put all the climate controls in a physically smaller area since everything is on the screen and speaking of interesting screens in this car, the one in the gauge cluster It's quite unusual. Because it's split on the left you have a traditional analog gauge like you would see on an old school car and on the right you have a big screen like you would say on a new car, for some reason they have done that. Now, this screen on the right has one of my favorite new car features.

When you turn on your turn signal, a camera appears showing your blind spot on the side you just pointed to. Interestingly, because there is only one screen on the right side of the gauge cluster, this camera stops on the right side regardless of whether you're pointing left or right, which can be a little confusing, but since you're going in that direction, it shouldn't be too difficult to understand. Either way, I love this feature, I love this turn signal activated blind spot camera, one of the best safety features in the automotive industry and it's tremendously useful when changing lanes, especially on the highway.

I mentioned earlier my recent review of the new Genesis G80 sedan and in that review I was freaked out by the gauge cluster. I had this 3D gauge cluster. You looked at it and it was on like different levels and I couldn't really show it but it was amazing I felt like the future of this car doesn't have that the gv80 like I said this is a mid trim level model that feature is only on the highest level of gv80. Top of the range if you get the mid level model, this one I guess you're stuck with the 2D gauge cluster and the analogue gauge as a pawn, then another interesting element here that I didn't mention in my g80 review. but what it should have done is the steering wheel, which is quite strange, it's just a single spoke on the steering wheel, very different to what you find in any other modern car.

In fact, many American cars of the '70s and '80s had single-spoke steering wheels. and I suppose Genesis will bring it back. It certainly looks different. I'm not too sure it looks good, but it is distinctive. Only Genesis is making flyers like this right now. It has a very strange shape and design for a steering wheel and I finally want it. to move on to the infotainment system which has quite a few interesting quirks and features of its own, some of which are exclusive to the gv80, another which is not nature sounds, this is a feature available on the new hyundai and kia models where you can Don't listen to the radio or music player, but to the sounds of nature preloaded in the car, like a rainy day and a beach with waves and an outdoor cafe and, by the way, an outdoor cafe this is not.

It's actually a sound of nature, but whatever I have to say now, I've made fun of this feature in a few videos before on the Genesis and Hyundai models, but I must admit I've had a few of these as press cars. now and whenever I have one. I turn it on and I drive and I hear like a rainy day or a forest and I prefer that to music and since they are looking for luxury in this interior with that kind of beautiful and pleasant background noise, I actually like it better. From what I thought, something I would never say, I liked it considerably and maybe it's worth a listen if you have one of these cars, but anyway, a few other quirks of the infotainment system, one is a feature called silent mode , you can see it there if you activate it. then the music you are listening to only plays on the front speakers and the volume on the front goes down.

The theory here is that if you have kids sleeping in the back or the third row you can still listen to music but not as loud so don't wake them up while driving, that's a nice feature and here's another nice feature related to children, something called passenger talk. If you activate this, your voice will be projected to the third row using the vehicle's speakers and then you don't have to turn around and yell at your kids, you can talk normally and they will hear you anyway because your voice is sent back to through the speakers. I have demonstrated it on some new vehicles, it is becoming more and more common. on three-row SUVs and I suspect within a couple of years it will be on all new three-row SUVs and finally, one last interesting quirk of the infotainment system is the ability to configure the third row seating position. row where you sit in the infotainment system and you have the option to adjust the third row, you can raise it or lower it using the screen which is a wonderful feature, you are sitting here, someone wants to load something in the back but the seats are up, you don't have to go out and go back there and do it yourself or try to explain to them how to use those controls on the side, just go into your infotainment system and lower the seat yourself, you can also put it back up, you can see it pushes the seat and it rises automatically while you are sitting here again the benefits are obvious someone wants to get into the third row but it is not in its place you do not have to get out and put it in its place you can do it from the comfort and convenience of the car seat driver and you can also lower the third row headrests from this screen, so if you want the third row to be in place but you are having trouble seeing behind you, there is no one sitting there, just lower the headrests and then you can get out , you don't have to go back there and lower them yourself just to get more visibility and finally we get out of the gv80, we go under the hood where you can see the 3.5 liter v6, like I said, this is the optional 375 horsepower engine, which is a strong number, interestingly enough the base power plant is a four cylinder which is not common in this segment but at 300 horsepower it should be a pretty powerful four cylinder and I suspect most people won't know will bother upgrading to the larger v6. engine, the extra power just won't be necessary now since I'm out of the gv80, two exterior elements worth mentioning, one I love the look of the front turn signals, I also mentioned this in the g80 review, I love how These two lines of turn signals on the front almost look like they are going through the wheel arch to make two lines of turn signals on the side.

The side turn signals are a requirement in many markets and most car manufacturers. Cars just add them and they look ugly, it's great that Genesis really integrates into the design and takes a regulation and makes it look good and attractive and interesting. It also looks good on the outside of this car, the car itself, the gv80 is a fantastic looking suv, very beautifully proportioned, clean, elegant design, very simple, it really looks fantastic. Very well designed SUV, with nice styling and I think the beautiful appearance on the outside along with the beautiful appearance on the interior will be a big reason why many people buy the GV80 overall, it is a very attractive SUV and those are the peculiarities and characteristics. of the new genesis gv80 now it's time to take it out on the road and see how well it handles driving the gv8.

I've been driving this for a couple of days and the first thing I noticed is that it's not really like that. Sporty, this also applies to the new G80 sedan, that surprised me a little. I thought they would take on the BMW 5 Series and go for performance and handling, and they have rear-wheel drive and these powerful engines, the truth is that they don't really focus more on the luxury side of things and that becomes very clear in the moment. where you walk in and see the interior, you see this single spoke steering wheel that is not a sports steering wheel and you see the materials. here and there's no carbon fiber, there's no crazy, you know, jagged lines that make you think this is something young and fun and unique and cool, it's meant for relaxed comfort and sport, and I think Genesis thinks that there's an opening there that a lot of automakers are going in the sporty direction between lexus and bmw and mercedes and audi that maybe the few that are left fighting for luxury which is basically volvo and lincoln and then you know the infinity wrong um this is a place where they can come in and they can show the world hey we make very high quality cars and they do, but the downside is that the performance on the road is not very high, it doesn't feel as fast despite the power and that would be my take home message with the gv80, very nice, very luxurious, nice ride, tall.

The quality is very comfortable here, but don't buy this thinking it's anything other than a luxury vehicle. Now it's a bit of an interesting position for Genesis because these luxury-focused cars are typically associated with older people who are more willing to buy into a sort of entrenched brand. names, so having a more luxury focus, you would think they would look for younger people willing to switch brands, but instead the luxury focus is going after an older audience, so I'm not really sure if that will be successful for Genesis, but that is certainly what they are doing.

I also want to mention a couple of other things. The technology here is very nice. I really like the central touch screen, although it is a little far away. So being able to use this little controller is OK, but it would be better if the screen was closer and then you could just touch it. The third row seat. I really want to be very careful bringing this up again. It is only for very young children. If you really need a third row, you can do it. Just use it a lot, you're looking at a Mercedes GLS, you're looking at a BMW solid effort, it's luxurious, it's nice, it drives well, it's not high performance or sporty or exciting, so I wonder how the Genesis will do to attract young buyers if luxury is its focus, but it's a good vehicle and definitely worth considering.

If you are looking for a nice luxury SUV with very high quality materials and good technology that is the Genesis GV80, this is a great luxury SUV gorgeous both inside and out with great technology and drives well this could be a

serious

contender

, honestly, The biggest problem Genesis will face is its brand, which simply isn't as strong as Mercedes-Benz or Audi or even Volvo or Lexus, but the GV80 will certainly help it get there anyway. Now it's time to give the GV80 a Doug Score starting with the weekend and style categories, the gv80 is a gorgeous gorgeous SUV for a SUV and gets acceleration of a seven out of ten, zero to sixty in the low range of six seconds and it gets a three out of ten handling, it's average for a suv like this and it gets a four out of ten fun factor it's also average and it gets a three out of ten great it's decent this is kind of cool because it's new and it's the long awaited genesis suv but it's not exactly amazingly cool and comes in at a 4 out of 10 for a total weekend score of 21 out of 50.

Next up are the daily categories and features. The gv80 has a lot of technology available, although the mid-level model I drove was missing a few things, the gv80 still gets a 7 out of 10. The comfort is excellent and it gets a 7 out of 10. The quality is high, the materials are excellent and the long warranty is a big plus, better than rival luxury brands and gets an 8 out of 10, which is excellent for an SUV practicality in this segment is also high given the third row cargo space, but The third row is quite tight compared to its rivals, so it squeezes in a bit and gets an 8 out of 10.

Finally, the value and the GV80 is very good. The value, while not great, is well priced, especially given the quality, but ultimately it is an upstart brand that is more expensive than some established rivals such as Lexus and scores a 7 out of 10 for an overall daily score of 37 out of 50. above and the excavated score is 58 out of 100, which places the gv80 here against relevant suvs. It's near the bottom, but this isn't as bad as it seems because I included a lot of SUVs here that are well outside the gv80's price range. just for comparison, like the bmw good price for a narrow third row. seat and an upstart brand that