Eight and a half years ago, Hyundai made Genesis a separate brand. The company has made several truly outstanding cars over the years, including the G70 sports car. It was such a big hit when it came out in 2018 that it won the 2019 North American Car of the Year award. It also has many other advantages.
Some examples are the high-end G80 and G90 cars, the one-of-a-kind battery-electric GV60, and the best-selling GV70. The latest Genesis model we looked at was the GV80. This car, which has been made since 2020, just got its first mid-life update, which included changes to how it looks and how it works inside. Like the Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupe and the BMW X6, the new GV80 Coupe is a coupe.
Are the new Mercedes-Benz GLE and BMW X5 as good as the old ones? We recently went over 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) in a variety of GV80 and GV80 Coupe SUVs to find out.
Since 2017, Genesis has been its brand in Australia, where it sold just over 4,000 cars that year. That’s too far to show how hard it’s been to break into the local market, even with well-rounded models. The GV80 is the most expensive type available in the country.
Here, you can choose from three different GV80 models. The basic SUV comes in six- and seven-seat models and the five-seat GV80 Coupe was just released. It is important to note that all Hyundai Motor Group cars come with the 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged T-GDi V8 engine.
The engine makes 279 kW (374 hp) of power and 530 Nm (391 lb-ft) of torque through an all-wheel drive system that is biased toward the back wheels. An automatic drive with eight speeds is added to it.
Genesis Australia offered the GV80 with a 3.0-liter turbodiesel engine, a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, and the top-of-the-line V6 engine before the 2025 update. The diesel engine made up 33% of all GV80 sales, while the 2.5-liter engine made up 24%. However, both engines will no longer be made after 2025. Genesis says this is because the V6 engine fits the form of a big, luxurious SUV like this one better, and the company thinks the GV80 Coupe can make up for the drop in sales of these two engines.
The price of the GV80 has gone up a lot since these two engines were taken out. The base seven-seat model now costs AU$ 130,000 (~$85,000), while the 2.5-liter model used to cost AU$ 92,000 (~$60,200) before on-road costs. The car costs AU$136,000 (~$89,000), and the six-seater costs AU$133,000 (~$87,000). The 2025 GV80 is still 8% more expensive than the 2024 model, but all of them come with the Luxury Pack, which used to be an extra.
Some changes to the outside of the 2025 model might not be obvious, but they are there. For instance, Micro-Lens Array technology is now used in the headlights, the grille has been changed, and the bumper has bigger air openings. The silver trim that runs along the sides of the SUV makes it look more expensive. Genesis also got rid of the exhaust points on the back bumper and replaced them with an exhaust that goes under the car.
As you might guess, the GV80 Coupe has a sportier shape than the base model. It also has new front and back bumpers, two exhaust tips, and a front bumper that looks meaner and has a bigger air intake.
Swimming with wealth
The cabin has undergone major changes since 2025. A 27-inch OLED screen has replaced the separate entertainment and instrument cluster panels. It also comes with a digital rearview mirror, an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, fingerprint recognition, a new center panel, and a steering wheel with three spokes instead of the ugly two spokes on the old model.
The HVAC screen has been replaced with a brand-new storage area. It includes a wireless charging pad for phones and a UV light for cleaning the phone’s surface.
Performance without any work
The first part of our day with the GV80 was spent driving the seven-seat SUV from a location near Melbourne’s central business district to the famous beach town of Sorrento. There were long stretches of highway drive and some fun turns along the way, which was great for getting a feel for the huge SUV.
I’d never driven a GV80 before, but I liked how quiet and smooth the big V6 engine was right away. After driving a number of Kia Stinger and Genesis G70s with the older generation 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6, I thought the GV80’s slightly more powerful but younger engine would feel the same. It feels more polished and less aggressive, though, which is good for this kind of car.
Genesis says that the GV80 can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in about 5.6 seconds. That guess is good, and we were able to match it in the test. Given that it weighs more than 2.2 tonnes, the car doesn’t feel very fast off the line, even when Sport mode is turned on. Instead, it doesn’t make much noise and gives a strong, smooth burst up to the top speed. We could have used the synthetic engine tone that can be piped into the car, but we chose not to.
The GV80 is a great companion for long trips on the highway. I drove for more than 20 hours straight without getting tired. That included a 14-hour trip on the highway from Victoria to New South Wales and back. The massage feature is a nice bonus, and the seats are very supportive. I also liked that the armrests in the center console were heated. However, it’s annoying that you have to heat the seats first in order to use the heated armrests. Besides that, there is a perfume supplier.
The 2025 GV80 is also the first Genesis car to come out in Australia with Hyundai’s Highway Driving Assist 2 technology. It can change lanes automatically, so all you have to do is turn on the turn signal. Also, the radar cruise control and lane-keeping systems are great. I didn’t have to use the brakes, throttle, or turn for hours on the highway.
The only small problem is the device that kept track of my attention as a driver. If I looked anywhere but straight ahead for more than a few seconds, it would chime. To put it in perspective, shutting it off is not difficult at all. It’s also easy to turn off the annoying speed restriction alert that goes off every time you go over the posted speed limit by one kilometer per hour.
The seats in the second row are just as comfortable as the ones in the front, and there are many nice touches for riders to enjoy. These include chairs that can be heated or cooled and window shades that can be adjusted with just one touch. The third row is too small for adults, so they shouldn’t use it. Even so, Genesis has included climate settings that are only for the back. With just one button, you can fold or unfold the second and third rows of seats, which is also a useful function.
GV-80 Coupe
The 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe is a brand-new car that is meant to be a faster version of the base model. But Genesis has kept everything the same about the way it works, so it drives the same as the SUV. The two most important changes are the new Sport+ driving mode and the Flex stop, which lets you change how sensitive the stop pedal is.
Like the SUV, the GV80 Coupe is fun to drive at slower speeds in the suburbs and does great on open roads. It really does well with its weight when you put it in Sport+ mode and push it into a few turns. Making quick turns was more challenging than it was with the Kia EV9 GT-Line I had just driven. And finally, the GV80 doesn’t feel good when you’re going fast. This car is made to be used every day, whether you’re on the highway, in the city, or in traffic that comes and goes.
The fact that Genesis Australia got rid of the 3.0-liter diesel and 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines is a bad thing because the GV80’s base V6 engine uses a lot of gas. It will get more than 14.0 l/100 km (16.8 US mpg) if you drive like a tool. This is a lot more than the reported 11.7 l/100 km (20.1 US mpg) mixed cycle. The best average was 9.6 l/100 km (24.5 U.S. mpg) over two seven-hour rides at 110 km/h (~68 mph) on cruise control. That’s not so bad, but European automakers make bigger SUVs with engines that use less gas.
In conclusion
We were right about how well-rounded and luxurious the Genesis GV80 is; it’s the same as the brand’s other cars. People are very interested in it because it’s very stylish and comfortable. There are now more well-known European cars that are more expensive than they are. The base BMW X5 xDrive40i starts at AU$138,900 ($90,785), while the Mercedes-Benz GLE range starts at AU$144,900 ($94,706). Even though Mercedes and BMW sell the GLE and X5 with very efficient diesel engines, we are still trying to decide about the choice to get rid of the 3.0-liter diesel and 2.5-liter four-cylinder engines.
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