G80 was fully loaded AWD $58K
Love the way this car looks. Sure it’s derivative styling but with that big grill and copper accents has a very handsome look. It’s not beautiful, it’s handsome and understated elegance.
Interior was very good. Lots of space, headroom was better than legroom which I expected it to be more. Sat behind myself at 5'11" and had about 4 to 5 inches of legroom. Car was not super low like most new sedans and I could get in an out without crouching too much or hitting my head front and rear. YUGE trunk.
Quality of materials is good all around but this is no Lexus or BMW/Mercedes and same can be said of the switchgear. My wife has a Kia and immediately noticed the steering wheel and the infotainment/climate buttons were the same BUT they are a better quality and less plasticky. Everything was put together very well. Seats were good, Infotainment was standard Hyundai stuff no problems there but didn’t look cheap. I know they have to do these things to keep costs low but If you really did care about having the absolute impeccable interior you might have to look at Lexus or Mercedes. I will say before hand the G80 Sport’s interior especially the trim makes it better than the normal G80 despite it having real wood etc.
The Drive: Man, I love this engine. What a sweet gem! Torque comes on smooth and strong and it pulls and pulls! They have done great job tuning it and the transmission didn’t take me out of the drive. I drove in sport mode most of the time.
This is easily one of the quietest cars I have driven. Road and wind noise were minimum. Whisper-quiet at highway speeds. Full points to Genesis for a true luxury ride. Ride was not soft, not harsh but could use a lot more firmness in Sport setting and I don’t think they have adaptive dampers.
OK, Steering is a little numb this ain’t no BMW. Car is heavy and I felt it but I didn’t mind it too much because it gave me this Germanic solid feel from a few years back before they all became hyper focussed on losing weight.
Handling is competent That’s it. AWD system hooked up quite well and I didn’t feel any oversteer /understeer or wheelspin even when I was flooring out of turns. This is a fantastic highway and city midsize premium sedan but it’s no corner craver. Get a BMW or Jag if you want back roads fun.
Going to the 3.8. Interiors and Features wise it was fully loaded the same way as the sport MSRP around $53K. However I didn’t like the aluminum(Plastic?) trim specifically and the Wood trim across the dash was not enough to make up for it.
The Drive: The non -turbo 3.8 was silky smooth and fairly quiet until you get into it. Typical v6 behavior and the power was in the midrange top end for the most part. Ride was also softer. Perfect long distance cruiser.
IMO The G80/G80 Sport is the RWD Lexus-Acura RWD based hybrid for thousands less. It is a sensible perfectly competitive luxury sedan.
Think about shopping at Macy’s or Dillard’s for similar stuff instead of Nordstorm. The G80 sport is great value for your money but I would still go for a used BMW 540i personally as this is only 85% there. It is Sport-ish not Sporty if that makes sense. I have not driven an E350 or Audi a6 3.oT to compare. This Autoguide article is a good summary of my thoughts.
In conclusion, G80 3.3T Sport> G80 3.8 This would do very well with more aggressive suspension and transmission tuning and losing 500 Lbs. THAT is why I am super excited for the G70 3.3T and I think it will be fantastic sports sedan. The reviews so far have been great. The salesguy didn’t know when it will be in stock and I am definitely going back to test drive it.
Update: Salesguy said the G70 will be here September