GEE UP FOR GENESIS
Korean brand heads into luxury SUV turf
The Genesis GV80 luxury SUV has a lot riding on its broad shoulders. The BMW X5 rival carries the future of Hyundai’s fledgling luxury offshoot in Australia and beyond. Expected to arrive locally mid-year, it joins the G70 and G80 sedan duo, filling an important void for the brand. Its bold exterior design cues, including a bluff grille, 22-inch wheels and split LED lights, will appear on the more conservative four-doors in the near future.
There are five or seven seats in the South Korean home market, along with a whopping 14.5-inch digital display stacked with technology to rival Europe’s best.
Augmented reality satnav — turn directions are superimposed on live video of the road ahead — joins handwriting recognition, active noise cancellation and a driver’s seat that subtly changes shape on long journeys so that the occupant doesn’t feel stiff on arrival.
Active cruise control with artificial intelligence adapts the semi-autonomous driving to the surroundings. The driver can change lanes with a flick of the indicator.
Adding to modern basics such as autonomous emergency braking and blindspot monitoring, fatigue detection uses cameras to check on the driver’s focus.
The GV80 will be one of the first cars to go on sale with a new centre airbag positioned between front occupants.
South Korean customers can pay for fuel from their car and, via a clever smartphone link, they can monitor the vehicle remotely, even tapping into its camera images to view surroundings.
With rear and four-wheel drive options, the GV80 rides on a new platform that will be the basis of its next-generation G80 luxury sedan.
Initial examples use a new 3.0-litre sixcylinder diesel with impressive outputs of 205kW and 588Nm. When the car arrives in Australia, petrol options will include a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo and a 3.5-litre V6.
Engineers have worked to refine the active suspension for Australian roads as part of a Sydney-based test program.
Genesis spokesman Guido Schenken says it is too early to speculate on prices or trim levels for local versions.
The local arm has a history of undercutting European rivals. Expect the GV80 to cost less than prestige SUVs that sell for less than $100,000, such as the Audi Q7.
Last year, Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus tallied more than 80,000 Australian sales — the Genesis figure was just 103. A Genesis SUV could change the brand’s fortunes.
High-riding wagons are the most popular models in Audi, BMW, Lexus and Volvo showrooms. SUVs outsell conventional passenger cars and large prestige SUVs are five times more popular than their sedan cousins.
The GV80 needs to follow that trend and bring a dramatic increase in sales to prevent a Genesis exodus from Australia. A smaller SUV will follow in the near future. There also will be updates for the brand’s sedans, plus a new sports model and a dedicated electric vehicle.
SHOW AND TELL
Genesis currently has a single showroom in Australia — a boutique studio in Sydney’s Martin Place shopping precinct. Hyundai invested about $10 million in the project. Genesis plans to open similar studios in Melbourne and Brisbane this year.