UNIDENTIFIED ROLLING OBJECT
CONFUSED LOOKS AND ‘WHAT IS IT?’ QUESTIONING ALL PART OF GENESIS GV80 OWNERSHIP
THE MAN stood on the corner of the intersection, eyes pointed my way for a solid 10 seconds, head locked on as the lights went green and I petered past in my giant, satin grey, Unidentified Rolling Object. Like so many other bystanders, he was no doubt thinking, ‘What the hell is that thing?’ Welcome to a curious and often humorous daily facet of Genesis GV80 ownership.
Having pinched this car off
Inwood for a few weeks, the only real criticism I can fling at the GV80 is – and it’s not even its own fault – that nobody knows what a Genesis is.
Plainly, for the Genesis nameplate to succeed in a segment where brand snobbery is inescapably a thing (have you seen how large Mercedes grille badges are these days?), Genesis will need marketing even better than its excellent engineering.
That’s not just to assist new owners with things like resale values, but also this car deserves to succeed; it’s a really impressive thing.
Beyond its general anonymity with almost all members of the public – which might actually appeal to a great many people – the criticisms for the GV80 are flatteringly minor. For starters, while getting in and out of the car is a general delight owing to the soft-close doors and electric rear
tailgate (with foot opening sensor), for some reason only the front doors are keyless entry. Even weirder for a car with so many automated features, the electric park brake isn’t automatic (not that you really need it when the car is in Park, but still). The 21-speaker 1050w Lexicon sound system, part of the $10K optional Luxury Pack, didn’t blow my mind like I hoped it would. A full tank of fuel gives, in our testing so far, ‘just’ 564km of range (the tank is 80L; Genesis claims a possible maximum range of 879km). The headlights are smart enough to switch off LEDs as to not dazzle cars ahead with the high beam, but they are not selflevelling or articulating. (Otherwise, they are pretty excellent.) And, lastly, if this was my car I’d be taking it to a dealer to have checked what almost sounds like an on-the-way-out rear wheel bearing.
There are other very minor yet slightly unbecoming mechanical noises during regular operation, too, although in fairness they’re only noticeable because the rest of the car is so quiet. And maybe this particular car has had a hard life... otherwise build quality is more than good.
But the praise very much outweighs the nit-picking criticisms. Aside from the general lovely, effortless, luxurious motoring it offers, the two things I like most about this car are its power and eagerness; in a big, heavy, soft way, it’s more fun to drive than it has any right to be. And secondly the interior leather quality – buttery, ‘waxy’, smooth, and used extensively through the cabin – is unbelievable for a $120K car. No other cars at this price smell or feel as sumptuously leathery inside as the GV80.
Would I buy one? If the badge on the front was no bother and I cared more for interesting design and engineering, then yes, I’d give the GV80 a look. If only all cars were purchased on such grounds.