Butch and blingy

Jimmy’s shock as he reaches grand milestone

A COUPLE of weeks ago we tested the new Genesis G80 saloon – Hyundai’s premium brand designed to rival the German giants and pinch a few of their sales.

It’s going to be a tough road because introducing a new brand in Europe, especially an upmarket one, is never easy. Just ask Nissan, whose Infinity crashed and burned in the UK.

But the SUV version of the Genesis we’re testing today builds on the hopes of success on that tough road we saw in the saloon.

Surprisingly for someone who much prefers saloons to SUVS, the Genesis GV80 created a positive impression on me as soon as I saw it. I wouldn’t say it was pretty but it’s imposing with some clean and stylish lines. And it’s a far better looking SUV than either a BMW X5 or a Mercedes-benz GLE.

The G80 saloon has a striking interior with a variety of different quality finishes and details – but it’s inside the GV80 where the real difference is to be seen.

It’s a bit bling and actually reminds me of an American Buick or Cadillac. I don’t mind flashiness though, especially if it’s as well executed as it is here. There’s even more leather in the GV80 than in the G80 and the open grain birch wood veneer is lovely.

The glass-topped rotary gear selector is a nice detail, too, as is the infotainment controller which also gets the Tiffany treatment. The G80 we drove was powered by a four-cylinder petrol engine (electric options for both cars will be introduced later this year) but this GV80 is fitted with a diesel.

The saloon is also available with a diesel but it’s a four-cylinder unit whereas the SUV gets a six-cylinder diesel. It’s 3.0-litre engine produces 274bhp and drives through an eightspeed automatic transmission to all four wheels.

It’s a very sophisticated motor that’s as smooth and quiet as any similar engine used by rivals. What it isn’t is particularly economical.

Official figures of 24.1-25.3mpg are very unimpressive. The hybrid powertrains can’t come soon enough because without them the BIK tax hit for business users is going to be heavy.

The GV80 is available with either five or seven seats. The one we’re testing has five.

On the subject of specification and trim, the GV80 comes in Premium Line and Luxury Line with a selection of packs. Our Luxury Line car costs £59,700, but options added are the Innovation Pack, Comfort Seat pack, Nappa leather seats and the second row Comfort pack.

This little lot cranks the price up to £74,620 which is a lot for a brand that’s breaking its way into the market.

Genesis’s SUV is of course bigger and heavier than the saloon so it feels accordingly different to drive – in a positive way because it’s softer sprung and feels more comfortable.

The diesel engine gives plenty of performance and 0-62mph in 7.5sec is perfectly adequate for a family SUV. Interior space is on a par with its main rivals, but the rear pair of seats in the seven-seat option are more cramped.

That’s what you get from a more sleek profile rather than the BMW X7’s and Land Rover Discovery’s boxy rear ends.

Genesis is making a big deal of how it’s going to be selling its car and how the customer is going to be pampered before, during and after purchase.

The dealerships will be limited in number and will be called Studios which you can visit, or you can order online. A car can be brought to your house for a test drive and a ‘Genesis personal assistant’ – like an Apple Genius – will explain all the car’s functions. The assistant will deliver your new car – and, once you’ve bought it, it will be collected for servicing and sent back to you afterwards.

That novel way of selling won’t be enough to ensure Genesis’s success; only good quality and desirable cars will do that.

Judging by the GV80, the brand is off to a good start. But it needs electrified powertrains, and quick.

EMIRATES Old Trafford saw history made earlier this week when James Anderson claimed his 1,000th first class wicket – but the man himself had no idea he’d reached the milestone.

The Lancashire star also secured his best career bowling figures of 7-19 as opponents Kent collapsed to 34-8 - before more than doubling their score.

However, Anderson admitted after the match that he had no idea he was about to make history.

He said: “It feels great - I have been getting ribbed from the lads upstairs because I genuinely didn’t know how many wickets I’d taken. At first I thought they were going a bit over the top for a five for but to see the reaction from the lads was really special and then to get to chew the fat with them after the day was really nice.

“It feels special to get the milestone here where I took my first wicket - it still sounds ridiculous to think I’ve taken 1,000 wickets.

“I’ll look back on this in years to come and think more about it but right now spending time with the lads and the reaction from the crowd is special.

“Getting Ian Ward out here was something I’ll never forget - it was a lifelong dream to play for Lancashire. I’m away a lot with England and don’t get to play much for Lancashire so it makes that much more special to do it here and with a performance that helps the team. It’s a day I’ll never forget.

“I felt really good from ball one. Sometimes you can just feel that way from the moment the ball comes and you know it’s going to be a good day. The first ball went exactly where I wanted it to go, it swung, the conditions were favourable, it carried which means you don’t have to force and if you find the right length the nicks will carry. From then on I was just trying to challenge the defence of the batters as much as possible.

“To get 1,000 wickets is becoming harder with the amount of cricket that is played across the world and it is getting less and less likely that it will happen again. I could potentially be the last person to do it which just adds to the feeling of it being very, very special.

Anderson’s exploits ensured Kent were dismissed for just 74 in a shade over two hours after the players finally took to the field at 2pm on the second day following almost incessant rain throughout the first four sessions of the game.

Taking the new ball Anderson, 38, took a wicket in each of his first three overs, before adding four more as Kent’s top order were blown away in an extraordinary spell from the Burnley-born bowler whose previous best figures were his seven for 42 for England against West Indies in 2017.

The wickets of Zak Crawley, edging to Rob Jones at second slip without scoring, Jordan Cox, edging to Luke Wells at first slip for one and Ollie Robinson, feathering one through to wicket keeper Dane Vilas for 0, were near identical examples of Anderson’s mastery of swing and reduced Kent to five for three.

Jack Leaning became Anderson’s 999th victim when he edged to Jones for two before the stage was set for South African Heino Kuhn to become England’s leading Test wicket taker’s 1,000th scalp, 19 years after Surrey’s Ian Ward became his first.

Typically, Anderson didn’t stop there, taking his sixth wicket with the dismissal of Matt Milnes in his next over for one as Vilas claimed another catch after Danny Lamb spoilt Anderson’s chances of a 10 for by trapping Joe Denly in front for 12.

Anderson’s seventh wicket arrived in the 17th over with Vilas taking his fourth catch off the veteran bowler to dismiss Harry Podmore for three to leave Kent 34 for eight and looking every inch a side without a win in the Lv=insurance County Championship this season.

Only 45-year-old Darren Stevens offered any kind of resistance, bashing four boundaries in his knock of 19 before Lamb had him caught at mid off with the same bowler also accounting for James Logan who became the last wicket to fall for 11.

Lancashire’s openers entered the fray after tea with Alex Davies his usual busy self, scampering singles and hitting five fours and a six in his 43-ball 47 as he compiled an opening stand of 64 with Keaton Jennings before mistiming a cut shot off Matt Quinn through to Jordan Cox at first slip.

More late drama was to follow as Jennings and Luke Wells fell in consecutive balls to Quinn and Milnes with Vilas departing soon after to Stevens before Josh Bohannon was bowled by Kent debutant James Logan to leave the hosts 108 for five at the close.

A DEFIANT halfcentury from Jack Leaning enabled Kent to cling on for a draw at Emirates Old Trafford as Lancashire confirmed their qualification for Division One of the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Leaning’s unbeaten 53 from 199 balls ensured the visitors were eight down at the end of a rain- affected match that had been dominated by the hosts since James Anderson’s 7/ 19 helped dismiss Kent for just 74 in their first innings.

Lancashire pushed hard for the win, with Tom Hartley’s best first-class figures of 4/42 giving them more than a sniff on a gloomy afternoon in Manchester.

When skipper Joe Denly clipped an innocuous delivery from Danny Lamb’s first over straight to Alex Davies at midwicket for 17, to leave the visitors 40/3, the win seemed possible.

Hartley claimed Harvey Kuhn for his first red-ball wicket of the season when the South African edged to Wells at slip for 21.

When Zak Crawley’s substitute, Tawanda Muyeye, was trapped in front by Hartley for seven, swiftly followed in the same way by Darren Stevens for 17 courtesy of Luke Wells’s part- time leg- spin, the writing was on the wall for Kent at 129 for six with only Leaning offering any resistance.

Just before the last hour was called, Hartley struck again, claiming two wickets in three balls as first Matt Milnes edged behind for two and then Harry Podmore was clean bowled for a duck.

But Leaning and an impressive James Logan, who finished unbeaten on three, hung on to see out time.