And in the beginning..
Electric Genesis G80 is the epitome of sophistication
There are times when you come across a saloon car that is so sculpted and elegant, you remember why we originally fell in love with the automobile.
The Genesis G80 is a case in point. Long and lean, it is the epitome of a sophisticated limousine, particularly in this beautiful teal colour with chrome detailing.
Good-looking and powerful – it boasts 370PS – it has one other attraction to add to its current desirability. It is all- electric, and that in today’s market means drivers will look at it twice.
To be honest they would look at this car twice anyway but zero emissions is a hook that is snagging us all along with the economic benefits of driving an electric car.
It is quite simply beautiful – fast, silent and powerful.
It comes from the Hyundai stable and is now the Korean company’s luxury brand. It is well known in the USA where people have been buying the Genesis since 2015, but it only debuted on our shores last year.
Situated at the top end of the market, it has snaff led the best from the best to produce a series of cars which want for nothing.
This electrified G80 sits on 19ins wheels with a coupe-like rear and long nose. Inside the leather is soft and plush and the finish is quite remarkable.
It comes in only one trim level starting at £ 65,805, a price which you can boost with a series of options like the Innovation Pack which gives you Blind Sport Monitoring, adaptive LED headlights and that quirky function where the dials on the instrument panel turn into video cameras for super duper rear view sightlines.
There is also a solar roof pack which you can use to suck up sunlight and add to the battery charge as well as comfort and convenience packs. The battery is a powerful 87.2kW beast which drives two electric motors – one on each axle making this an all wheel drive vehicle with a range of 323 miles.
Sport, Eco and Comfort modes come as standard, and in Sport mode,the driver’s seat tightens up – like getting a supportive hug. Four levels of regeneration of the electric power are available through paddles behind the steering wheel and there is also one pedal driving capability.
The G80 drives easily and smoothly with very little road noise and with all that luxury around it is almost like being in a grand tourer of old.
It can charge from 10 to 80
per cent in just over 20 minutes if you can find a rapid charger, and overnight at home.
Genesis has arrived in the European market with a specific car buying experience in mind. There is no haggling or doing deals – the price is fixed, but when it comes to aftersales stuff, your personal Genesis person will come and pick up your car and give you a courtesy car to keep you going.
Included in the plan is five years servicing, five years of roadside assistance, five years of over-the-air updates and of course a five-year warranty. It is the kind of plan Genesis is hoping will win friends and inf luence people, and may well turn out to be a blueprint for others
tomorrow.