Tiger Woods proved it fails to excel as a downhill slalom racer, but otherwise, the Genesis GV80 is about as good as it gets in luxury midsize SUVs.
An elegant, richly-detailed interior, powerful drivetrain, full complement of accident-avoidance features, sophisticated ride, taut handling, great warranty, and outstanding owner experience all combine to say Genisis - the luxury arm of Korean carmaker Hyundai - crafted a jewel with its first SUV.
Woods brought the vehicle to international attention in April when, at more than twice the speed limit on a notoriously curving and crowned residential road, he slammed into a tree at 87 mph and rolled a GV80 four times. The impact fractured both legs and Woods had to be cut out, but that he survived is a testament to the GV80's passenger compartment protection system that uses high-strength steel alloys.
Indeed, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety designated the GV80 a Top Safety Pick+ vehicle, the highest possible rating. That gives the Genesis lineup a sweep of the award. The G70 sport sedan, G80 executive sedan, and G90 flagship sedan are all 2021 TSP+ winners.
Priced from $48,900 to $71,550, the GV80 is a worthy competitor to the BMW X5, Lexus RX, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, Mercedes-Benz GLE, Acura MDX, Land Rover Defender, Cadillac XT6, Volvo XC90, and Infiniti QX60.
Were one to test drive all those vehicles - and suffer all those sales pitches - one might well conclude the Hyundai is the best of the bunch. The originality and creativity of the interior, from sweeping needles on 3-D gauges to quilted tan leather with blue piping, to a smart posture seat that uses the driver's measurements to calculate optimal position, all create a vehicle that embraces occupants and bathes them in luxury and safety.
Wow factor
Blonde Beauty and I, who don't impress easily, marveled at the comfort the GV80 offers. Front seats are as comfortable as they come, with lumbar support, heated and cooled cushions, and thigh extenders all standard.
The infotainment system is amazing but perhaps overly complicated. A 14.5-inch center display spans the center of the dash and blends together displays for everything from navigation to sound settings to current weather.
While we were sitting through drive-in graduation at Texarkana College, I fiddled with the system and found menu after menu of settings. Deep inside, I found one to turn a GPS link to driver assistance, which would, for example, use its map knowledge to brake if one were approaching a curve too fast.
The factory default is to have this system off. Bet Tiger wishes it were on.
Our top-of-line tester came with a 21 speaker Lexicon audio system which divvied up sound through 14 channels to 17 locations. A five-speaker center soundbar, Kevlar-cone front midrange speakers, acoustic lenses, and metal speaker grilles create precise, immersive audio, while eight-inch, under-seat subwoofers produce rich bass.
James Earl Keen never sounded better.
For all its attention to luxury, our GV80 tester missed the mark on ride. Perhaps it was because the trend today is toward style over substance, but the decision to put 22-inch wheels on a vehicle that rides much better on 19-inchers results in a ride that transmits far too much road information into the cabin.
Trouble in paradise
Alas, automobile purchases are the beginnings of long-term relationships and the GV80 carries some more baggage. One is atrocious fuel economy - 18 mpg on premium fuel, which is several mpg below the competition. The Lexus RX 450 H, a hybrid, returns 30 mpg.
The other is reliability. Try as they might, Hyundai and its subsidiaries and Kia and Genesis continue to be bedeviled by a wide range of electromechanical issues. In the past few years, the company has recalled more than 500,000 vehicles for major engine issues that have led to fires and has settled a lawsuit regarding them for $760 million.
Already, Genesis has recalled GV80s equipped with a 2.5-L turbo four-cylinder engine because a tube connecting the high-pressure pump to the fuel rail may not seal properly.
To be sure, a 5-year, 60,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and three years of complimentary service with Genesis valet service help take the sting out of unexpected problems, but we prefer our cars to stay out of the garage.
Genesis adds a 10-year, 100,000-mile powertrain warranty, but it is not transferrable, so if you buy a used one you might want to take that call from the guy selling extended warranties.
If reliability in a luxury automobile is a concern, buy Japanese vehicles first, Germans second, Americans third, and English never. Frankly, it confounds me that Hyundai, which does so many things brilliantly, cannot get it together under the hood. To be fair, problems are limited to a few, four-cylinder engines, not the entire product line.
Lovely power
This leads one to say, if you are interested in a Genesis, any Genesis, go with the larger engine.
Standard on the GV80 is the 300-hp, turbocharged 2.5. It puts out 311 lb.-ft of torque. That is enough to get the 4,600-lb. or so vehicle moving quickly, but most reviewers give it a resounding "meh."
In its defense, the four-banger returns 23 mpg and is quicker than 4-cylinder challengers like the Mercedes GLE and runs neck and neck with 6-cylinder powered stalwarts like the Lexus RX350 and Acura MDX.
Our tester came with the optional, 375-hp, twin-turbo, 3.5-L V-6. It twists out 391 lb.-ft of torque, which shoots the SUV from a standstill to 60 mph in a quite satisfying 6 seconds.
Both engines come bolted to a well-sorted, 8-speed automatic transmission that shifts imperceptibly and intuitively finds the right gear and engine speed for a wide array of situations. Shift paddles are available, but the car does a better job selecting gears than a human. in sport mode, the V-6 spools up slickly, with minimal turbo lag.
With the V-6 and AWD, the machine is a 5,000 chunk of steel, chrome, and leather. Handling is reasonably taut but a sports car, it ain't.
Out on the interstate, the GV80 runs with the big boys. On the Wamba run, however, the vehicle's mass runs up against the laws of physics. An inexperienced driver could overestimate its handling limits.
Therein lies an object lesson. Even with two broken legs, Tiger can surely outdrive me on a golf course. On a road course, however, I am pretty sure I would eat his lunch. It is hard to make up ground on the highway when one is rolling and flipping through the woods.