Yes, that's "Hyundai" and "luxury car" in the same headline.
The Korean firm may not be the first name you think of on the topic of cushy super sedans, but for the last few years its premium off-shoot brand Genesis has been toiling hard to narrow the gap to Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and the like. And, at least when it comes to appearance, it looks like that gap has been totally eliminated.
Hot off the press, this is the new Genesis G80. And, to our eye at least, it's gorgeous.
Set to hit showrooms in 2021, the G80 aims to take on the likes of the Audi A7 with its sloping 'sportsback' silhouette and relatively large dimensions. Genesis call the styling philosophy "Athletic Elegance", and they're not wrong.
Apart from simply looking tight and cohesive, the G80's design sports a few interesting traits. For one, the long 'parabolic line' that arcs from the nose of the car, through the doors, and down to the neatly tucked tail end negates any of the traditional agressive lines that rivals often tend to lean on in order to build a 'muscly' side profile. The aforementioned A7 features said lines, as does the BMW 8-Series Grand Coupe to a lesser degree.
Read more: New Hyundai Veloster and Genesis G70 land in New Zealand
Genesis' trademark 'quadlamps' are used to excellent effect, too. In these shadowed press images they manage to both be elegant and stand out at the same time. The way they connect from the headlights to the side-markers is clever, too.
The gargantuan grille will divide. But, unlike a certain other bombastic grille that's been all over the news lately, it has its fans.
The cabin follows similar lines; marrying some of Genesis' existing tropes with newer elements we've seen in recent Hyundais (like that unique steering wheel).
The blue and brown two-tone of the vehicle in press images appears bang up to date with what to expect from a car in this segment in 2020/2021 — stamping its luxury authority with muted woods, knurled rotary dials, and a thin air vent that appears to span the entire width of the car. The most obvious bit of tech to touch on is a 14.5-inch touchscreen. Expect it to house all the requisite features, including Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, satnav, and much more.
Three engines have been outlined so far include a turbocharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol making 224kW, a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 making in excess of 276kW, and potentially a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel six making 204kW and 589Nm.
Unfortunately for us Kiwis, most of these details are unlikely to matter.
Despite advertising a Genesis G70 on its website and previously stocking the self-titled Hyundai Genesis BMW 7-Series rival, Hyundai New Zealand continues to be tight lipped on the future of the sub-brand in Aotearoa. So, for now, the G80 goes on the list of vehicular New Zealand 'forbidden fruit'.
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