2023 Genesis Electrified G80 Electric Review

In just a few years, luxury marque Genesis has gone from strength to strength in Australia. It increased its 2022 sales by 41.6 per cent compared with 2021, it’s launched a slew of fresh products – including three new distinctive electric cars – and it continues to expand its Australian presence. Backed by automotive giant Hyundai, Genesis is seemingly ahead of the curve in a number of areas and launching a new car that isn’t an SUV is one of them. Enter the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80.

The Electrified G80 is based on the wonderful regular G80 luxury large sedan, which currently offers two petrol engines and a few different specification levels in Australia. Electric sedans are few and far between locally, with most electric cars offered only in the endlessly popular SUV bodystyle. But not quite everybody wants an SUV and Genesis is catering for those with this car. Has Genesis created the ultimate electric luxury sedan with the Electrified G80? Let’s find out.

Price & Equipment: 7/10

The 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 is either pretty good value, or poor value, depending on your viewpoint. It’s priced from $145,000 plus on-road costs (around $157,000 drive away). What makes it potentially good value for money is that it’s a good $40,000 less expensive than its only competitor: the Audi e-tron GT (the Tesla Model S is currently unavailable in Australia). But it’s also $30,000 more expensive than the next G80 below, the Sport 3.5T.

You get an awful lot of equipment for your $145,000: automatic all-LED lighting, auto wipers, 19-inch alloy wheels, ‘eco-processed’ Nappa leather upholstery, a solar panel roof, keyless entry and start with remote start and smart park remote car moving functionality, an electric boot lid, heated/auto-folding/auto-dimming/auto-dropping mirrors, soft close doors, 18-way electric adjustment plus memory and massaging for the driver’s seat, a 12-way electrically adjustable front passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, tri-zone climate control, a 14.5-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic, digital radio, a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display, a 12.0-inch heads-up display and a 20-speaker Lexicon sound system.

Also included in the purchase price of the Electrified G80 is either a five-year Chargefox subscription to use at any of its 1,400 charging locations around Australia or a Genesis-branded home charger installed at a location of choice.

Safety equipment includes 10 airbags (including rear side, front centre and driver’s knee units), auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection assist, reverse auto braking, lane keep assist with lane trace assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert (both with braking), blind spot cameras, Matrix adaptive high beam headlights, adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality, speed sign recognition with intelligent speed limit assist, driver attention monitoring, safe exit assist, rear occupant alert, front and rear parking sensors and a 360-degree parking camera. The petrol G80 has a five-star ANCAP rating, however the Electrified is yet to be tested.

Colour options for the Electrified G80 include ‘Uyuni White’, ‘Saville Silver’, ‘Valencia Gold’, ‘Capri Blue’, ‘Makalu Grey’, ‘Vik Black’, ‘Havana Red’ and ‘Hallasan Green’ for no extra cost, while our test car’s ‘Matira Blue’, ‘Verbier White Matte’ and ‘Makalu Grey Matte’ are $2,000 extra. Interior options include black, brown, dark green and white. Our test car’s ‘Matira Blue’ and brown interior spec was wonderful.

The main competitor to the Electrified G80 currently is the Audi e-tron GT, which is priced from $180,200 plus on-road costs (around $197,000 drive away). It’s a sportier machine than the Electrified G80, with a more coupe-like silhouette and less rear seat space, but at the moment, they are the only two electric large sedans under $200,000 in Australia. Like the Genesis, it’s only offered in one specification (aside from the higher performance RS model) and it uses a 93kWh battery pack for 540km of range, with up to 390kW of power and 620Nm of torque. Buyers must choose the $6,400 Sensory Package to add features that the G80 has as standard, widening the price gap between the two even further.

Performance & Range: 9/10

The 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 uses a pair of 136kW/350Nm electric motors, with one on each axle. Its total outputs are 272kW of power and 700Nm of torque, powered by a big 87.2kWh lithium-ion battery pack that’s mounted underneath the floor. The Electrified G80 uses the same platform as the regular G80, so it’s not as well packaged as cars like the Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5 that use an EV-specific ‘e-GMP’ platform, but it can still charge at up to 350kW like those cars.

Doing so will see the Electrified G80 charge from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 22 minutes – using a slower 50kW charger increases that to 68 minutes, while an 11kW charger will charge to 100 per cent in eight hours. The claimed energy consumption for the Electrified G80 is 19.1kWh/100km, which enables a WLTP-rated range of 520km, which is healthy for such a big and heavy car.

In our week of testing, we actually beat the claim and got 18.6kWh/100km, and were impressed with its efficiency – especially when the smaller and lighter Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor consumed 22.3kWh/100km in our testing. The Electrified G80’s range is helped by the solar panels embedded in its roof, which provide energy for things like the air-conditioning and entertainment system. There’s an energy menu in the infotainment system that tells you how much range is added by the solar roof and at one point, we apparently had 5km of extra range because of it. That’s not much in the grand scheme of things yes, but it could make all the difference in getting to a charging station.

Put the Electrified G80 into sport mode and it feels rapid. Its claimed 0-100km/h sprint time is just 4.9 seconds – 0.2 seconds quicker than the petrol G80 3.5T – which is quite quick for a 2,325kg (tare) car, though not quite as fast as the Audi e-tron GT’s 4.1 second claim. As with other electric cars with similar performance, the Electrified G80’s performance shocks you (pun intended) because the torque is instant and also because the driving experience is otherwise serene.

Ride & Handling: 8/10

Using the same platform as the regular G80, the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 is generally a nice car to drive and in some ways, is the best G80 to us. The regular G80’s ride quality is something that we think needs improvement, and the Electrified G80 is the same – it features the same predictive adaptive suspension set up as the petrol G80, and in comfort mode, there’s just too much motion in the ride. Change it to sport mode and it firms up nicely, but then everything else does too – the steering and throttle sharpness, for example. We wish there was an individual mode to better tailor its dynamics.

But while the ride needs some work, the handling is excellent. Because of the twin-motor electric set up in the Electrified G80 with an electric motor on each axle, it’s very well planted. The steering is nicely quick too, with a good amount of feel that adds to the quiet thrust nature of the Electrified G80.

The best thing about the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80, however, is its serene driving experience. The regular G80 is by no means a loud car – in fact, we think it could do with more engine noise – but the Electrified G80 is just so insanely quiet from behind the wheel. There’s barely any road noise and of course, no engine noise, so you can get to know the excellent sound system quite intimately.

Also helping the serene driving experience are a range of typically-well tuned active safety systems on show from Genesis. There are no loud beeps to scare you, rather a range of subtle and effective noises to keep your eyes on the road and alert. The lane trace assist is excellent, while the Matrix adaptive high beam headlights are very bright and great at shadowing their beam from oncoming traffic.

Interior & Practicality: 9/10

As with the regular G80, the Electrified G80’s interior is excellent. It’s very modern, filled with useable tech, luxurious and especially when trimmed in the tan upholstery of our test car, quite attractive as well. The quality inside the Electrified G80 – like the regular G80 – is excellent, with soft and supple Nappa leather upholstery, leather on the dashboard, soft touch materials everywhere and nicely damped switchgear that feels excellent in hand – the lovely gear selector, for example, has nice heft to it.

Storage inside the 2022 Genesis Electrified G80 is reasonable with a big bin underneath the centre armrest, big cup holders, a tray ahead of the gear shifter, a reasonable glove box and big door bins. The front seats are very comfortable, with 18 ways of electric adjustment for the driver making it easy to find a good seating position. Like the regular G80, the seating position feels high and makes you feel close to the roof, and the massaging functionality is good but the massaging in a Peugeot 508 is much better. It’s also only on the driver’s seat – why don’t any passengers get any massaging love?

Centre of any G80’s cabin is a huge 14.5-inch touchscreen that features Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, satellite navigation with live traffic and digital radio. The smartphone mirroring is unfortunately not wireless, however the screen itself is excellent and quite easy to use despite its plethora of features. There are also multiple USB ports front and rear, a wireless phone charger underneath the dashboard and an excellent 1,040W 20-speaker Lexicon by Harman sound system, which is one of the best systems we’ve ever heard.

Ahead of the driver is a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster with a cool 3D effect, though it can be turned off. The look is classy and not overbearing with information – there’s none of the mapping that you will find in an e-tron GT, rather, simple dials with an excellent ratio of useful information. There’s also a huge 12.0-inch heads-up display, which features cool augmented reality navigation – we really liked this feature, though it’s only available with the car’s navigation set and not through smartphone mirroring.

Like the regular G80, the back seat of the Electrified G80 is sumptuous and well featured – but not all that spacious, it must be said. Toys for rear seat passengers to play with include a pair of 9.2-inch 720p HD screens that can control things like the navigation and radio, a separate climate zone, heated outboard seats, a huge centre arm rest with controls for the entertainment system and sun shades. Unlike the regular G80, however, the Electrified G80’s rear seats do not recline thanks to added EV bits.

The boot of the Electrified G80 measures in at 354-litres, which is 70L less than the regular G80 thanks to its non-EV platform (and smaller than the boot of an i30 hatchback as well). But it is very nicely finished and it has features like side storage, a first aid kid, anchor points with a cargo net, a ski pass through, a break down kit and an electric boot lid.

Service & Warranty: 9/10

Genesis offers one of the best aftersales package in the luxury segment, with a five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance and five years of include servicing as well. The company will even pick up and drop off your car (in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane) when it’s service time and leave you with a loan car. As above, you also get either a five-year Chargefox subscription or a Genesis wall charger installed at a location of your choosing to charge the Electrified G80.

Audi gives the e-tron GT an even better aftersales program with a five-year warranty with six years of roadside assistance, six years of free servicing and a six-year Chargefox subscription as well.

The 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 DiscoverAuto Rating: 8.4/10

All things considered, the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 might just be our favourite G80 variant and in some ways, it feels like the car that the G80 was always supposed to be. Its refinement is outstanding – at speed, you could genuinely be sitting in the bath as it’s that quiet and that relaxing – while its cabin is sumptuous, its huge range of technology is intuitive to use and it’s mostly great to drive as well.

Our only gripes with it are that it’s a full $30,000 more than the next G80, its ride quality needs some more tuning and because of its added electric bits, rear seat and boot space is compromised. But these issues aren’t enough to take a shine off the Electrified G80 because overall, it’s a fantastic luxury limousine – that also just happens to be powered by an up-to-date and long range electric drivetrain.