2024 Genesis GV80 3.5T Six-Seat Luxury Package Review

Genesis is a brand that has been in Australia for a couple of years know and has gained more traction in the past few years or so with the introduction of a few new models such as the electric GV60. One of its first all-new products we saw locally was the GV80 large SUV, which sells reasonably well thanks to its value equation, handsome styling and quality interior. Last year, Genesis released a new six-seat layout with a luxurious second row captain’s chairs layout, so we tested the 2024 Genesis GV80 fitted with the 3.5-litre turbocharged six-cylinder engine and the new seating option to see what it’s like.

The large luxury SUV segment offers quite a few rivals to the GV80, some of which have been around for almost 30 years. These include the BMW X5, Lexus RX and Mercedes-Benz GLE (formerly ML) – or the forebears of the segment – while the Audi Q7, Volvo XC90, Range Rover Sport and Volkswagen Touareg have all joined the party since. Can the GV80 hold a candle to its rivals?

How much does the 2024 Genesis GV80 cost to buy?

The 2024 Genesis GV80 range is priced from $105,700 plus on-road costs for the entry level 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 – the former entry-level 2.5-litre turbo engine is gone for 2024 – and above that sits the petrol 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 tested here, which is priced from $110,200 plus on-road costs (around $121,000 drive away, depending on location).

2024 Genesis GV80 3.5T standard equipment:

• 22-inch alloy wheels with a tyre repair kit
• Automatic dusk-sensing all-LED exterior lighting
• Automatic rain-sensing wipers
• Keyless entry and push button start with remote start
• Hands-free electric tailgate
• Leather upholstery
• 12-way electrically adjustable front seats with driver’s memory
• Heated and cooled front seats
• Dual-zone climate control
• 14.5-inch touchscreen
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring
• Satellite navigation with augmented reality guidance and live traffic
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• Partially-digital driver’s display
• Head-up display
• Heated and auto-folding mirrors that dip automatically in reverse
• Wireless phone charger
• 1,050W 21-speaker Lexicon sound system
• Selectable driving modes
• Panoramic sunroof

2024 Genesis GV80 3.5T safety equipment:

• 10 airbags (including a front centre unit)
• Auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection assistance
• Lane keep assist with lane departure warning
• Adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality
• Blind spot monitoring with rear-cross traffic alert
• Speed sign recognition
• Rear seat occupancy alert
• Auto high beam
• Front and rear parking sensors
• A 360-degree surround view camera
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• Driver fatigue monitoring

The 2024 Genesis GV80 range earned a five-star ANCAP safety rating in 2021 with scores of 91 per cent for adult protection, 88 per cent for child protection, 66 per cent for pedestrian protection and 79 per cent for safety assist.

Genesis GV80 3.5T options:

• Luxury Package with reverse auto braking, Nappa leather upholstery, a suede headliner, Matrix adaptive high beam, a 12.3-inch 3D fully-digital driver’s display, active noise cancellation, remote parking, tri-zone climate control, soft-close doors, 18-way electric front seats with massaging, a heated steering wheel, power rear sunshades, heated and ventilated second row seats and power adjustable third-row of seating: $10,500
• Six-seat layout with individual captain’s chairs for the second row, electronically adjustable second row seating, a fixed centre console for the second row with a wireless charger, dual 9.2-inch screens for the second row, additional ambient lighting, dual 3.5mm headphone jacks and a USB video/audio input: $3,000

Genesis GV80 3.5T colour options:

• Vik Black
• Capri Blue
• Cardiff Green (not available for 2024)
• Himalayan Grey (not available for 2024)
• Savile Silver
• Uyoni White
• Makalu Grey
• Brunswick Green Matte: $2,000 (not available for 2024 but fitted to our test car)
• Makalu Grey Matte: $2,000
• Matterhorn White Matte: $2,000

Buyers of the GV80 Luxury Package can choose between black, beige with black, beige with brown, tan with dark blue and green with brown interior colour options.

The total price for our GV80 3.5T with the six-seat layout and Luxury Package is $123,700 plus on-road costs or roughly $136,000 drive away, depending on location. Obviously, that isn’t cheap but in our opinion, it’s pretty good value for money in the segment.

In comparison, the BMW X5 xDrive40i starts at $138,900 plus on-road costs, but equipping it to the level of the GV80 means adding a further $22,590 in options for a total price of $161,490 plus on-road costs (or around $178,000 drive away). The same situation goes for the Mercedes-Benz GLE450 with its starting price of $159,900 plus on-road costs and needing a further $2,900 in options to hit the level of the GV80.

What’s under the bonnet of the 2024 Genesis GV80 3.5T?

The engine under the bonnet of the GV80 tested here is the 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged V6 petrol engine. It produces 279kW of power at 5,800rpm and 530Nm of torque at a low 1,300rpm – that’s 1kW less and 10Nm more than the X5 40i but 1kW less and 30Nm more than the GLE450. It powers all four wheels via a standard eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission and unlike the BMW and Mercedes, it doesn’t feature a mild-hybrid system. The GV80’s claimed 0-100km/h sprint time is a brisk 5.5 seconds.

The V6 engine in the GV80 is a great unit, and we really like it. It’s buttery smooth, quiet and adds to the relaxed feel of the car. There is plenty of grunt low in the rev range (just 1,300rpm is where peak torque starts) but once you put your boot into it, the Genesis’ V6 really pushes you into the seat, which surprised us for a large SUV. Putting the GV80 into sport mode livens the engine up a bit, but it’s more of a long distance cruiser and is quite happy to sit quietly humming away at highway speeds.

The transmission is very laid back, which isn’t a bad thing – it pulls away from standstill effortlessly and the shifts are barely noticeable with light throttle. When the mood takes you you can even control the shifting yourself with steering wheel mounted paddle shifters, though we would recommend just leaving it in drive and letting it waft down the road by itself. Once annoyance with the transmission is how similarly shaped the selector is to the infotainment controller that sits just above it – we confused the two more than a few times in quick three-point turn maneouvers.

The claimed average fuel consumption for the 2024 Genesis GV80 fitted with the 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine is 11.7L/100km and its claimed CO2 emissions are 273g/km, both of which are higher than the X5 40i’s 9.3L/100km and 211g/km claims and the GLE450’s 9.5L/100km and 217g/km claims. In our week of testing, with a mixture of urban and motorway driving, we saw an average fuel consumption figure of 12.8L/100km, which isn’t great but we’d just buy the diesel V6 anyway. The GV80 – regardless of choosing the petrol or diesel power – has a braked towing capacity of 2,722kg.

How does the 2024 Genesis GV80 3.5T drive?

Based on Hyundai’s ‘M3’ platform, the 2024 Genesis GV80 offers up a largely serene driving experience thanks to superb noise suppression, excellent active safety tuning and largely solid dynamics, though there is room for improvement on the last front. Unlike some rivals, the GV80 can’t be optioned with air suspension and instead, uses steel springs with adaptive dampers and even a system uses the car’s safety cameras in the windshield to predict bumps and adjust the ride accordingly. It’s also been tuned locally so that our GV80s offer up different suspension settings to the rest of the world, and it mostly works, but with those huge 22-inch wheels, bigger bumps can be felt in the cabin and the body control can be lacking at times with the suspension taking a few tries to adjust after even milder bumps.

Thanks to its size and mass, the GV80 is no sports car – but show it some corners and it drives confidently with a solid feel that we were pleasantly satisfied with. There are a few different driving modes such as eco and sport that change parameters of the GV80, including steering weight and throttle response, though we left it in comfort mode as it best suits the car’s character. The steering is direct but fairly light and the steering wheel’s diameter is quite thick which we loved. Noise suppression is excellent with very little road noise. Driving the GV80 is a nicely luxurious experience, which is not something you often say about a product from a fairly new luxury brand.  

What is the interior of the 2024 Genesis GV80 like?

Arguably the most important aspect of a premium product – especially a premium large SUV because of their big sales numbers globally – the interior of the 2024 Genesis GV80 impresses with its excellent quality throughout: the lovely Nappa leather upholstery, textured metal switchgear and slick tech integration give it a strong standing in the segment. Everything inside the GV80’s cabin looks and feels great, from the stitched leather dashboard, the dual-tone steering wheel and soft leather on the centre console and doors to the lovely LED ambient lighting – it feels special, which is what you want when you’re spending this much on a car.

Importantly as well, storage is not an issue in the GV80. There are large door bins, two big cupholders next to the gear selector with a cover to hide valuables, a wireless charger in front of the cupholders also with a cover, storage under the centre console with a rubber lining so that phones don’t move around, a large glovebox and a centre console with dual lid opening and a deep bin underneath.

Sitting on the dash is a large 14.5-inch touchscreen that can also be controlled via a rotary dial in the centre console. The infotainment system itself is a doddle to use and the quality of the screen is quite crisp as well. It’s feature packed too with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, digital radio, satellite navigation with live traffic and even features such as ‘Sounds of Nature’, which plays atmospheric sounds such as a fire burning or snow falling. However, the 1,050W 21-speaker Lexicon sound system is a let down in this almost faultless interior because it simply doesn’t offer enough punch.

Choosing the six-seat option in the 2024 Genesis GV80 earns you executive-style captain’s chars in the second row with a centre console in between them. Both seats are powered and have a plethora of features such as heating, cooling and electric adjustment. There are also two 9.2-inch touchscreens mounted on the back of the front seats that control anything from the radio, satellite navigation and ambient lighting and they can even access the car’s camera system. The centre console in the second row features a wireless charger, a storage bin and controls for the two rear screens, while we really like the vanity mirrors in the ceiling for second-row occupants.

It must be said, however, that the second row of seating in the GV80 isn’t that roomy. Thanks to the standard panoramic sunroof, the headroom on offer for six-footers is just enough, though it does feel tighter than you’d expect for such a large car. The second row electrically folds forward to give access for the third row, while they fold flat too – though the centre console gets in the way when the seats are folded. Once back there, the third row only offers space for kids but it is reasonably well featured with cupholders, air vents and USB power. For child seats, both of the middle seats feature ISOFIX and top tether points, though not the third row of seating.

Genesis doesn’t quote a storage figure with the third row erect, but it could fit a few duffle bags fine. With the third row stowed, which happens electrically for both rear roads, the GV80 offers 727-litres of cargo space, and folding the second row opens that up to 2,144L. For features, it’s well featured with a carpet boot liner, a power tailgate with kick to open function and cargo hooks. Below the false floor is a tyre repair kit – there’s no spare wheel for the GV80.

What warranty covers the 2024 Genesis GV80?

All Genesis products come with a very luxurious ownership experience, including complimentary picking up and dropping off of your car for servicing within 70km of a service centre, as well as a loan car while it’s being serviced. Genesis goes a step further with five years/50,000km (whichever comes first) of servicing included in the cost of the car. A solid five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance rounds out the aftersales package.

Mercedes-Benz and BMW both match the five-year unlimited kilometre warranty Genesis offers, though both brands offer longer service intervals. The BMW X5 comes with condition-based servicing, though the general guide is 12 months or 15,000km and the Mercedes-Benz GLE300d only needs servicing every 12 months or 25,000km. BMW does not quote service costs, though at the time of purchase you can buy a service pack: a five-year or 80,000km service pack on an X5 costs $2,750 and servicing the GLE300d over the span of five years or 125,000km costs a huge $7,585.

Should I buy a 2024 Genesis GV80?

Has Genesis made something special with the GV80? We certainly think so as it’s a large luxury SUV that ticks quite a few boxes – certainly more boxes than some of its rivals. The GV80 drives mostly well, it has a luxurious interior that looks and feels great, it’s very comfortable, loaded with equipment – especially if you tick the Luxury Package – and we think it looks pretty expensive as well. Then there’s the kicker: while the GV80 is not cheap to buy, we think it’s great value for money thanks to its long equipment list and even if you tick the Luxury Package, costs tens of thousands less than some rivals.

Would we consider buying a GV80 3.5T over its established rivals? Definitely. While it’s not perfect – the cabin isn’t as spacious as its size suggests, too much equipment is reserved for the Luxury Package, the lovely diesel V6 is the better drivetrain option and the ride could offer more finesse – it offers an great all-round package. We would skip the six-seater package too, but we still think the GV80 offers excellence in the luxury large SUV segment and you’d be mad not to consider it.