Genesis GV80 2021 UK first drive

This is Genesis's first SUV, the GV80, which uses the same mixed-metal platform as the G80 luxury saloon that we reviewed only earlier this week (its driveline and suspension are closely technically related also). Go for the bigger offering, however, and you will get rear-biased four-wheel drive as standard, as well as seating for up to seven.

Diesel stalwarts, meanwhile, can trade up from the G80’s four-cylinder oil-burner to get the Hyundai Motor Group’s brand-new 274bhp diesel straight six if they pick the GV80.

On paper, then, considering the fairly modest difference between the cars on showroom price, the GV80’s offering looks like quite the package. Perhaps that’s why Genesis expects it to outsell the G80 in Europe for the time being; well, that and the obvious reason (because it’s an SUV, Pinky).

The other engine offered in the car is Genesis’s 300bhp 2.5-litre four-pot turbo petrol, with barely a cigarette paper separating the two motors on price.

Buyers will choose between Premium and Luxury trims, just as on the G80, plus five- or seven-seat body configurations, with options mostly corralled into a limited number of packages intended to make the ordering process more straightforward.

The GV80’s cabin has an even headier, chromier and more enticing aura of luxury about it than the G80’s – and that’s no mean compliment. Leather is used even more widely and to even richer effect in the bigger car; open-pore birch-wood veneer is another appealing material highlight; and the glass-topped rotary gear selector and infotainment controller gleam invitingly like the family jewels on the transmission tunnel. The fixtures and fittings, to a switch, lever, knob and button, all look and feel really very appealing indeed.

On cabin space, the car bears comparison with its full-sized luxury SUV rivals in the front two rows; and while the third row may not offer quite the adult-sized accommodation of one or two of its opponents, there is plenty of seat-sliding adaptability to be utilised if you need it. The slightly bigger-booted five-seater version can swallow up to 735 litres of cargo with the third-row seats folded down, which is enough to beat the Mercedes-Benz GLE, albeit not quite every other rival.

This is quite clearly a much larger and more versatile car than the G80 saloon, then, and it feels that way on the road. The greater size and weight and the higher body profile of the GV80 relative to the G80 do show themselves a little in the ride and handling.