Hyundai finally managed to etch their way into the luxury SUV market with the Genesis GV80. Genesis, which was launched in 2008 as the luxury flagship brand of Hyundai, has put out more sedans than you can poke a stick at. Genesis launched a full-frontal assault on its competition in the SUV market with the GV80, and they did not go unnoticed.
The 2021 Genesis GV80 made prime time news when Tiger Woods survived a devastating crash in his GV80. The safety features baked into the car had kicked in when things took a rather nasty turn well over the speed limit. While skeptics no doubt took the opportunity to attempt to find flaws in the vehicle, reports show that it was the Genesis’ proactivity that ultimately kept him alive.
Meanwhile, the 2022 Genesis GV70 is already traversing our streets like it owns them, and with the recent gains Genesis has made with the current GV80, a lot of the good in it will definitely be expected to hold in the next model. Aspects such as the design which is far removed from anything conventional in an SUV ushered in a new era of what can be expected from modern luxury SUVs. The Genesis GV80 has carved out its own niche in the SUV market, and the 2022 GV80 will be aiming to raise the stakes even higher.
Here is what we can deduce about the 2022 Genesis GV80.
The First Run Of The Genesis GV80 Was Good, The Second One Will Be Better
Missing in the SUV action for the better part of a decade, Hyundai made good on their May 2020 announcement to add SUVs to their Genesis brand. It took them a hot minute, but what was to be a litmus test in uncharted waters for the company proved to be a formidable force against the competition. The Genesis name is quickly climbing up the ranks and if the Korean company keeps up the momentum, it will soon be mentioned in the same sentence as other established brands in the Western market.
First off, the design team at Genesis was clearly going for a tux with the GV80 while everyone else was bringing a jacket and trousers to prom. A quick subjective analysis seems to point in the direction of the design team having analyzed the Bentley Bentayga and the Porche Cayenne, harmonizing the winning aspects of each into the luxurious set of wheels that is the Genesis GV80, which currently sits near the top of the SUV bracket in the looks department.
The current GV80 is built over Genesis’ novel M3 platform, a rear-wheel-drive platform that barely lets you notice it when the engine is running, and is one of the more lovable aspects of the genesis. For the upcoming 2022 GV80, we can safely conclude that they will base it on the same platform. Our best guess is that they will be utilizing aluminum in a more substantial way to shed off even more pounds from the overall weight of the car. Having knocked it out of the park in this years’ design, Genesis are unlikely to stray too far from the drawing board with the 2022 GV80’s design and they will have undoubtedly turned their attention toward improving the performance of the new vehicle.
The GV80 Price Point Will Be Higher, But Comparatively Affordable
The 2021 GV80 starts out at $54, 650 MSRP, a price gap that is a whole 28 grand below the 2021 BMW X5’s offering, which is a world of difference in pricing between two cars that nearly fit the same shoe. A tad less powerful than the BMW X5, we expect that Genesis will be aiming to inch closer to their German counterparts, which will definitely come at a cost to the consumer. We don’t see any reason, however, for the Korean carmaker to attempt to match prices on the other manufacturers’ roasters, seeing as the 2022 GV80 will be aiming to claim even more market share from its competition than it has scored with this year’s model. Pricing will probably hover around the $57,500 mark.
Will Hyundai Switch Out The V6 On The 2022 GV80? Probably
The current GV80, for all its charm, can hardly keep up with the higher-end German competition. Its best offering, a 375-hp twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 engine will have you zipping off to 60mph in a quick 5.3 seconds. Not bad for a first-time showcasing of a luxury SUV, but thrill chasers will likely opt for a Cayenne instead, or the Audi Q8. Truth be told, for the 2020 Genesis GV80. we don’t quite see Genesis switching out the engine just yet. A more likely scenario would be performance enhancements to the vehicle's drivetrain, and given the rumors that a hybrid version is in the works, it might take a while to see a V8 on the Genesis.
The 2022 Genesis GV80 Will Be Big On Tech
