Page 44 - Layout 1

AUTO AUTO
REVIEW REVIEW
2021 GENESIS G80

By Stephen Schutz, MD

Genesis, the upmarket sister brand of Hyundai, has been in business handsome and contemporary. Numerous creases accentuate the flow-
in the country since 2016. While they have been gradually ramping up ing sedan-ish profile, and the stance says, “sporty sedan,” but it’s the
their sales of cars and SUVs since then, they had garnered very little grille that grabs your eyes. It’s huge.
attention in the press until last February when Tiger Woods famously By the way, when Audi started their successful climb up the sales
crashed a loaner GV80 SUV at high speed in Southern California dur- charts about 15 years ago, they began by putting big grilles on their ve-
ing a PGA golf tournament. hicles.
It’s said that there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and given the fact Driving the G80 isn’t as great as its sporty looks would make you
that Tiger’s crash markedly heightened awareness of the Genesis brand, think. This is a rear-wheel drive platform (AWD is optional), but the
it would seem that this old saw is true. Genesis is selling every vehicle engineers went for comfort over athleticism. The default during spir-
they can manufacture these days—to be fair, so are most automakers— ited driving is understeer, and steering effort has been minimized so
and they finally seem to be getting attention from customers who, be- you feel less involved on a winding road.
fore now, would only consider Lexus and the big three German brands The interior is as good as anything you’ll find from the above-men-
(Mercedes, BMW and Audi). tioned competition. Genesis has borrowed Audi’s terrific diamond
Lexus is a good brand to mention, actually. When Genesis launched, stitching to accent their seats, and everything you see and touch looks
it seemed like every article about it referenced Lexus as though Genesis and feels good. The round controller on the console, which takes you
was to Hyundai as Lexus was to Toyota. through the various menus on the prominent central screen, is different
I think a better analogy is Audi. While Lexus became a legitimate from the user interfaces other manufacturers use, but you get accus-
luxury brand on day one of its existence, Audi struggled for many years tomed to it in time.
before finally breaking through. It was during the 1970s that Volkswa- The entry-level G80 comes with a standard turbocharged 2.5-liter
gen first tried to position Audi as a car for upscale buyers who liked inline four-cylinder engine that makes 300 horsepower, but a more po-
VW but wanted something more luxurious, but the effort mostly tent twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 with 375 horsepower is available. Both
failed. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that Audi became a legitimate lux- engines connect with an eight-speed automatic transmission and either
ury automotive contender thanks to Quattro all-wheel drive, many suc- rear- or all-wheel drive. My test car came with the larger engine, which
cesses in World Rally Racing, and, oh by the way, much better cars. I I think is the way to go.
doubt it will take Genesis as long to make it as it took Audi, but it’s al- Pricing starts at around $48,000 for a base four-cylinder G80 with
ready clear that they're not Lexus. rear wheel drive, but I expect most of these models, like any luxury ve-
I recently drove a 2021 Genesis G80 in an effort to gauge the com- hicle, will get optioned up and sell for close to $60,000. That’s not
pany’s progress in what can only be described as a frantic luxury auto- cheap, but compared to a similarly equipped E-class Mercedes or 5-se-
motive market. I think Genesis is in good shape. ries BMW, it represents a $10,000 to $15,000 savings.
A quick aside: what is the current luxury automotive market? It’s a Genesis is producing some impressive products like the G80 these
mixture of newbies (imagine a radiologist who has just paid off her days, and according to sales figures, customers are buying them. It’s sur-
student loans), postponers (an older family practice physician who real that a celebrity road accident led to increased awareness, but that’s
recently sold his building to a real estate investor), regulars (a derma- the way it goes sometimes.
tologist who’s been leasing a new Mercedes every three years since
1998) and enthusiasts (a surgeon who perpetually “needs” the latest As always, call Phil Hornbeak, the Auto Program Manager at BCMS
special Porsche as soon as it’s been introduced to the media). (210-301-4367), for your best deal on any new car or truck brand. Phil
It’s more complex than that, of course, but this breakdown gives you can also connect you to preferred financing and lease rates.
an idea of how difficult it is to break into this market. Genesis has a
shot at the newbies and postponers, but it has an uphill fight to get to Stephen Schutz, MD, is a board-certified gastroenterologist
the regulars and enthusiasts. Which means that Genesis has to make who lived in San Antonio in the 1990s when he was stationed
excellent vehicles to be a player. The G80 is definitely that. here in the US Air Force. He has been writing auto reviews
First of all, the G80 looks like an expensive luxury sedan. Tightly for San Antonio Medicine since 1995.
designed with a large can’t-miss-this grille, Genesis’ best sedan looks

44 SAN ANTONIO MEDICINE • August 2021 Visit us at www.bcms.org 45