2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe 3.5T E-SC MHEV AWD - Review by David Colman

Comme ci, Comme ça

David Colman

Photos and Story by David Colman
Special Correspondent
THE AUTO CHANNEL

My week with the new Genesis Coupe provided soaring epiphanies vitiated by incongruous nadirs. And I don't mean Ralph. Let's start this dissection with the run of winning hands dealt by the coupe version of the GV80 SUV. Its size and statuesque prominence make it an intriguing looker. While I was parked in a shopping center lot waiting for my wife to return, I couldn't help but notice a number of admirers stopping by to examine the coupe to determine what kind of beast they had stumbled upon. Its fetching exterior shade of Bering Blue ($650) accentuated the visual statement of elegance.

Had these observers been invited into its inner sanctum, they would have been blown away by the dazzling splendor of the Nappa Leather and Carbon Fiber interior. This is a cockpit that belongs on a spacecraft, not an automobile. The spacious supple leather chairs boast a diamond quilted pattern exclusive to the GV80 Coupe. The two-tone, D-Cut leather steering wheel presents the driver with a small diameter, eminently twistable weapon with which to do battle in traffic. The Op Art carbon fiber swaths that adorn the dash, doors, and center console make a definitive statement about extravagance and opulence. Red seat harnesses front and rear counterpoint the mostly black sea of leather and carbon trim. All in all, the cabin of this GV80 will drop your jaw.

One gander under the huge counterweighted hood is all you need to confirm the athletic prowess Genesis has invested in this SUV's powerplant. Back in the aviation annals of World War II, American war plane manufacturers like McDonnell and Douglas, developed a trick method to extract bonus horsepower from any internal combustion engine. Their ace in the hole was to turbocharge and supercharge the Avgas intake mixture simultaneously. Here we are 80 years down that road, and the savvy engineers at Genesis have maxed the output of the GV's all-aluminum, 3.5-liter V6 by conjoining twin turbochargers with an electrically activated supercharger to produce 409hp and 405lb.-ft. of torque. That triple threat churns through the GV80's 8 speed automatic transmission to drive all four wheels, which are shod with huge 265/40R22 Michelin Tour A/S radials (TW 540). You will find yourself pinned to the GV's fat black Barcalounger as the 5,132lb coupe cranks off 13.9 second quarter miles (at 101mph) and skips to 60mph in 5.2 seconds. Top speed is estimated at 150mph.

So what's it like living with this well camouflaged but inescapably primordial beast on a daily basis? Let's start with sightlines. You can't see any of your four corners from the driver's seat. A pair of parade-style flag poles at each front corner would help immeasurably in parking maneuvers. As for the rear view, fuggetaboutit. The heavily slanted back glass is tinted dark and unequipped with a necessary wiper. As a result, you are consigned to listening for aural alerts from the "parking distance warning" system to keep you from hitting stuff, invisible kids, or pets when blindly reversing. Genesis supplies a digital rearview mirror but the image it provides is so blurry and imprecise that you will experience glaucoma and quickly learn not to trust it.

The first time I slid behind the D-Cut steering wheel, I was confronted by an overly bright 27" long OLED instrument cluster and navigation screen, conjoined into one Cinerama-length extravaganza. Directly in front of me was a digital speedometer, and right next to it, where you might expect to find a tachometer, was a boxed notification that read as follows: "Press the OK button to browse all widgets." The first couple of drives I searched the dash in vain for the "OK" button. After giving up on that tack, I jibed to the 696-page doorstop of an Owner's Manual (actually 174 pages x 4 languages). No alphabetized index there, so no help either. Days later, I noticed an unmarked black spot on the right steering wheel spoke. Pressing it erased the widget message. Of course, the inconspicuous button lacked "OK" identification.

After you've paid $85, 750 for your GV coupe, Genesis tacks on an extra $30 for an" NFC Keycard" which is ostensibly provided to slip into your wallet as a substitute for the weighty, diamond-faced key fob. You'll want that $30 credit card because the white plastic fob is no treat to activate. For some incomprehensible reason, the keyfob engineering crew decided to place a large Genesis logo on the flat surface, while relegating 7 minuscule operational buttons to the 1/4 inch wide edges of the unit. This stroke of genius requires you to get your reading glasses out, or else you might find you've started the engine when you thought you were just locking the doors. Given those salient facts, maybe that $30 investment in the NFC Keycard is a good move after all. I thought so until I read the small print on the card: "May defect if do not remove." Well okay then. I guess we're all set to go.

2025 GENESIS GV80 COUPE 3.5T E-SC MHEV AWD

• ENGINE: 3.5 liter V6, supercharged, twin-turbocharged and intercooled, DOHC, 24-valve
• HORSEPOWER: 409hp@5800rpm
• TORQUE: 405lb.-ft.@1300rpm
• FUEL CONSUMPTION: 18MPG City/22MPG Highway
• PRICE AS TESTED: $87,780

HYPES: Designer Interior, Luxe Appointments

GRIPES: Push It Hard and the Seat Belt Retractor Will Strangle You

STAR RATING: 8.5 stars out of 10

©2025 David E Colman