2025 Genesis G80: Drive Review

Genesis Is On A Tear

Have you seen a new Genesis G80 on the road? No? You will now. And when you do, I’d bet you’ll do a double take. It’s a sharp-dressed sedan, particularly in the Tasman Blue finish I ogled during a week-long drive with one.

Specifically a 2025 G80 3.5T Sport Prestige. The one with big 20s, shimmery black trim, and a burly boosted V6. This is a car that looks good and knows it, as evidenced by all the BMWs and Benzes giving it a hard stare along the way.

Pardon Me While I Gush Over That Blue

Genesis is on a tear I’d say. After driving a GV80 Coupe a few months back, I was left genuinely impressed. I’m not really an SUV guy and definitely not an SUV coupe guy, but I have to say, that raked-back GV80 had me changing my tune.

I have yet to drive the G70 with a stick, but it’s on the shortlist. In the meantime, I had the fortune of spending some time with the Korean automaker’s mid-size sedan offering, the G80.

Sports Sedan Goldilocks

At first glance, the in-your-face “Crest” front grille steals the show. It’s big, but not too big. It’s glitzy, but not too glitzy. Yes, friends, the G80 is the Goldilocks of luxury sport sedans.

The distinctively styled Multi Lens Array headlamps make the G80 instantly identifiable. Sort of like when every police cruiser was a Crown Vic and you could spot it a mile away. Just way less scary.

Dig Those Propeller-Inspired Wheels

The look carries to the front fenders with a pair of side marker lenses and all the way around to the back for a matching set of taillights. Look down and the exhaust finishes mirror the shape of the front grille.

Symmetry makes me happy, but then, I’m a nerd. Observe and marvel at the fabulously complex rear end on the G80. A little convex here, a little concave there, and a righteous vibe all around.

The G80 Has Moves

Now, about that V6. Displacing 3.5 liters and strapped with a pair of turbos, it puts out a healthy 375 horsepower and 391 lb-ft of torque. To all four wheels via 8-speed automatic.

With rear-wheel steering, adaptive dampers, and staggered width rubber. The rear meats measure a fat 10.8 inches wide and the front rotors? 14.2 inches. The G80, it’s got moves.

Making Car Videos Is Fun!

Put your foot in it and the 2025 G80 will sling to 60 in less than 5 seconds, which is exciting. But Genesis adds some dazzle in the form of seat bolsters that automatically give you a squeeze when they sense you’re giving it the beans.

Do so and the car handles admirably in the twisties. A hardcore sports sedan the G80 is not. But a ready-to-dance rear-wheel-biased four-door? Indeed.

Genesis G80 Suspension Nerd Out

Genesis fits the 2025 G80 3.5T Sport Prestige variant with something they call Electronically Controlled Suspension with Road Preview. Using a monocular lens camera mounted high up on the windshield, it “reads” the road ahead, takes in what it “sees”, and feeds that data to the dampers. Dampers that react in real time to counteract potholes, speed bumps, and the like. This is high-tech stuff and something that works imperceptibly in the background. Neat.

I spent some time wringing it out in New Hampshire’s White Mountains and found the G80 to be that perfect blend of luxury and impetus for taking the long way home. The steering is nicely weighted and direct, if a bit insulated from the road surface.

Check Out The Trick Rear-Wheel Steering

The rear-wheel steering makes tight places nicer to navigate and the car is adjustable 52 ways to Sunday. The powertrain, the suspension, the engine noise, even the brakes. Set to Comfort, the brakes were a bit overly enthusiastic. However, in Sport mode, I was able to modulate them much better.

Ergo Throne

The G80 driver’s seat is the place to be as it has the same heating and ventilation as the front passenger, but is the only throne with massaging capability. Genesis calls it the Ergo Motion Driver Seat and it comes pre-programmed to kick on after 20 minutes of driving.

Right around that time you may start itching around, the seat back starts moving all massage-like. It’s aimed at reducing fatigue and improving comfort. I approve.

Of course, as a Certified Dad, it’s important to consider the children. How will they fit? What sort of disaster will befall this car with them inside? Is there a soundproof partition for the back seat like limos have? For example. Well, the back seat has ample legroom for my growing-like-a-weed middle schoolers.

Sedans > SUVs…Even With Kids

All three of them can fit back there, but in the interest of preventing my head from exploding, it was 1 up front and 2 out back. Ideal for school, sports, and daily life activities that involve endless runs to and fro.

In a boon to my sanity, the normal fight over shotgun was made moot by the fact that the G80’s back seats are pretty darn nice. Heated with dedicated controls. Manual window sunshades and even a power-operated rear sunshade!

And Now…A Brief Safety Overview

My eldest 13-year-old daughter proclaimed, “I feel like Jeff Bezos!” while I shuttled her about. Heady praise. Colored no doubt by the, shall we say, less glamorous vehicle she is normally chauffeured in. A vehicle that actually doesn’t even have a touchscreen TV in the dashboard. Something the 2025 Genesis G80 decidedly does not suffer from.

“I feel like Jeff Bezos!” – My 13-year-old daughter

New this year is a standard 27” OLED sheet of glass running across the dash. Thin and low profile, it looks the rizz. (Sidebar: my kids love to say this word and I love to misappropriate it as much as possible.)

The graphics are super crisp and the response instantaneous. For those, like me, who’d rather not grease up the thing with their fingerprints, the console-mounted control dial performs redundant duty. Operates like a mouse, looks like a bit of jewelry. Very nice.

2025 Genesis G80 Highlights

Really, the list of features and technology in the 2025 G80 3.5T Sport Prestige I drove is too long to get deep on here. Instead, the highlight reel:

Head-Up Display

All cars should have the G80’s head-up display. Super bright graphics are easy to read, even in direct sunlight. Information being displayed ranges from speed and navigation directions to incoming calls and your favorite song from Tay Tay. However, the traffic sign recognition aspect is the best part.

It displays a little speed limit sign, that changes in lockstep with real-world conditions. You know when you’re driving along, maybe a bit fast, and suddenly realize you have no idea what the speed limit is? This feature solves that problem.

Panoramic Roof

I love sunroofs, panoramic roofs, convertible tops, glass roofs, and really any structure that lets the light in. I have no idea why. But this G80 unit is cool. Press a button and the power sunshade splits in half, disappearing somewhere into the headliner.

Tilt the giant piece of glass up or slide it all the way back (recommended). Observe the “Oohs! and Aahhs!” of occupants. Enjoy the cool fresh air. Rinse and repeat

Bang & Olufsen Audio

In base form, the 2025 G80 has a 12-speaker stereo that is no doubt adequate. In the car I enjoyed it was an 18-speaker setup from Bang & Olufsen. With a 14-channel digital external amp and fancy speaker grilles.

Without fail, I was instructed to “Turn it down!” by the trio of small humans to whom I was teaching the finer points of Mötley Crüe. Oh yeah, it rocks.

Remote Smart Parking Assist

In its efforts to imbue the 2025 G80 with a calming sense of luxury on all levels, Genesis has managed the impossible with Remote Smart Parking Assist.

That being the removal of the teeth-grinding aggravation you may have experienced upon finding your car’s driver-side door utterly boxed in by another vehicle that has parked extra close.

Rather than vocally wonder if said vehicle’s driver received their license at Sears, you can tap into that calming sense of luxury by simply pressing a button on the G80 key fob. Watch the car gently roll forward and pull up to a place where you can in fact get in without a can opener. Namaste.

The G80 Want Is Strong

I quite like the 2025 Genesis G80. It’s not cheap at around $75,000, but neither are the luxury rides it competes with. Rides that are far less exciting to take in than the G80 I might add. Did I mention it has a heated front-row armrest? Oh yes, I want one.

Specifications As Tested

Check Out The Full 2025 Genesis G80 Review Over At The Empty Garage!