The 2018 Genesis G80 3.3T Sport Offers Poised Belligerence
The already handsome Genesis G80 will enter the 2018 model year with a meaner-looking, performance-oriented twin-turbo option for upscale sedan buyers to enjoy. It’s just the right amount of attitude for everyday aggression.
The new sport-trimmed G80 slots carefully between the base sedan and the V8-equipped premium trim. The model receives a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 — good for 365 horsepower and 376 pounds-feet of torque — borrowed from the G90, as well as some extra visual swagger to indicate that it’s not the base model. An eight-speed automatic transmission is shared with other G80 offerings.
While the twin-turbo powerplant bumps available power up well above the base G80’s 311 hp, it’s not quite enough to make the 5.0-liter V8’s 420 prancing ponies seem unexclusive.
To better corroborate the sport portion of the name and make up for the gap in power, Genesis has recalibrated the transmission for a sportier feel and improved the suspension with continuous damping control. Rear brakes are slightly upsized and newly ventilated.
Sporting elements inside the cabin include a meatier steering wheel, sport seats with contrast stitching, and a black microfiber suede headliner with carbon fiber trim.
Exterior items like a unique black chrome grille, sport rocker moldings, darkened trim, and lower front and rear fascias give the 3.3T Sport a gently sinister appearance. You can soften that appearance with a red paint job, one of two colors unique to the Sport, or enhance it by ordering the car in funeral black.
For buyers wanting a luxury sedan with a more traditional visage, Genesis also updated the 3.8 and 5.0 model G80s with a new chrome grille, bright alloy wheels, and genuine aluminum and wood finished interiors. They also share improved multimedia technology, including Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and wireless device charging.
However, if you like 19-inch black sport wheels and direct-injected twin-turbo V6s, then stick with the Sport. You’ll just have to decide if you want it in all-wheel or rear-wheel drive.
The G80 3.3T Sport will show up in North American dealerships early in 2017, after debuting at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show this week.
[Images: Genesis]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I challenge some automaker NOT to put an oversized grille on their cars. See if it starts some kind of trend. After all, most of these gaping maws are blocked off anyway. I liked the first-gen Genesis the best; it looked less derivative of others.
Hyundai must be careful lest they become the new Acura--selling cars nobody wants, in dealerships that aren't any better than their lower end cousins. Or in some cases, ARE their lower end Hyundai dealerships. Nothing pisses me off more than going into my local Acura dealer and seeing a slightly shinier version of every shitty dealer you've ever seen. My guess is that Hyundai won't force its dealers to invest, and so Genesis cars will be sold from and by traditional and scummy Hyundai dealers, complete with a cracked dirty tile floor and three day old coffee burning in the pot while Jerry Lundegaard ignores you and gabs with his buddy about the game last night. I know that Hyundai knows it would be bad for the guy who makes ten bucks selling an Elantra to turn around and be responsible for making Genesis sales work, but the dealers will do what the dealers will do. Only a strong corporate direction can prevent that. Yeah, good luck with that. See how well Acura did it. And they've had years to perfect telling American Honda to fuck off, they'll be as scummy as they like, thank you very much.