The 2025 Genesis G80's Interior Is A Warning Shot For More Than Just Lexus And Acura

Considering how much time we spend sitting inside our vehicles, it's strange how often cabin design feels like an afterthought compared to exterior styling. At best bland, but more often anonymous, the "living room on wheels" we've been promised from countless concept cars never seems to make it to production. Instead, it's the same old tried-and-tested formulas, shaped more by the convenience of straight lines and plastic molding machines rather than ambitious aesthetics.

Not so, the 2025 Genesis G80. The luxury arm of Hyundai Group lacks the heritage of the German behemoths — or, for that matter, that of Acura and Lexus — with its independence only announced less than a decade ago. Instead of manufacturing some effigy of tradition, however, Genesis has been embracing risks that its competitors seem to have forgotten how to take.

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Plenty has been said about the G80's exterior design: its shield-like grille, unusual wheel options, and interesting lights. Once I clambered inside, though, I started to wonder whether this refreshed-for-2025 red cabin should actually be a blueprint for other car companies.

Admittedly, the particular spec that had arrived on my driveway didn't hurt matters. 2025 G80 ownership starts at $57,100 (plus $1,250 destination), which gets you a 2.5-liter turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive. The G80 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD shown here, meanwhile, starts at $77,000 (plus destination) and comes with a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6, bigger wheels, and other niceties.

Not all G80 trims get real hide for the interior — it's standard from the 2.5T Sport Prestige AWD (from $68,350 plus destination) up — which is a shame, because it means not all of them can have the Sevilla Red and Obsidian Black Nappa leather package you see here. Bright red leather isn't unique in new cars, but Genesis pairs it with some intricate stitching of a sort you might expect to see in a recent Bentley.

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Genesis does — wisely — have more subtle interior color schemes than this one. There's a far-more-restrained Obsidian Black only version, if you're feeling particularly sober, or a Vanilla Beige Ash Gray for those who can be certain that sticky-fingered kids and muddy-pawed pets won't be coming within twenty feet.

Then there are the silly-but-fun details, a strategy Genesis seems eager to sprinkle through all of its range, even if the actual implementation differs from model to model. Sadly, the glowing glass orb found in the GV60 — which twists 180-degrees to serve as the transmission selector — is not present in the G80. Instead it gets a pair of fluted crystal dials, intricate enough to serve as trophies in a minor golf tournament, served up on a metal island in a sea of carbon fiber trim.

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Big dashboard displays are big business, now; somehow, perhaps by virtue of its relatively low profile, the G80's 27-inch sweep of OLED manages to fit the trend without being entirely brash. It falls just short of tech overload, without feeling spartan; youthful, but not so much so that more mature drivers looking to escape the firm suspensions of recent BMW models might get overwhelmed by the UI.

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What's nice is the consideration given to how things feel, as well as how they look. Acura's TLX has some big, finger-tempting dials, for example, but they feel cheap when you actually touch them; that can't be said for Genesis' chunky glass rotaries. There's mercifully far less of the dreaded high-gloss black plastic — which I'm not alone in thinking neither looks, nor feels, premium — than in, say, a new E-Class or Audi e-tron.

Now, before you start shouting at me, I'm not claiming that Genesis' interior aesthetic is necessarily to everybody's taste. I'm not even saying that it's universally good.

For every "nice metal buttons on the center console" in the G80's cabin, there's a "plastic buttons on the steering wheel." I like the elaborate double-diamond stitching on the seats, and the bright leather upholstery; you might think it gaudy, like a chair from the set of "Moulin Rouge," and that's okay too.

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What it doesn't look like is the handiwork of any other automaker. It certainly doesn't resemble what you'd find in a Hyundai or Kia, both of which have reasonably distinctive interior themes of their own. I'm not sure you could say the same about a modern Lexus or Acura, and their Toyota and Honda counterparts.

Frankly, at a time of — not unfounded — concern that the switch to greater electrification could sap some of the individuality out of cars, walking the production walk rather than just talking the concept talk on cabin experimentation seems like an obvious way to differentiate. Genesis may not have hit every home run with the 2025 G80, but at least it's out here swinging.