2021 Genesis G80 Revealed - And It Looks Incredible
Genesis has revealed the 2021 G80, its new luxury midsize sedan, and if you had any doubt that the fledgling brand was finding its style groove, this is the car to correct you. Borrowing the same striking design elements we've already seen in the G90 sedan and GV80 SUV – including an oversized grille and distinctive LED lighting – the new G80 is eons away from its forgettable predecessor.
Genesis calls the styling language "Athletic Elegance," and in this particular case that means not stinting on either curves or slashes. At the front, there's the automaker's Crest Grille – echoing the crest of the Genesis logo itself – flanked by the double-lines of the Quadlamp headlamps.
Those lines then continue to the side of the car, with a long flowing shoulder counterbalanced by a chrome strip. Illuminated market lights just aft of the front wheel arches pick up on the headlamp design, a flourish which is then completed by the similar taillamp clusters. The trunk is concave, with what Genesis calls a "horseshoe shaped negative surface" to the decklid.
It's bolder and purer than anything we've seen from Genesis in its production cars so far, and the 20-inch wheels don't hurt that either. Unlike the new G90, which was a style-focused refresh to its predecessor, the 2021 G80 is all-new.
Inside, meanwhile, the theme of focusing on surface shapes rather than unnecessary detailing continues. Genesis thinned the A-pillars and trimmed down the rearview mirror, to maximize forward visibility. The dashboard is a long, curvaceous sweep, bowed down in the center with the HVAC controls.
Atop it, the widescreen 14.5-inch infotainment screen stands out, though not much higher than the cowled driver instrumentation. Two more clusters of controls are in the center console, a rotary gear selector and the same rotating D-pad controller for the infotainment that we saw in the Genesis GV80.
The automaker has wisely kept buttons to a minimum, but they're not absent altogether. Physical controls for the climate control and drive modes, as well as buttons on the wheel for the expected suite of driver-assistance options, mean not everything needs to be summoned through the infotainment system.
Genesis is keeping the details of those systems under wraps for the moment, along with information about which powertrains the new G80 will be offered with. We'll find out more later this month, though, with the car set to launch in its Korean home market in March 2020.