The Electric G80 Is Great, but There Are Compromises
- Trim Tested: G80 Electrified AWD
- Price as Tested: $82,420 (including destination charge)
- What We Like: Electric version of an already great car; acceleration; interior design
- What We Don’t: Higher price and less space than gas model; limited availability
Genesis’ excellent midsize sedan, the G80, gets an electric option for 2023. The Electrified G80 is nearly identical to the gas G80, save for a solid front grille, a little less space inside (to make room for the battery), and a rather sizeable $30,000 premium on the window sticker. (To be fair, an apples-to-apples comparison would be the top-of-the-line G80 Sport Prestige, which has similar features and is only $10,000 cheaper.)
Another downside to the Electrified G80 over the gasoline model: Per Genesis, it “will only be sold at select Genesis retailers in AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MA, MD, MN, NC, NJ, NV, NY, PA, SC, TX, UT, VA, WA, and WI due to extremely limited availability.”
I drove the Electrified G80 for a week, and these were my impressions.
How It Drives
The Electrified G80, like most electric vehicles, is peppy from a stop. The E-G80 only comes in one trim with one powertrain option: dual-motor all-wheel-drive (AWD). At 365 horsepower, it has nearly the same rating as the top-of-the-line gasoline Genesis G80 3.5T. It’s also heavier because of its battery, so you might expect the Electrified G80 to be slower. Not so. The torque of electric motors gives the Electrified G80 a distinct advantage over the gas G80 – a big help when measuring 0-60 times. The G80 has 282 miles of range, less than most competitors. However, you charge it via a hidden door in the grille, which is a cooler setup than many rivals.
Dollar-for-dollar, the G80 doesn’t offer as much performance as its competitors. Compared with its direct rival, the Mercedes EQE, it has a higher starting price. The Tesla Model 3 and BMW i4 are cheaper and available with stronger motors and bigger batteries.
Still, the Electrified G80, like the gas model, isn’t about performance as much as it is about style and comfort. It has a nice ride on its adaptive suspension. It’s quiet at high speeds, and four-wheel steering helps drivers squeeze the big sedan into tight parking spots.
Interior Comfort & Quality
The battery is under the floor in the Electrified G80, which means that, compared to the gas G80, there is less headroom and trunk space. Unlike dedicated EVs such as the Tesla Model 3, it doesn’t have a front trunk.
The interior is lovely, though. The G80 doesn’t have the midcentury modern minimalism of a Tesla, but the flowing, horizontal shapes give you more to look at. Legroom is ample, and the seats – adorned with ultra-soft perforated Nappa leather – give excellent support. The accent trim looked a bit weird until I learned it was made from recycled wood from a furniture factory. Very eco-friendly!
Technology & Usability
The cabin’s centerpiece is a widescreen perched on top of the dash. It has multiple controls: a touchscreen, a knob, steering wheel buttons, and voice commands. As the touchscreen is too far away to be comfortable to reach, I used the knob most often. You rotate it to select buttons on the screen, then press it to activate them. It was easy enough, though I had to pull my eyes away from the road for too long, and I kept mixing up the infotainment knob and the transmission knob, which are the same size and right next to each other.
The wideness of the touchscreen also wastes a lot of space. When Android Auto was on, it only took up half of the screen, leaving the other half blank or filled with unhelpful widgets. And Android Auto wasn’t wireless, which is a shame in an $80K car in 2023.
The Electrified G80 has a few other high-tech showstoppers. Notably, the gauges are three-dimensional screens that make the numbers and indicators appear raised above the surface. And there’s Hyundai/Genesis’ robotic Smart Park feature, which can pull the vehicle out of a spot without you. Plus, the ingenious blind spot camera system displays images of the left and right blindspots in the gauge cluster.
Read our full 2023 Genesis G80 review for more specs and information about the entire G80 lineup.
Carfax vehicle reviews let shoppers compare a vehicle’s specs against its competitors. However, some aspects of a vehicle – performance, comfort, usability – can only be evaluated through actual driving. That’s why we evaluate as many vehicles as we can, so you’ll know what to expect.
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