The new Geniseys GV80 has a grand grille that is at least on par with established rivals BMW X5 and Volkswagen Touareg. So let's test how this nearly 5-meter-long, about 280-horsepower, upper-class South Korean diesel SUV is doing.
Infiniti, Nissan's aristocratic offshoot, and General Motors' Cadillac are some of the best examples of recent shifts in focus on European high-end brands. About 10 years ago, they introduced new fuel versions in Europe. Today, Infiniti has long since withdrawn from this market, and Cadillac only sells the compact SUV XT4 here.
Despite these intimidating examples, Hyundai group still wants to start this adventure with the young Geniseis brand. Like Infiniti and Cadillac in the past, South Koreans want to gain a place in Europe's middle class and upper class with cars and SUVs. They also released a 5-meter-long electric version of the Sedan G80 and a more compact hunting version of the G70, which has the same shape as the C-Class.
As a result, The Genisey has a lot to do, and the white GV80 in the picture already has a feature that is extremely helpful for novices: although it is equipped with a 278-horsepower inline six-cylinder diesel engine, its price is much lower than that of its competitors with the same power. In the comparison of the entry-level models, it offers more configurations at a price of 63 400 euros, while the Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 V6 TDI is 5095 euros more expensive than it, and the BMW X5 xDrive30d is even 11 400 euros more expensive than it.
If we let these test cars choose the same configuration, the Price of Volkswagen will exceed the GV80 by about 12,000 euros, BMW by even 19,000 euros, and the seven-seater GV80 by only 500 euros. Currently, it is only on display in Munich, but one can do a test drive anywhere. If repairs are required, the company will pick up the car at home and return it to an independent partner workshop.
The noble-looking Geniseis
In the iconic Bentley-like GV80, the noble temperament matches the car service: Nappa leather seats (2580 euros), solid wood trims and a high-quality leather exterior, while the price list looks very close to the people.
On the centre console, there is a silver plastic ring for controlling the infotainment system, which, in addition to rotating, can also be jumped to other menu pages by pressing it. Functionally, it's the equivalent of BMW's iDrive spin button. However, when entering other menu pages on BMW, the button needs to be rotated instead of pressed. This works better because while grasping the iDrive switch, you can also turn the iPod-like ring with your fingertips.
Once you get used to this kind of operation, the rotating ring will greatly facilitate driving operation, just like directly selecting buttons (e.g. home, back and navigation). In addition, there are two knobs for volume and map zoom, and there are various buttons on the steering wheel to choose from.
People need to be more proficient in voice control because it can only understand fixed phrases. When you use it, it does the job well. But when not in use, it often weirdly complains that the background noise is too great, even when stationary.
The gearbox is also a knob choice, which is actually not natural. The eight-speed automatic transmission developed by Genises has a smooth shift and reasonable acceleration in sport mode. But it doesn't shift as fast as other equally smooth eight-speed gearboxes, especially when compared to BMW's ZF eight-speed gearbox.
The gearbox shifts smoothly, and the 2.3-ton body is brisk and powerful when started in front of traffic lights, only when starting at full throttle does it draw attention to brief turbo delays. Other times, this diesel car is always responsive. And, if needed, its restrained sound can be amplified by the speakers, just not to hide the fact that the sprint is slower.
Jenises initially didn't make a good first impression on the highway. The left lane has a lot of crosshairs that need to be carefully watched out to see, and the GV80 adaptive shock absorbers with conventional suspension simply can't cope with them. The chassis was slightly stiff but overall comfortable. Although the camera in front scans the high-speed road surface and inputs data into the shock absorbers, the body has been shaking slightly on the road, which is extremely annoying. The hood also seemed to be shaking slightly, but not on the flat road. The GV80 is more enjoyable to drive on flat roads, it's just that comfort is always at odds with other models.
The same is true for wind noise, but it is not strong. The strongest chassis noise is generated in rough areas away from the highway. The sound system cannot mask these noises even with inverted sound waves (active noise reduction).
On off-paved roads, it responds fairly reliably to steering commands, with slightly increased swing. The steering system lacks feedback and the steering wheel does not receive information about the lateral force, hindering people from building confidence in it. Still, after a period of adaptation, people can turn normally, even if the standard multi-chip limited-slip differential brings almost no power to the handling. In the 18-meter snake-like pile test, the GV80 showed its talents, but in the lane change test, its two opponents were clearly more sporty.
In Sport mode, the backrest support tightens, but the lateral support inside the car is still quite poor. In addition, when the lateral force increases, the seat belt is often pulled very tightly. The seats are comfortable and although the headrests are longitudinally adjusted, they are still too close. In the back row, one can opt for fully electrically adjustable seat cushions and backrests, and even the backrests in the third row can be folded and unfolded with push buttons. However, it is difficult for adults to easily climb into the third row, and the head space is almost only enough for children.
Cozy artist Touareg
Typically only the X5 has a third row of seats, for which BMW charges a fee of €1700, including single-chamber air springs on the front and rear axles. Volkswagen will show you the perfect technology for 5900 euros, and the double-chamber gas spring can not only change the height of the body, but also the spring rate. The rear wheels can also be steered, and an electric motor is equipped next to the stabilizer bar to automatically correct the roll of the body. This means that the Volkswagen, while not as direct as the X5 test car without active stabilizer bars, does not have much tilt when cornering in sport mode, travels cleanly and neatly, and the steering system communicates the force of the wheels to the driver in an easy-to-understand way.
On top of that, it's hanging elastic and very comfortable. You can indeed feel the potholes in the road, but only a slight sensation, and the body is always comfortably still. The X5 offers that quality, but it doesn't feel the same way for rear passengers.
Touareg's comfort is only affected by its 286-horsepower V6 engine. The engine does offer an unstoppable impulse, accelerating from 100 km/h to 200 km/h beyond the Genisees and even 1.4 seconds faster than BMW. However, when it accelerates from a standstill, it experiences a disturbing sluggishness. So in a stop-and-go traffic situation, there will soon be an empty space in front of you. Even when turning at the speed of city traffic, you must press the accelerator in advance to keep the vehicle smooth.
In terms of interior, Volkswagen impresses with a huge touchscreen that looks like a classic business laptop. This is really cool and useful, for example, the 360° parking camera will display images on a large screen, and the navigation map can be clearly displayed in full screen, and the speedometer can be enlarged. In contrast, the display on the BMW gauge is small, and Genises even combines the steering arrow display on the speedometer in a three-dimensional effect that is almost imperceptible.
Although Volkswagen's well-structured touch-based infotainment system visualizes buttons and allows people to set their own main menus, it's not as easy to operate as competitors during driving, in part because of the lower position of the display.
In addition, people can only hang up the phone on the speedometer page or in the infotainment system menu, since there is no separate button on the steering wheel for this function. In fact, there are no real buttons on the steering wheel anymore, as The Touareg's steering wheel is now equipped with a trackpad that doesn't work very well. As a result, people may inadvertently activate the steering wheel heating function when turning.
Voice control, on the other hand, works well, but only if you have to give accurate instructions. If you say "go" instead of "navigate to," you will fail. This is the same as Geniseis. Rear passengers can control two temperature zones at the push of a button (as in all test cars) so that the second row also has enough air conditioning airflow, as in BMW, where wind can be blown out of the B-pillar.
The legroom under the Volkswagen front and rear seats is the largest. The standard rear seats can be tilted and moved forward and backward. The Jenises, which ranked second in seating, is the only car that can be equipped with ventilation on the outside of the rear seats.
BMW can do anything
Although the rear seats of the five-seat X5 test car at an additional cost cannot be adjusted, it is still comfortable to sit up. What it has in common with Volkswagen is that there are buttons in the luggage compartment to lower the body and mounting points for luggage isolation nets on both the B and C pillars. Unlike Touareg, the luggage compartment cover can be stowed under the luggage compartment floor, just like the Geniseith. One of the highlights is the two-stage open luggage compartment lid, which, when opened, can carry the weight of two people.
Inside the cockpit, vehicles issue warnings if they approach a red light or stop sign too quickly. However, it does not have the blind spot obstacle indication like the GV80, and only the illustration is displayed on the digital speedometer when the turn signal is turned and the line is connected.
Aside from that, the X5 is technically unmatched, especially when it comes to operation. The iDrive switch and direct selection button are excellent base settings, in addition, there are 8 of the most commonly used buttons that can be set freely. The voice assistant makes up for the remaining features well, not only can it work, but it can do more than others. Heads-up display switches, sound settings or read the operator's guide aloud are all included. In addition, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto can only be used wirelessly on BMW, so BMW's mobile phone wireless chargers can play the most value. The touch control is also good, but it is far from the level of the public.
Another highlight of BMW is that it has a high-end inline six-cylinder engine under the hood. It responds far better to the GV80's engine and accelerates as well as the Touareg V6. BMW consumes around 9.5 litres of diesel per 100 km/ 100 km. Of the three vehicles, only the Genisees consumes slightly more fuel (10.0 litres).
At corners, the X5 with rear-wheel steering and The Touareg are almost the same speed, but the BMW travels faster. It senses more flexibly and diligently relays information to the steering system and then reacts more quickly to the turn signal. In addition to this, the X5's all-wheel drive power distribution is biased towards the rear wheels, which is to make the steering response more neutral and avoid oversteering. But the M-type limited-slip differential occasionally causes a little drift in the rear wheels.
Because touareg's turning radius is smaller than the X5, for both cars, their overall driving behavior scores are similar. But in other ways, the BMW X5 is clearly superior. The main reason for toutuareg's loss of points in tests was its average braking performance at speeds above 130 km/h. Despite exciting prices and a favorable warranty, the GV80 still lags behind Touareg. Still, Genises thinks it has a bright future.