The Genesis G80 Black packs a refined twin-turbo V6 punch beneath a sinister suit. One of the grandest mysteries of the Australian automotive landscape is that Genesis remains the absolute most underrated brand Down Under. Despite grinding away on local shores for more than 10 years, far too many prestige buyers still blindly default to the traditional European establishment. That is a massive oversight. For the uninitiated, Genesis is the luxury arm of Hyundai – the equivalent of the Lexus relationship to Toyota.
Look no further than the G80 to showcase the Genesis appeal. It lines up punch-for-punch against the quintessential heavyweights of the luxury sport sedan world: the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Audi A6, and the Lexus ES. If you were to try and match the G80’s muscular performance and lavish specification sheet in any of those badges, you would be digging significantly deeper into your retirement fund than the circa-$135,000 required to park a V6-powered G80 in your driveway. But the machine we are piloting this week isn’t your bread-and-butter executive cruiser. It’s the sinister, murdered-out G80 Black.
What do you get?
When it came to configuring this particular special edition, the designers at Genesis clearly strolled into the automotive casino, walked straight up to the roulette wheel, and confidently slapped everything on black. Just about everything that used to be shiny or chrome has been systematically plunged into darkness – from the monolithic front grille and window surrounds to the badging and the massive bespoke 20-inch wheels. The result is an executive sedan that looks less like a traditional country club cruiser and more like a stealthy, high-end transport option for John Wick.
Step inside, and the cabin ditches cheap plastics for dark ash real wood trim, a plush suede headlining, and gorgeous Nappa leather-appointed seating featuring a luxury quilted pattern. Tech-wise, the dashboard is dominated by a monolithic 27-inch OLED display that seamlessly handles both your driving instrumentation and navigation, paired with a booming 18-speaker Bang and Olufsen premium audio system capable of turning the cabin into a rolling concert hall. Genesis even throws in 18-way power-adjustable Ergo Motion front seats with built-in pelvic and whole-body stretching modes, alongside power-sliding, heated and ventilated rear seats that get their own wireless phone charger and climate control. There is even a UVC-sanitising compartment built into the centre console to zap germs off your phone. Prestige brands often sting you for hefty maintenance costs, but the G80 has free servicing when you return to the dealership for the first five maintenance visits.
How was the drive?
Nestled beneath that long, blacked-out bonnet is a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 churning out a muscular 279kW and 530Nm of torque. If those numbers sound vaguely familiar, it is because this engine is a close relation to the rowdy heart that famously powered the old Kia Stinger. However, Genesis has thoroughly polished away any lingering rough edges. The power delivery behaves like Conor McGregor in a sharp Italian suit, but thankfully nowhere near as foul-mouthed. It swaps out the boy-racer antics for a whisper-quiet, impeccably civilised surge of momentum that handles the 0-100 km/h sprint in a deceptive 5.1 seconds.
Sawing different directions, the G80 Black demonstrates a level of roadholding maturity that gives the German benchmarks a massive headache. The active on-demand AWD system ensures all that twin-turbo muscle translates to seamless forward progress rather than tyre smoke. Meanwhile, the clever Road Preview Electronic Control Suspension wizardry uses a forward-facing camera to actively scan the road ahead, prepping the dampers to effortlessly iron out potholes and speed bumps before the chassis even reacts to them. While it feels completely majestic, planted, and effortless when you are cruising down the highway, you will notice its size in the suburbs. If you are navigating tight, multistorey shopping centre carparks or attempting a quick U-turn on a narrow suburban street, you can expect to be making three-point turns with a turning circle which is similar to a dual-cab use or large SUV. That’s where you are reminded it’s nearly 5m long. Unleashing the twin-turbo muscle comes with an appetite at the bowser. Our test saw an average of more than 12 litres per 100km and the V6 demands a steady diet of 95 RON premium fuel to keep its edge.
Would you buy one?
Kel: For me, it is a glowing yes for the brand, and I am incredibly impressed by the G80 Black’s build quality and mature driving dynamics. However, while I think the G80 is an exceptional piece of engineering, my heart still firmly belongs to the older electric GV60 SUV. If I were writing the cheque at a Genesis showroom tomorrow, I’d still find myself gravitating toward the high-riding, all-electric charm of the wagon rather than this low-slung, sinister sedan.
Grant: I am a massive fan of this machine. The combination of those genuinely lavish interior finishes and that punchy, twin-turbo V6 performance hits the absolute sweet spot for an executive cruiser. Genesis is a brilliant brand that doesn’t get anywhere near the credit it deserves – in fact, I recently talked a friend into buying one, and she is absolutely obsessed with it. This specific Black edition just completely oozes aura on the street. I would happily have one parked in my driveway permanently, though I have to admit, I’d be heavily enticed to wait and see what the incoming GV60 Magma looks like, because that thing is shaping up to be an absolute high-performance weapon.
