By Jim Prueter
MotorwayAmerica.com

(December 18, 2023) Genesis, Hyundai's luxury arm, has added the brand's first fully electric version of its mid-sized G80 officially christened the Electrified G80, to its portfolio of excellent vehicles. While most automakers of all-electric vehicles seem inexplicably resolved to peculiar and unusually weird exterior style design, what makes the Electrified G80 unique from most new electric vehicle's is that it shares the same exterior sheet metal and gorgeous interior as the gasoline version of the G80.

Genesis engineers simply swapped the existing engine, transmission, fuel system and all major features from the fossil-fueled G80, replacing it with a pair of electric drive motors — one on each axle — adding a liquid-cooled 87.2 kWh lithium-ion polymer propulsion battery pack, and related battery-electric control hardware good for 282 miles on a single battery charge. It comes standard with a rear-wheel-steering system.



Genesis says when connected with a Level 3, 350-kWh DC fast-charger at an Electrify America location, it can be charged from 10 to 80 percent in about 22 minutes. Plugged into a conventional home Level 2 outlet the recharging time extends to seven hours. Owners get three years of complementary, 30-minute charging sessions at Electrify America locations.

The Electrified G80 is offered in two trim levels, Advanced at $75,570, and fully loaded Prestige at $80,320 that adds numerous luxury features like a microfiber headliner, power rear sunshade, remote parking capability, and more driver-assist features like a blind-spot camera system, rear automated emergency braking, and more.

Consistent with the non electrified G80, it's worth mentioning this luxury sedan is gorgeous inside and out espousing the time-honored luxury sedan values of a smooth, quiet, cosseting comfort with exquisite  ride and handling character. Acceleration performance is instantaneous reaching zero to 60 MPH time of just 4 seconds with confidence and delight. It's as fine and superb a mid-sized luxury sedan as we've ever tested including the best of the German luxury brands.

One feature we particularly enjoyed was the "Sounds of Nature," where one can select from a variety of soothing background relaxing sounds, such as natural forest sounds with birds singing, waves crashing on a tropical beach, a gentle rainfall, a crackling fire and, numerous others. It simply adds relief from workday stress with relaxing decompression.

Overall, an exceptional vehicle with supreme comfort, state of the art connectivity and driver-assist technology, respectable all-electric driving range with fast charging capability, whisper-quiet acceleration and runway good looks.

VITAL STATS

2024 Genesis Electrified G80
Base Price: $79,325
Price as Tested: $82,450
Powertrain:  87.2 kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack powers dual AC electric motors
Combined Horsepower: 365
Seating: 5

Fab Features:
"Sounds of Nature" background audio
Exquisite ride quality with cosseting comfort
Gorgeous inside and out