2023 Genesis Electrified G80

The 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 is a classically styled, midsize luxury sedan with not a hint of electrification about it, except for the absence of tailpipes and a gas filler door. Its internal combustion engine (ICE) equivalent, the G80, looks nearly identical. It sits in an awkward market niche, though. Until the Mercedes-Benz EQE lands late in 2022, other luxury electric sedans in the U.S. market are either compacts with less room or full-size models that generally cost tens of thousands of dollars more, have larger cabins and trunks and deliver more range.  

As a new EV closely based on the gas-powered Genesis G80, the Electrified version ditches the gas model’s spare tire, panoramic glass roof and uses more lightweight aluminum instead of steel. But the Electrified G80 is almost 600 pounds heavier than its internal combustion counterpart, thanks mostly to the 1,204-pound battery pack installed beneath the cabin floor. Its dual-motor, all-wheel drive powertrain delivers up to 282 miles of range. “Electrified” is its formal name although neither that word nor the abbreviated “EV” appear anywhere on the car.

The G80 EV sits perfectly between full-size luxury EVs like the Mercedes-Benz EQS, Lucid Air or Tesla Model S and its compact competition such as the premium Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 sedans. At 197 inches in length it’s larger than its midsize electric competitors, but casts a slightly smaller shadow than full-size luxury EVs. The Lucid Air has more front and rear legroom; the EQS, which is 10 inches longer than the Genesis, has half an inch less front legroom but almost 6 inches more rear legroom and twice the cargo capacity.

Genesis offers the Electrified G80 in a single trim, the Prestige, for $80,920. Even fully loaded, the G80 3.5T Sport is almost $8,000 less than the Electrified. Not so for the EV options: The Lucid Air starts $28,000 above the Electrified G80—and the Pure trim with AWD should be about $10,000 more than the Genesis, which has AWD standard. The Tesla Model S, with 90 miles more range, starts about $20,000 higher, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS, with 60 to 70 miles more range, is about $21,000 more. 

The EV has a dual motor, electronic all-wheel drive, single-speed, 365 horsepower electric system. The gas G80 is EPA-rated at an OPEC-enriching 19 mpg overall, while the Electrified is five times as efficient. Turning the gas-burning model into an EV costs the Electrified G80 nothing in elegance, style or performance, but does reduce cargo capacity and passenger cabin headroom.

The G80 EV is an attractive, sporty luxury sedan with plenty of rear legroom and sleek touchscreens mixed with knobs and buttons in the front cabin, although a center rotary knob feels clunky. A limited rollout will make it hard to initially find the G80 EV except in more EV-friendly states like California.

Performance: 13/15

The Electrified G80 is available only with an electronic all-wheel drive, dual-motor powertrain rated at 365 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, delivered through a single-speed automatic transmission.

While it is a heavy car—at 5,308 pounds it outweighs the Polestar 2 by 600 pounds and the Tesla Model 3 by almost half a ton—the G80 EV doesn’t feel bloated. Its low center of gravity keeps it firmly planted. It lacks the rear-steering that helps make the G80 Sport so nimble, but it’s fairly agile on 19-inch alloys and all-season tires, exhibiting little body roll.  

There are several driving modes: Eco for maximum efficiency, Comfort for everyday driving and Sport for enhanced steering feel and go-pedal response and a slight stiffening of the electronically adjustable suspension. 

Four levels of regenerative braking include an i-Pedal mode for one-pedal driving. It can bring the car to a complete stop without hitting the brakes and functions like a manual downshift when cornering and turning sharply on curvy roads.

The G80 EV’s torquey twin electric motors are based toward rear drive and deliver a 4.4-second zero-to-60 mph sprint. That’s a bit slower than the Polestar 2’s 4.1 and well behind the Model 3’s 3.1 seconds. 

Range, Energy Use & Charging:  8/15

The Electrified G80 is EPA-rated at the gasoline-gallon equivalent of 97 MPGe for city, highway and combined driving cycles, with power consumption at 35 kilowatt-hours per 100 miles. That’s the least-efficient of its small competitive set. The Polestar 2 is rated at 100 MPGe combined and 34 kWh per 100 miles, and Tesla  leads with 113 MPGe and 30 kWh per 100 miles.  

The electric G80’s motors are fed by an 87.2 kWh battery pack installed under the floor (a small section bumps up under the rear seat). Its EPA-estimated range of 282 miles is bested only by the Model 3’s 315 miles.

The car comes with a 10.9 kW onboard charger for Level 2 charging, which takes about 7.5 hours on a depleted battery. The Model 3, with a smaller 75 kWh battery, takes about 7 hours. Genesis is one of the few automakers to use a switchable 350-to-800 volt electrical system that can make use of public fast chargers.

At a 350 kW fast-charger, a G80 can roll in with 10% of its battery and drive off 25 minutes later 80% full. The same charging session would take a Polestar 2 about 35 minutes, and a Model 3 up to 30 minutes. 

Safety & Driver Assistance Tech: 13/15

The nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named the Electrified G80 a Top Safety Pick+ in December. It earned the highest designation with top marks after crash-testing.

But the car hasn’t been crash-tested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) yet. The 2022 gasoline-powered G80 scored NHTSA’s five-star rating, but the internal combustion engine model’s scores can’t be transferred to the EV’s because even the removal of a hefty engine and transmission up front and placement of the rigid, reinforced battery pack beneath the floor could change how the Electrified performs. 

Standard advanced safety and driver assistance technology on the G80 EV includes navigation-based adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, highway driving assist with lane following and turn signal activated lane changing assist, blind spot collision avoidance assist with blind spot view monitor, forward collision avoidance with pedestrian and cyclist identification, reverse parking collision avoidance, a driver attention monitor, automated high beam control, safe exit assist and guide lamps that project onto the road to alert other vehicles and pedestrians when the G80 EV is  reversing.

Comfort & Room: 15/15

Based on looks, the Electrified G80’s interior is indistinguishable from that of its internal combustion sibling. It’s just as comfortable, too. The front seats are heated and cooled, have extendable thigh bolsters and are multi-adjustable: 16 ways for the driver seat and 12 for the passenger. The driver’s seat also has Genesis’ Ergo Motion massage function. Rear seats are comfortable, too, although the center seating position is best used for the pull-down armrest, which has two cup holders and a small cubby.

Rear legroom in the Electrified G80 is a segment leading 35.9 inches, but headroom front and rear is compromised a bit by the slightly raised floor, an alteration needed to fit the battery. Front legroom is 42.1 inches and nearly the best in the segment—the Model 3’s 42.7 inches isn’t much more.  

At 40.23 inches, the G80 EV’s front headroom is equal to the Tesla Model 3’s but is beat by the Polestar 2, which has an inch more. Rear headroom, 36.6 inches, is the least in the segment and 3.2 inches less than the Polestar. We found room in the second row for a 6-footer, but taller passengers might prefer the front seat on a long drive. 

Infotainment: 14/15

Most everything on and in the Electrified G80 is controlled via the 14.5-inch touchscreen, which itself is controlled either by a recessed rotary knob on the center console—a controller that’s fair clunky—or by touch, which requires the driver’s attention to shift from road to screen. Some functions also have control buttons on the steering wheel, and the system works well with voice commands.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, as is wireless phone charging. There’s a subscription-based Wi-Fi hotspot. Each seating row gets two USB ports including a data/charge port up front, and there’s a neat power take-off system that allows the G80 EV’s battery to be used to power tools, appliances and audio-video gear.

The 21-speaker, surround-sound Lexicon audio system provides concert-hall quality sound.

The G80 EV also has corporate parent Hyundai Motor Group’s Remote Smart Parking Assist feature, which lets you step out, press a button on the key fob and watch while the car fits itself into tight parking spaces—parallel, perpendicular and angled.

Cargo Space & Storage: 6/15

The 2023 Electrified G80 lost about 17% of its trunk capacity in its conversion from internal combustion—the rear-mounted electric motor protrudes into the space—so it has the least cargo capacity in its competitive set at just 10.8 cubic-feet, and that’s with a small tire inflation kit replacing the spare tire. Average trunk capacity for that set is 13.2 cubic-feet and for all midsize sedans it’s 15 cubic-feet. 

The Genesis does have lots of cubbies, door pockets and cup and bottle holders, but its rear seats don’t fold down to enlarge overall cargo space, and it has no under-hood storage, or frunk, unlike its rivals. The Polestar 2 sports a 1.2-cubic-foot frunk and the Model 3 boasts 2.4 cubes of frunkage. 

Style & Design: 10/10

The G80 EV is a classically styled sport sedan with a flowing, muscular profile and slightly raised rear that make the car look fast even when it’s standing still. There is the large—although not Lexus large—diamond-patterned grille, but the EV dumps the ICE version’s shiny chrome in favor of a more subdued, silvery gray with black scoring. The charging port is hidden in the grille.

Below the grille, and one of the few exterior features that differentiate the electric from the other G80s, is a lower fascia pierced by diamond-shaped cutouts that allows cooling air to flow in and around the under-hood electronics.

The unique two-bar lighting design helps set the G80 apart—especially at night—and the fastback roofline was designed to allow space for full grown adults in the back seats. 

Inside, the Electric G80 is just as luscious as its ICE siblings, with finely crafted materials fitted  with no unseemly gaps or misalignment. A horizontal wood strip separates the top and bottom sections of the clean, crisp dash, while bright metal surrounds the climate control center and driver instrument display. The EV easily goes head-to-head with the European luxury brands.

Is the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80 Worth it? Which G80 EV is the Best Value? 

The only Electrified G80 trim is the Prestige, fully loaded at a starting price of $80,920, including destination. 

In pricing, it sits almost perfectly between full-size luxury EVs like the Mercedes-Benz EQS, Lucid Air or Tesla Model S and its likely midsize competition such as the premium Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 sedans. The only other true luxury midsize electric sedan, the upcoming Mercedes-Benz EQE, won’t go on sale until late in 2022 and hasn’t been priced yet, but is expected to start in the low- to mid-$70,000s. 

Other than an assortment of exterior colors if the standard gloss white doesn’t appeal, there are no options. Of those optional colors, seven are priced at $575 and one, matte white, at $1,500

There’s no federal EV tax credit eligibility. The G80 EV doesn’t meet the North American assembly requirement. Even if production moves to North America (Hyundai has an Alabama plant where the Genesis GV70 SUV will be built), sedan pricing is capped at $55,000 for eligibility.

The G80 EV is staging a slow rollout with availability limited to 22 states, which was increased in March (from 12 in November) to: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

How Much Does it Cost to Insure the 2023 Genesis Electrified G80?

The G80 EV should cost as much to insure as most of its peers. According to our data, a typical 30-year-old female driver with a clean record can expect an average annual premium under $2,800, though this averages all 50 states. The G80 EV is new, however, so based on our research it should align with other similar EVs and Genesis models. The gasoline-powered G80 starts around $2,840 per year. A Tesla Model 3 owner might pay $3,000 per year, while the Polestar 2 is around $2,500 and the sedan Mercedes-Benz EQE will likely be over $3,000. For a more accurate picture of your potential insurance expenses, visit our car insurance calculator.