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By Jonathan Crouch

With this G80 Electrified model, luxury brand Genesis offers a different take on what a full-sized luxury EV saloon should be. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 39

The Genesis G80 Electrified offers a more sensibly priced choice to those in the premium large saloon sector looking to make the switch to a full-EV. It lacks the pizzazz of obvious rivals but there's plenty here to like.

Backgroundword count: 151

Most manufacturers use the term 'electrified' to designate petrol engines with an ineffectual mild hybrid tinselling of battery power. Korean luxury brand Genesis, different in lots of ways from its rivals, is different again here, using the term 'electrified' for full-EV models also available in full-combustion form. Like this big G80 Electrified luxury saloon. The brand won't need to persist with this titling for long because from 2025, it will only sell full-EVs. This one fits in the segment for large premium badged saloons like the Mercedes E-Class. The full-EV Mercedes equivalent to that E-Class model, the EQE, costs vastly more than its combustion stablemate. But the G80 Electrified provides an appealing full-EV option in this sector without the full-on price increase. Spec for spec, it costs pretty much what you'd pay for an equivalent combustion powered large posh saloon from a rival brand in this sector. Sounds an interesting proposition.

Driving Experienceword count: 271

Unlike the combustion-fuelled G80, there's no option of a rear-driven powertrain here, so the G80 Electrified comes only with AWD. That All-Wheel Drive system though, works rather differently than it does with the fossil-fuelled models, with separate motors driving each axle, each generating 185PS and collectively generating a rather impressive 700Nm of torque. That's good enough to power the car to 62mph in 4.9s, which to give you some class perspective is around two and a half a seconds quicker than a rival Mercedes EQE 300. Of more interest though to a likely owner is the projected driving range between charges, WLTP-rated at a fairly unremarkable 323 miles between charges of the 87.2kWh battery (it's up to 388 miles for the EQE 300, but that's a lighter, less powerful rear-driven model). Special noise-cancelling technology on this EV G80 variant improves refinement, reducing tyre roar by using microphones and sensors to project inverted sound waves through the audio speakers. There are four selectable driving modes - 'Eco', 'Comfort', 'Sport' and 'Snow'. And three selectable 'Smart Recuperation' energy harvesting options ('Slower/Smooth', 'Medium' and 'Strong', the latter effectively a 'one pedal' mode). As far as handling is concerned, you won't be expecting this to be any sort of sports saloon (particularly given that it weighs over 2.3 tonnes) and it isn't. Unlike the brand's larger G90 model offered in other markets, there's no air suspension, but adaptive damping is standard and there's a clever 'Ride Preview' system working via a camera built into the windscreen that primes the suspension for upcoming bumps. The result isn't exactly magic carpet-like but progress is nevertheless quite serene.

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