Driving the 2025 Genesis G80 That Gets More Screen Time
A big new 27-inch infotainment screen anchors the overall experience of the refreshed G80 sedan.
Genesis, Hyundai’s overachieving luxury arm, has had a busy few years remaking its lineup with new sheetmetal, powertrains, and technologies. For the 2025 model year, it’s effectively taking a well-deserved break, instead making minor improvments to and updates for its existing models before its next salvo of all new and fully remade products starts to arrive. The 2025 Genesis G80 sedan, which we’ve just spent the day driving across Kentucky, is the latest Genesis to receive a quick spritz. But will the G80’s slight changes be enough to keep luxury sedan buyers from gravitating to newer, shinier products like the updated BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class instead?
0:00 / 0:00
What’s New
The blink-and-you’ll-miss-it changes Genesis made to the 2025 G80 are the type of tweaks that only true car nerds will notice. Up front, there’s a slightly wider weave pattern in the G80’s shield-shaped grille, a larger, lower bumper opening, and new headlight jewelry. Around back, most G80s now have hidden exhaust pipes (Sport Prestige models keep their decorative exhaust finishers), and there's a slightly reshaped rear bumper design. The only other visual update are new wheel options.
Inside is where most of the changes have been made. Genesis has replaced the G80’s dual instrument cluster and infotainment bezels with a single, larger 27-inch OLED display. To accommodate the screen, interior stylists slightly shifted and otherwise rearranged the rest of the center stack, replacing the hard radio buttons with haptic soft buttons while adding volume, tuning, and temperature adjust knobs in the process. Additionally, the wireless charging pad was relocated to be closer to the central armrest, new LED lighting was added, and leatherette options have been made available for base models.
Mechanically, the 2025 G80 is identical to last year's car. Base 2.5T models are powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged I-4 producing 300 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque, while the 3.5T gets a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V-6 that produces 375 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque. Both engines come standard with an eight-speed automatic and all-wheel drive.
Although the G80 effectively treads water for 2025, prices have risen with the tide. The 2024 G80 2.5T started at $55,650, while the equivalent 2025 model stickers for $59,000. The most affordable V-6-powered G80, the 3.5T Sport Advanced, starts at $71,500, $6,000 dearer than last year. The sole model Genesis made available for us to test drive was the fully loaded G80 3.5T Sport Prestige, stickering for $78,250.
2025 Genesis G80 Pros and Cons
While some might be disappointed by the lack of major changes, in some ways Genesis was smart to leave well enough alone. Pre-refresh G80s were notable for their beautifully finished cabins that were a lovely place to eat up long highway miles, and nothing really changes in that regard for the 2025 G80 3.5T. The slightly stiffer suspension tune of the Sport Prestige model helps calm the base model’s slightly floaty ride, while still handily eating up pockmarked pavement. Should you venture off the highway into congested urban areas or small country towns, the Sport trim’s standard four-wheel steering system makes a notable difference in helping this larger midsize sedan drive smaller than it is.
On the flip side, although Genesis didn’t make the G80 objectively worse for 2025, it also missed an opportunity to improve the car’s existing weak spots. Its V-6, for instance, lacks the effortless low-end grunt and smooth top end that its German turbocharged I-6 rivals exhibit, though its eight-speed automatic does an admirable job at shifting smoothly to keep the twin-turbo V-6 in the proper gear. Powertrain changes are expensive, sure, but not so much the steering, which also wasn’t improved upon. Despite the Sport Prestige moniker of the car we drove, it still has the same vague on-center feel of other G80s while simultaneously eschewing actual road feedback in favor of more artificial weighting through corners.
What changes Genesis did make didn’t exactly move any needles, either. That expansive new screen perched atop the dash, for instance, doesn’t add any new functionality to the G80 like we’ve seen with similar setups in Cadillacs and Lincolns. Instead, it does little more than merge the 2024 G80’s two displays into one, much like having multiple windows open on your laptop. And existing issues remain, such as taller drivers not being able to clearly read the instrument cluster, (though the standard head-up display on the 3.5T Sport Prestige is helpful).
For its part, Genesis says it is “continually evaluating the implementation of new designs and technologies to make cluster and infotainment features even better for our customers.” Given the brand’s penchant for listening to customer feedback and the system’s over-the-air-update compatibility, it isn’t unlikely to expect the 2025 G80’s onscreen experience to evolve over the lifetime of the car. Original owners should also benefit from a lifetime subscription to the G80’s promising suite of connected services.
What’s the Verdict?
The subtle tweaks to the G80 formula might not be enough big enough for the 2025 G80 to stave off renewed competition from its luxury rivals, but they should nevertheless improve the ownership experience for those willing to take a chance on a fast-moving luxury upstart. For those wishing for more expansive tweaks, keep your eye on the 2026 Electrified G80; the electric version of this Genesis sedan has long been and MT favorite, and its coming changes ought to make that car even more compelling.
I generally like writing—especially when it’s about cars—but I hate writing about myself. So instead of blathering on about where I was born (New York City, in case you were wondering) or what type of cars I like (all of ’em, as long as it has a certain sense of soul or purpose), I’ll answer the one question I probably get most, right after what’s your favorite car (see above): How’d you get that job? Luck. Well, mostly. Hard work, too. Lots of it. I sort of fell into my major of journalism/mass communication at St. Bonaventure University and generally liked it a lot. In order to complete my degree senior year, we had to spend our last two semesters on some sort of project. Seeing as I loved cars and already spent a good portion of my time reading about cars on sites such as Motor Trend, I opted to create a car blog. I started a Tumblr, came up with a car-related name (The Stig’s American Cousin), signed up for media access on a bunch of manufacturer’s websites, and started writing. I did everything from cover new trim levels to reviewing my friends’ cars. I even wrote a really bad April Fool’s Day post about the next Subaru Impreza WRX being Toyota-Corolla-based. It was fun, and because it was fun, it never felt like work. Sometime after my blog had gotten off the ground, I noticed that Motor Trend was hiring for what’s now our Daily News Team. I sent in my résumé and a link to my blog. I got the job, and two weeks after graduation I made the move from New York to California. I’ve been happily plugging away at a keyboard—and driving some seriously awesome hardware—ever since.
Read More
