The 2025 Genesis GV80 Wants You To Know That It’s Okay To Have Nice Things

When did mainstream luxury start being mildly shameful? From sparse cabins to aggressively ugly styling, more and more upscale vehicles are downplaying status with self-flagellation. No thanks. When you’re playing with a budget the size of a college fund, you want luxury, dammit, and the 2025 Genesis GV80 is here to give it to you.

Having gone nearly unchanged for four model years, the Genesis GV80 didn’t seem like it needed refreshing. It was already a midsize luxury SUV with proper presence and appointments, but it’s still getting incremental changes to stay at the front of the pack. I headed to Texas to see if the tweaks were warranted and if existing owners should upgrade.

[Full disclosure: To drive the new GV80, Genesis flew me to Fort Worth and put me up in a hotel with a “The Color of Money”-themed pool room. The automaker also provided sustenance and refreshments, along with a sweater-wearing pet rock dispensed from a cigarette vending machine. Her name is Sadie and she has a daughter, at least according to the documentation in the box. -TH]

How Does It Look?

You’ll need an eagle eye to spot the exterior changes on the 2025 Genesis GV80, but the double-line diamond grille mesh ties in nicely with Genesis’ parallel lines lighting signature. Speaking of lighting, check out what the marque calls micro lens array LED headlights. While the old headlights featured four main elements each, these new ones sport lots of jewel-like LEDs set into tiny cubes to fill out the lighting signature.

Elsewhere on the front fascia, the number of hard lines in the bumper cover has been cleaned up, while scooped-out corner grilles simplify the front end while adding a little aggression. The end result? Well, it likely won’t take kindly to the mounting of a front license plate, but it carries an elegant bravado that’s tricky to not overdo.

Around back, changes are more subtle. The chrome bumper trim’s been sneakily reshaped, while the valence gains a cross-hatched pattern. There’s no need to argue about fake exhaust tips here because Genesis has gone the sensible route on a non-performance car and just hidden the tailpipes on the GV80. No visible soot to clean ought to make for happy customers, right?

Overall, there’s a lovely ornateness to the look of the 2025 Genesis GV80, and that’s personified best by the branding. While automakers as exotic as Lamborghini and Bugatti have embraced flat design and simplified their logos, Genesis has started making its badges for the new GV80 out of metal and added more detail to its insignia.

What’s The Interior Like?

Magnificent, especially if you have disdain for emptiness passed off as luxury. Introduce me to a tech-first minimalist and I’ll swipe their aesthetic off their palette like a mischievous housecat would, just so they can have more of less. No, a tasteful amount of more will always be more, and chasing Tesla down the path of visually screwing customers just makes interiors sad. Fortunately, Genesis hasn’t chosen to go with the herd, and the GV80 sports an interior that feels worth every cent of its price tag.

Mid-century modern is so in right now, and there’s more than a hint of that style to the GV80’s material choices. Rich deep green and blue dashboard leatherettes, crystal-like finishes, and satin metallic accents abound, but the most interesting materials can be found in two trim options, one featuring basalt fibers, the other recycled newspaper. While the basalt trim has a certain architectural appeal, the recycled newspaper trim in finished in such a way that you can actually read characters if you look closely enough, and that’s properly cool. Speaking of welcome additions, a new three-spoke steering wheel replaces the bulky two-spoke unit in the old GV80 and feels far easier to hold at nine-and-three.

The big change for the 2025 Genesis GV80 is a 27-inch OLED screen that blends instrumentation and infotainment in one undivided frame. Of course, since this single panel replaces both the 14.5-inch infotainment screen and the available 3D digital cluster from the old model, it’s necessitated a re-think of the dashboard. Fortunately, it’s less intensive than you’d expect, and was a prime opportunity for some useful upgrades.

In case you hate leaving fingerprints, a rotary-style infotainment control knob replaces an iPod-like scroll wheel, bringing the GV80’s physical controls up-to-date with other models in the range. Genesis has also found space for traditional volume and tuning knobs, and although the cupholders in the center console are no longer covered, you can now get a heated armrest.

Genesis is late to having both wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto across its lineup, but both should be pushed-out to the 2025 GV80 this summer through an over-the-air update. Oh, and thanks to internet connectivity, Genesis’ Digital Key 2 system will let you loan out your keys with select access to family members through messaging apps including iMessage. Handy if you want your kids to get something from the trunk but not be able to start the car.

Right, that’s almost everything you’d touch in the first row addressed, so what about the back? Well, the GV80 feels like it sports the nicest second-row of the segment, partly because you won’t find a downgrade in materials back there, and partly because the list of available rear seat amenities is extensive. We’re talking about heated and ventilated second-row seats with six-way power-adjustment that even lets passengers tilt the squab. Add in available rear vanity mirrors and powered rear side window blinds, and the top-trim GV80 offers a little bit of S-Class-like rear seat luxury at a much lower price point. Good stuff.

Audio nerds take note: The outgoing GV80’s 21-speaker Lexicon surround sound system is gone, replaced by an 18-speaker Bang & Olufsen-branded hi-fi. Harman International and the illusion of choice, am I right? While this sounds like a massive disappointment on paper, the decrease in speaker count doesn’t simply come from removing speakers in critical locations. See, the old Lexicon system used a four-speaker array atop the dashboard, and when you’re reflecting off of glass, that has some limitations when pumping out midbass. So, the lab coats have replaced all four of these speakers with one woofer atop the dashboard, which would explain the lower speaker count.

With some extra wattage over the old Lexicon-branded audio system, this new Bang & Olufsen unit is still above average for the segment, with improved clarity making up for imaging that might not be quite as good as on the outgoing system. In addition, this system lacks a traditional equalizer, instead featuring B&O’s confusing four-quadrant BeoSonic map that just isn’t intuitive or hugely informative. Still, this is one unit that’s worth the money.

How Does It Drive?

The hallmark of a true luxury car is serenity, and Genesis has been doing its homework. Acoustic glass in all doors and improved soundproofing in the C- and D-pillars promise quietness, while available optical-scanning electronic suspension uses the advanced driver assistance system cameras to read the road and adjust damping for bumps in advance. How does it all work together? Quite well.

See, some automakers have media event teams pre-plan drive routes to take the smoothest possible roads in a given location. Genesis, on the other hand, sent us down some of the more appalling roads in the Fort Worth area. We’re talking chip-and-seal, cobblestones, potholes, expansion joints, the whole nine yards. Whether in standard mode or sport mode, the coil-sprung suspension with adaptive dampers swallowed almost everything up unfazed. There’s some slight float over expansion joints with the default damping, but it’s better than on some competitors with air suspension.

The standard engine is a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine making 300 horsepower and 311 lb.-ft. of torque, and from experience with the pre-facelift model, I can tell you it’s a peach. Most certainly quick enough, and it makes the front of the GV80 feel substantially lighter. The optional engine — the one in the 2025 model I drove — is a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V6 cranking out 375 horsepower and a stout 391 lb.-ft. of torque. Mind you, a curb weight north of 5,000 pounds conspires against acceleration, but this engine boasts proper V6 smoothness. Punching it down an on-ramp is a tidal wave, not a headrush, so if you’re looking to engage launch control with two child seats in the back, mosey on along to something like a BMW X5 M.

Regardless of engine choice, the 2025 Genesis GV80 comes with an eight-speed automatic transmission and all-wheel-drive, meaning there’s no sort of warm-climate special on offer here. Every single one sold in Canada and the U.S.A. will put torque to road confidently, actively varying torque split rather than merely reacting to slip. Mind you, all-wheel-drive traction is only one aspect of control.

Standard on every GV80 is an electronic brake booster that actually changes the level of assistance based on drive mode. Sport mode gives a firmer pedal feel while the standard drive mode keeps things Lexus-soft. Speaking of drive modes, steering weight in normal mode is feather-light and perfect for stop-and-go traffic, while sport mode ups the heft enough to make you wonder if the Germans really have the SUVs-that-handle-okay game in a full court press. Add in an optional electronically controlled limited-slip rear differential that can mash its clutches together and help you fire out of hairpins, and the Genesis GV80 offers a driving experience to match its opulent appointments. It’s certainly no sports sedan, but as far as posh family haulers go, this one strikes a pleasing balance between comfort and control.

What’s The Verdict?

Truthfully, the Genesis GV80 didn’t need a facelift. It already felt like a luxury SUV should, was still near the top of the pack when it came to amenities, and was a huge seller for Genesis. However, it rarely pays to rest on one’s laurels, so the 2025 Genesis GV80 is massaged in all the right ways to make it incrementally better. The new infotainment is properly slick, the new interior trim options are gorgeous, and the new steering wheel corrects an ergonomic gripe. It still lets you know that it’s okay to have nice things, but now it does an even better job of that.

The range starts with the base 2.5T Standard AWD trim, which retails for $59,050 including a $1,350 freight charge. It gets headline pricing below $60,000 and includes the OLED screen, a 12-speaker sound system, heated front seats, and a suite of advanced driving assistance systems as headline big-ticket features. However, for an extra $1,000, you can set up to the 2.5T AWD trim, which adds manual rear door sunshades, a heated steering wheel, a spare tire, and a 110-volt household outlet. Next up is the $62,950 2.5T Select AWD trim that adds a panoramic sunroof, matte wood trim, and 20-inch wheels. Above that sits the $66,950 2.5T Advanced AWD, adding leather seats, ventilated front seats, a 360-degree camera system, the Bang & Olufsen sound system. Capping off the four-cylinder models is the 2.5T Prestige AWD, which costs $71,800 and adds the fancy road-scanning suspension, 22-inch wheels, a more adjustable driver’s seat, heated rear seats, three-zone climate control, a head-up display, and noise cancellation.

Now, V6 trims are slightly different, because there are only two of them and there’s some give-and-take. The GV80 3.5T Advanced AWD basically takes the 2.5T Advanced AWD and adds a V6 engine, a third row of seats, heated rear seats, the driver’s seat from the 2.5T Prestige AWD, and four-zone climate control. Not bad for $75,150. On top of the whole range sits the GV80 3.5T Prestige AWD, which loses the third row but gets Nappa leather seats, the electronically-controlled LSD, 22-inch wheels, a sueded headliner, ventilated and powered second-row seats, soft-close doors, second-row vanity mirrors, power rear door sunshades, a heated console armrest, and active noise cancellation for a grand total of $80,650. That’s not cheap, but it’s around five figures less than a similarly equipped Mercedes-Benz GLE 450, and still more than $4,000 less than a loaded but not quite as comprehensively equipped BMW X5 xDrive40i.

If that’s all a bit complicated, might I suggest moving to Canada? Only four sensible trim levels are available north of the border, and they cover a good spread. The base 2.5T Advanced is largely equivalent to the American 2.5T Select trim, minus the rear door sunshades and wood trim but with heated rear seats and three-zone climate control. Next up is the 2.5T Technology Package, which is equivalent to the American 2.5T Advanced trim but without ventilated front seats and with the addition of heated rear seats, three-zone climate control, and a head-up display. The Canadian 3.5T Advanced Technology Package is largely identical to the American 3.5T Advanced AWD, while the Canadian 3.5T Prestige adds a third row of seats on top of all the features the American 3.5T Prestige AWD gets. At the time of writing, Canadian pricing hasn’t been released, but we’ll update you as soon as it drops.

Whichever way you slice it, the 2025 Genesis GV80 remains a strong value play in the midsize luxury SUV segment. A BMW X5 or a Mercedes-Benz GLE just doesn’t feel this nice inside, and a Porsche Cayenne is both a whole lot more expensive when similarly equipped and unavailable with a third row of seats. The Land Rover Defender is a bit of a wildcard, but it feels more utilitarian than the GV80. So, the GV80 still hits the sweet spot when it comes to value, and it feels opulent like a luxury ride should. If outright speed isn’t your goal, this still feels like the midsize luxury SUV to have.

(Photo credits: Thomas Hundal)

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