The Gay’s 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe Weekend Away & Video Review

When you say, “I want sex in a car,” people take notice. What Nico should have said was, “I want a sexy car,” but with Nico it is often hard to know. “The GV80 transported 4 tired twinks,” Luke said through muffled gagging. None of us had been twinks for a while, but being a twink is so far in my rearview mirror for me, that I need a telescope to see it.

The GV80 Coupé is sculptured into a classic gentlemen’s tourer by experienced hands, but beautiful looks does not a perfect car make. Can the GV80 Coupé possibly live up to the standards that decades of clever marketing from Europeans have set, for it is they that are the opposition. Genesis has done in on generation of cars what it took Lexus 30 years to do.

The arrival of the 2025 GV80 range heralded the death of the diesel and 2.5L petrol, leaving only the silky twin turbo V6 petrol. The 2.5L petrol was unpopular, and the diesels were difficult to make clean. The 8-speed automatic connects to all 4 wheels for good grip, aided by drive modes. The GV80 Coupe gets Sport+ in addition to addition to Eco, Comfort, Sport, and MY. Sport+ instils drama by turning off the traction control, and off-road drama is aided by modes for dirt, sand and mud. GV80 isn’t a rock crawler.

A trip to the toasty warm bosom of the cottage compound takes 2 hours. Those 2 hours frequently feel interminable in cars with seats like park benches. The Genesis is as far from that, with its massage seats that heat, cool and recline, including the rear seats. While the wagon gets 7 or 6 seats, the Coupé has 5. The sloping rear roof would never allow headspace for even the cosiest of 3^rd rows.

Genesis sneaks under the radar of many, with some mistaking it for an Aston Martin or Mercedes-Benz. It is clear there is still much work for the luxury Hyundai offshoot to do.

Our Week

ABOVE: 2025 Genesis GV80 Coupe

Our Week

I headed north with Luke, Kristian, and Hunter. Gay families come in many forms, and that often consists of an extended group of friends. Sometimes it is just a few, either way you love spending time together. We love our weekends away. The unrelieved awfulness of tangled Friday arvo traffic, soon left behind, was made easier by the “AI”. The GV80 Coupé is crammed full the best of modern marvels, some are obvious but most are not.

22” wheels come only on the big GV80 Coupé, and far from ruining the ride, make the stately home on wheels look even more grandiose.

You can read about GV80 Coupe HERE

Reading about the subtle luxury is quite different to experiencing it.

GV80 Coupé has the usual tactile door handles with auto lock/unlock and a smart tailgate that senses your regal presence then opens. Headlights take matric LED to the next level with micro lenses focusing bright nightlight away from oncoming traffic.

Entering the cabin

Unlike the Germans, Korean luxury is noticeable for what isn’t there.

It isn’t a look, but more of a feel. There is space to breathe and the controls are there, made beautiful, adorned with tasteful crystal, metal, carbon fibre, and wood. The leather is butter soft with front heated/cooled seats, and power adjustment front and back. Front seats add bolsters at the leading edge, supporting the most thunderous of thighs.

The Bang and Olufsen sound uses inbuilt intelligence to create a concert hall sound scape. There is CarPlay/Android auto but for now, USB cables are needed. Over the air updates should eventually provide wireless CarPlay. While we’re there, it should give drivers the option of soundless over-speed warnings. For now, you programme the “star button” short cut to the speed warning screen. In order to silence the bongs, 3 presses are required at every engine start.

A 27” screen greets the passengers. Its lefthand 2-thirds is a touch screen leaving third in front of the driver as a readout only. It is augmented by a wide head-up display.

On the Road:

While enjoying refreshments, the GV80 Coupé handled much of the chore we associate with road trips. Even overtaking was handled without turning a hair. Highway assist creates a virtual lane for the Genesis to follow and as far-fetched as it sounds, it actually works.

5.7 seconds to a hundred it plenty, leaving the 3.6L V6 turbo to iron out bends and hills. Such is its potency, drive modes became almost irrelevant. Rain lashed at the windows for much of the trip but we felt relaxed. That’s difficult to achieve.

The cabin was quiet so we played soft classical music, and so engrossed were we, we forgot to change drivers. Over the next few days, we tackled appalling C roads, mud, and dirt.

As usual, we charged our glasses as we sat around the fireplace. Red wine, spag bol, and a stack of Max’s mum’s crepes ended our last night. The

What the Boys thought:

Luke

Highway assist 2 is more than mere smart cruise control. It uses sensors to centre the GV80 Coupé in the lane and if a lane marking is munted, the system creates a virtual one. When fully engaged, smart steering can be told to change lanes by giving the indicator stalk a quick flick. The Genesis will make sure there is no traffic nearby, then move into the desired lane. Lots of models promise this handy feature, but it is usually such a complete faff that it isn’t worthwhile.

The GV80 Coupé also does remote parking, my favourite trick.

The car takes almost all of the drudgery out of long distance trips. There are optional rear seat entertainment systems, but I’d rather curl up with a good twink.

Kristian

I like peaceful surroundings. GV80 Coupé is incredibly clever with climate control that senses impurities. It then closes off the outside world and filters the air until it is deemed clean. It will dry the air after the riders have decamped, and defrosts windows if it thinks things have gone awry. Perhaps that is by a setting in the system, but cold, rainy weather caused a misty window or 2.

The ride adjusts itself, according to drive mode, using sensors and cameras watching for changes in terrain and conditions. We didn’t try to test the system much beyond the odd heavy deluge, but it coped without missing a beat.

Hunter

The drive is incredibly light. Steering and throttle have just the right amount of feel, but it is the comparison to the Europeans possibly the biggest surprise. GV80 Coupé is easier to use and nicer to drive. It looks better than BMW or Mercedes, is more reliable than Range Rover and Jaguar, and less pretentious than Audi.

The back seat is a great place to spend an hour. I had the tablet on a neat little holder, but Kris kept interrupting with drinks and nibbles. We had mini sandwiches, ginger beer, lemonade, and some of Luke’s chocolate chip bikkies for after. The gays know how to travel.

Alan

What an absolute pearler.

For the first time in a long time, I was the only partnered member of the foursome. My hubby stays only occasionally misses our mini breaks, but he is shy and doesn’t like a mention. He must be the only gay in the village who isn’t a complete publicity whore.

Moving on….

GV80 Coupé has a fresh look, and unusually for an existing range, has freshened the feeling of the rest of the GV80s. Technology has gone from great, to excellent with the addition of highway assist 2 and other tempting tech, but still no wireless CarPlay? What a travesty. The Hyundai group was late to the CarPlay party, but as audio systems are updated by OTA or dealerships, existing infotainment systems can be given a new lease of life. GV80 Coupe is yet to receive that memo.

Specifications sheet HERE:GENESIS_Digital+Brochure_GV80_Facelift

Conclusion:

People wonder why we don’t go into facts and figures, talk about “turn in”, apexes, fancy mechanicals, and other in depth oily facts about the cars we test, and the reason is a simple one: that’s been done to death. You can get the figures from the specification sheets. There are plenty of square-jawed-yobbo sites and TV programmes that test at ludicrously fast speed, with dangerous driving, and quite frankly, useless opinions. Some publications are paid by vested interests for their “opinions”, making their words little better than advertisements.

You come to us to find out how the car will work in your life. We do the things you do, and GV80 Coupé is a companion in the true sense of the term. It is your security bloke in a dinner suit, a charming travel chum, and a sexy partner you can boast about at dinner parties. GV80 Coupé protects you, and its comprehensive list of inclusions isn’t looking for reasons to grift more money out of you at every opportunity. You don’t rent your CarPlay, heated seats, heated steering wheel, and intelligent autonomous driving assistants. Every update adds something extra, but will never, ever take something away.

The brand does what it says, and Genesis GV80 Coupé under promises and over delivers.

As if that wasn’t enough, you also get this: