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Genesis? Never heard of ’em.
Cor, don’t tell Phil Collins... but in
the case of the car brand you’re
not alone: it only launched in 2015
and has slowly been edging out
of its native South Korea to tout its
blingy bits to the rest of the world.
It’s a posh subsidiary of Hyundai,
a bit like Lexus is to Toyota.Is there a bit of Bentley in there?
Well, the logo’s certainly a little
bit ‘wingy’... and former Bentley
designer Luc Donckerwolke is
chief creative officer at Genesis.
Actually there are loads of nods
to the premium players, from the
knurled metal surfaces on the
indicator stalks to the whopping
grille at the front. It’s Korea’s take
on a Bentayga or a Rolls-Royce
Cullinan, but priced to rival BMW,
Audi and Mercedes-Benz.And what’s going on inside?
You can say what you like about
the GV80, but you have to admirethe sheer amount of gadgetry
included here. There’s a smart
cruise control system that uses
machine learning to adapt to your
driving style; the suspension uses
a camera to read the road ahead
and actively adjust damping;
active noise-cancellation in the
cabin keeps it nice and quiet; and
the satnav uses AR to overlay
information on a live video feed
of the road ahead. Oh, and you can
get out and it’ll park itself.So how does it drive?
Bit of a mixed bag. The 3.0-litre
six-cylinder diesel is smooth and
powerful, delivering a big glut of
torque, yet it remains very quiet
and refined inside. The same can’t
be said for the handling, which
isn’t the most direct, nor the ride,
which gets muddled at low speeds.
The 22in rims of the top-spec
version we drove probably don’t
help, but this car’s European rivals
definitely drive better.JAG IT UP
The Jaguar E-Pace
has been refreshed
and is now finally
available as a plug-in
hybrid. Combining
a 197bhp 1.5-litre
three-cylinder
turbo petrol engine,
a 15kWh battery
and a 108bhp
electric motor, it’s
the most powerful
E-Pace out there...
and you can now
cruise for up to 34
miles on battery
power alone.AS KIAS GO BY
Kia has booked its
Sportage in for a bit
of plastic surgery,
and this fifth-gen
model is arguably
the boldest yet. Not
a face you’re going
to forget in a hurry,
is it? And if you’re
not a fan, fret not,
because Europe
will be getting its
very own Sportage
this time around...
hopefully without
so much going on
up front.COSMIC MEG
The Megane E-Tech
Electric is Renault’s
second proper stab
at a mainstream
all-leccy vehicle
after the popular
Zoe. It’s wearing
funky camouflage
but what you see
is likely to be what
you’ll get when it
launches in 2022.
Under the skin is a
60kWh battery and
a 214bhp e-motor
for around 280
miles of range.Genesis GV80
BRAND OF CONFUSION
£62,915 / genesis.com NEWS DASHBOARD
Strangely for a
new maker, there’s
no hybrid option – just
turbocharged petrol
or diesel. But the next
generation is likely to
be all-electric.WH E ESL
Banca do Antfer
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