Ian Lamming drives a gaggle of Genesis sporting the moniker G80
THIS is going to be costly. I have just charged my car and I think the final bill might be £134.
What? How? Why? Because I have overstayed my welcome in the supermarket car park and there’s a ton fine coming my way.
To be fair it’s not my fault – it never is – as when I turned up to charge the excellent Genesis G80 electric at the Lakeland supermarket in Windermere each of the four bays were occupied and there were three cars waiting.
Forty minutes later I finally get on the charger and because I am going some distance the following day and want it fully charged it takes me an hour and a half to reach 100 per cent. Just as I’m getting out of the car to unplug I see the sign saying the maximum free parking time is two hours. I’ve been there two and three quarters. Groan.
I’m not paying that. At 69p per kW it’s already more expensive than diesel so I trot into the store to plead my case. To be fair the supervisor tries to help offering me a QR code to scan. All I have to do is put the registration number in and the fine will be cancelled – except the Genesis has a personal plate, fewer characters and digits than normal and the computer says no. The manager is on holiday too so I have dropped them an email and am keeping my fingers crossed.
It's a shame because in every other respect the Genesis G80 is superb, a view I’d formed the previous week when I drove the G80 2.5 litre turbo petrol. Strangely when I was enjoying the petrol variant the thought drifted into my mind that an electric version would be even better.
In many ways it is because it is so fast, so quiet, so smooth that it just pinches the prizes over its combustion engine cousin, which is also magnificent.
The electrified is impressive because the roof is a solar panel – how cool is that? Itpowers ancillaries so when you put the heating on, or anything electrical, the range doesn’t budge. That range is good too. It varies with your driving style but I managed to see 299 miles at 100 per cent, which is a useful amount. Frustratingly it does not take charge well from the home mains and I don’t have a home charger, mainly because Podpoint wanted £9,500 to fit one.
Both G80s look stunning and very much like another premium brand. It’s a sleek saloon, large, long, low and imposing, as I discovered when I tried to turn it round in the school staff car park. The three point turn soon turned into a 15 point manoeuvre prompting the headmaster to wander over laughing, telling me, ‘oh you don’t want to bump that one’ and adding ‘it’s like a scene from Austin Powers’. Harsh but true – and funny.
I love the Genesis brand and it amazes me that so few people know what it is. Hopefully that will change soon as they are finally planning a wider dealer network rather than relying on web sales.
They are posh pure and simple and the G80 is no exception. Glorious contemporary looksgive way to a sumptuous interior fitted with every luxury imaginable, including massage seats which turn on after an hour to get the circulation going in your cheeks and lower back. Ooh lovely. There are screens in the back as well.
Both petrol and EV versions are stunning drives being both fast and sharp handling, comfortable and exhilarating. When you are tired and really don’t want to make that journey, very quickly you find yourself enjoying the ride, so much so that you end up being glad you made the effort. Other times you arrive home and wonder how you got there.
Like all the Genesis models I have driven I absolutely love the G80s. How do you pick between the petrol and the EV? Well that will be down to whether you have bought into theconcept of electric vehicles. The petrol is stunning but only gets 33 - 40 mile per gallon. But to make the EV value for money you will need a home charger. That makes it 28p/kW to juice up rather than the 75p some public chargers demand. I’d happily have either even with my supermarket woes.
Fact File
Genesis G80 2.5T petrol/Electrified
Engine: 2.5 petrol turbo/twin electric motor, all-wheel drive
Power: 304/364PS
MPG/Range: 33/321 miles
0-62mph: 6.0/4.9 secs
Top speed: 155/139mph
Transmission: automatic
CO2 g/km: 189/0
Price: from £48,425 to £64,405
