GENESIS ELECTRIFIED G80

Where the story begins, in the Hyundai premium marque’s luxury saloon

- STEVE CROPLEY

"You'll love it," said Matt Saunders. "Genesis do brilliant interiors." Our road test chief was reacting to my asking what he reckoned about the Genesis Electrified G80, the five-metre-long luxury saloon I'd just learned was to be my transport for the next few months. I'd not driven one, but his backside has been in practically every car on sale.

Saunders also well knows my abiding preference for car comfort, hence the comment.

I liked what I heard. I also liked what I'd just read on the website, that Genesis (Hyundai's slowly expanding premium marque) sees itself as "striving for balance between elegance and performance". In my life, the point of having a big saloon is surely to enjoy the comforts, and like many who've settled into EV life over the past few years, I've become bored/ impatient with big EVs whose whole configuration (big tyres, hard suspension) is subservient to a 3.0sec 0-62mph time.

It was cheering to see that the G80 EV had two sensibly powered electric motors - 182bhp at either end- and that the 0-62mph time was 'only' 4.9sec. This promised all round refinement, which strikes me as the major opportunity in electric cars. Chuck in 800V technology (a major advantage in fast charging) and a WLTP range of 323 miles and you're talking about a car I reckoned I could enjoy.

There were drawbacks. The Electrified G80 is a battery version of a car primarily made for petrol engines, which makes it potentially heavier than need be (petrol car crash structures are usually complex and heavy) and it also lacked a 'frunk' (or 'froot'), the handy front compartment most solus EVs have to house charging cables.