I’ve long touted my love of the large (or in modern terms) large-ish sport sedan as a favorite style of car to attack the road in and I’m happy to report that my opinion continues to get reinforced these days with an ever more entertaining crop of options to choose from. It’s no secret that Genesis has been a brand on the rise for several years. We’ve been reasonably effusive in our praise of their product lineup, from the smaller sedans to their widely spaced SUV lineup which seems to have a size for every personal or family need. As we live in an SUV, CUV, and basically “UV” dominated automotive landscape in 2025, the sedan is still kind of fighting in the trenches while those SUV lineups get more attention, sales volume, and perhaps even glory in automotive boardrooms across there world.

The confusing thing to me is that the second someone actually gets in a full-sized sedan after diving an SUV they immediately and with almost 100% certainty undergo this revelation about comfort, space, layout, and the driving dynamic being far more fun, engaging and interactive. This is doubly true when you get them in the 2025 Genesis G80 3.5T. Nearly 400 horsepower, this model is the Sport Prestige equipped with all wheel drive, so you have the same functionality as the SUV you think you need, a trunk large enough to live in, and an interior that is modern luxury in the flesh. All for a price that make the traditional names in this space, be they German or Japanese, sweat bullets, and rightfully.

When I think of a powerful, luxury sedan and the things that make them cool to me, the first one is styling. I want the projection of size, of power, and of, let’s be real here, elegance. In effect you want the thing to LOOK like you had to lay out some cheddar to get in it. People buy cars like this one for many reasons but the first one is about making an impression on all who lay their eyes on it, from co-workers, to neighbors, to people in traffic. If the G80 didn’t carry the flowing lines, nicely sculpted roofline, bold frontend treatment, and slab sides that extenuate  its long wheelbase, that initial impression of elegance, power, and luxury would be long lost. When you walk up to this car, it’s a machine that has the kind of awesome dynamism that hints at power, hints at comfort, and certainly hints at the success of the person driving it.

Exterior looks will only take you so far, though. If you open the well weighted doors and you are confronted with an interior that looks, smells, and feels cheap, the whole game is up. I have been of the mindset that Genesis has been the league leader in interior layout, quality, and execution in their price classes across the board for years. This company knew exactly where to spend the money to lure a buyer away from a more traditional luxury brand and this car is a study in that. The quilted seats are insanely comfortable, bolstered just enough to remind you that this chassis can actually put in some cornering work if you want it, the dash layout is basic and elegant in its own right, hand controls in the center fall right where they need to be, and the tactile feel of all the materials is also to the standard where a buyer of this style car would expect. Soft things are soft, hard plastic is in areas where you don’t spend a lot of time interacting with but every surface you do from the grip of the wheel to the feel of the dials used to shift the car as well as to operate the infotainment options are of very high tactile quality.

Rear seating is generous, super comfortable, and as you can see, the rear carpet is as plush as anything you’d find in a well decorated and appointed home. Rear passengers have heated seats, window shade control, as well as their own HVAC controls. While it doesn’t feel like a car you’d expect to see someone chauffeured around in, it does look and fee like a car that the owner would want all the passengers to have all the proper appointments and comforts available to those in the front seats, to boot.

When you take 375hp and 391 lb-ft of torque and bolt it to a very smooth shifting eight speed transmission and muffle it all very well, you end up with an interesting and luxurious feeling combination. The torque is ALWAYS there and the fact that the engine is not screaming, growling, or wailing when you hammer the gas, but rather lowly rumbling as it rockets the big car down the road, it feels just like any luxury buyer would want. All the action, all the speed, none of the sensations, auditory or otherwise that would detract from the finished and polished feel. This car, with this long wheelbase, wonderful interior, and the additional weight of the all wheel drive system can rip the quarter mile in 13.4 seconds at over 100mph. Bottom line, that’s a very, very fun beast to roll down the road.

I’ve got no shame in saying that I love a car that can make me comfortable, run deep 13s, cruise down the highway while getting looks by passers by, and not run up a six figure price tag. The G80 3.5T is the car that so many people want but don’t think they can have. The good news is that the cost of this particular model is 10s of thousands of dollars underneath the cost of SUVs which cannot deliver the performance, dynamics, comfort, and visual impact of this car can. If I were placed in a position to have to buy a luxury sedan today, I’d be on my way to the Genesis dealer right now.

The G80 is proof that you don’t need to settle for an SUV…you can have it all as people knew for decades and have seemingly forgotten all wrapped up in a wonderful, sedan package. I dare you to drive this car and tell me you dislike it.