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I remember feeling pangs of regret that this class-wide prejudice would prevent a greater cohort of people from experiencing and knowing about a good car.
What therefore is the point in writing about 11,000 happy miles in a big Genesis? For me, it’s because a good car still represents a good opportunity.
As I write, there’s a 700-mile 24-plate car just like mine on Auto Trader at just under £60k before the haggling.
More than that, this has been an opportunity to appreciate the customer-friendly values of Genesis, whose quality and reliability are required by its masters at the top of the Hyundai Motor Group to be better than their mainstream cars’ – indeed, to be the best in the business, which is what I found.
This must be my first car in many years that had no glitches. Not one. It even uses a wheel and tyre design that protects you and your alloys against kerb damage.
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The paint and trim were perfect and stayed that way. When my favourite car cleaners gave the car a decent going-over before its return, they found nothing: no wear, no parking scuffs, nothing.
And this for a car used every day and frequently le in the Waitrose car park, that’s a bit of a battleground opposite our office.
The G80 and I started well together. The car had every gadget going, from nappa leather seats to solar panels on the roof to trickle-charge the battery. Road test chief Matt Saunders promised me a high-quality car with a terrific interior, and so it proved.
In the first mile, I was loving the silence and supple suspension. And soon I discovered that all three of the driving modes (switch easily found on the centre console) had a handy purpose.
Economy mode made sense for long journeys because the accelerator response wasn’t seriously dulled, but I was offered an extra 10-15 cruising miles over Normal, which felt natural for all forms of give-and-take motoring.
Sport mode introduced a little bit of extra effort, sharpened the accelerator response, tamed the occasional bounce by tightening the shocks and cost only 10-15 miles in range, which was no issue in a car with a promised 323-mile range that would often deliver all of that.
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Even on below-zero winter days, the full-charge range was always promised at 275 miles or more, and I was regularly pleased by the way the car delivered at least what it promised on long journeys.
Even after years in EVs, I’m still learning about range. The G80 (along with the improving availability of public charging) taught me how handy it can be simply to give a car a 10-minute tickle on a rapid public charger to extend a journey, because the on-board energy store doesn’t need any more.
Most of the time, I charged it at home from the 7kW charger in our garage. Overall consumption was 3.4mpkWh, which is worthy of a smaller, lighter EV.
I’m not sure why it was so good, but reasons seem to be that Korean cars are efficient compared with the rest of the horde; the G80 is a very low car compared with most purposebuilt EVs and thus appears to have a smaller frontal area; and the car’s 2.3-tonne kerb weight might not exactly be a low figure but is better than plenty in the 5.5m bracket, which run closer to 2.7 tonnes.
The impressive rear passenger package (complete with twin digital screens for those bored with conversation) came in useful now and then – but it also sometimes pointed up the weirdness of this car having such a tiny boot.
At one stage, I was buttonholed by an Audi-driving bloke in a lay-by who just wanted to see the boot space. He was in the airport limo business and dismissed the G80 as a prospect for his fleet with one glance.
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Customers just have too much luggage, he reckoned. All the G80 needed, as it left me, was a new set of tyres.
The boots were 70% worn, visually speaking, but they had reached that wear stage you can feel, when there’s a bit more road noise, the directional stability isn’t quite perfect, and you start to wonder about the wet grip. Personally, I would have been very happy to stick on a new set of Michelins and drive into the sunset.
Genesis Electrified G80 specification
Prices: List price new £89,905 List price now £76,525 Price as tested £84,285 Options: Metallic paint £750, solar roof £1360, Executive Pack £4960, nappa leather seats £2310, Convenience Pack £1310, Innovation Pack £3670
Fuel consumption and range: Claimed range 323 miles Battery 87.2kWh Test average 3.4mpkWh Test best 4.2mpkWh Test worst 2.7mpkWh Real-world range 280 miles (winter) Max charge rate 187kW
Tech highlights: 0-62mph 4.9sec Top speed 140mph Engine Two permanent magnet synchronous motors Max power 364bhp Max torque 518lb ft Transmission 1spd reduction gear, 4WD Boot capacity 301 litres Wheels 8.5Jx19in, alloy Tyres 245/45 R19 (f), 275/40 R19 (r), Michelin Pilot Sport 4 Kerb weight 2325kg
Service and running costs: Contract hire rate £730 CO2 0g/km Service costs None Other costs None Fuel costs £997 Running costs inc fuel £997 Cost per mile 9 pence Faults None