GENESIS G80 Sport 2.5T

By Bill McCarthy

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IT may be name that is largely unfamiliar to a significant number, but the GENESIS brand is beginning to capture the imagination of those looking for a premium alternative to the usual suspects.

Unusually, I had one park next two me recently on a car park, so it was a bit like buses. Nothing for ages and suddenly two come along at the same time.

This particular model is the saloon flagship of the range, a huge, vehicle that has the look of a coupe, and exudes an aura of exclusivity.

 A full five seater with huge boot it has a huge road presence with its low-slung almost predatory look. Design-wise it has adopted the Korean firm’s brand’s bold “Athletic Elegance” design philosophy.

It looks expensive, but for just a smidge under £50k for this range-topper it offers exceptional value when compared like-for-like with the potential opposition.

There are two turbocharged engines available, a 2.2 litre diesel and a 2.5 litre unit driven here, delivering a stonking 305bhp and blistering acceleration.

Both are mated with an eight-speed automatic transmission that slips seamlessly through the gears with no fuss.

An electronically controlled all-wheel drive system is standard on all 2.5-litre petrol models. In normal driving conditions power distribution continuously varies from 100 per cent rear wheel drive, to 50-50 when prevailing conditions demand extra traction.

It is spacious and well equipped with a premium interior and a raft of high-end technological goodies. It also features artificial intelligence that learns about the driver and builds on existing state-of-the-art advanced autonomous driver assistance.

Clever touches include the two main binnacle dials turning into cameras to show the road it is turning into when the indicator is activated. This is a key safety aid for the driver and particularly useful when passing cyclists.

It is a roomy car with plenty of space to accommodate five adults and featuring a high-end leather interior with aluminium trim and inserts, customisable ambient lighting and 12-way power adjustable standard seats.

Dominant is a central 14.5 inch touchscreen which features a sophisticated array of graphics which can also be utilised through circular touchpad on the central console.  

Most of the main functions are controlled from here including navigation, infotainment and smartphone connectivity. Another clever innovation allows this to be replicated from the rear with a similar console and smart tablet attached to the front seats.

On the road the a 305PS, 2.5-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and a 210PS 2.2-litre, turbocharged four-cylinder diesel delivers exhilarating performance.

It races to 60mph in just six seconds and on to a top speed, where permitted, of 155mph.

The ride and handling are excellent, with tuned suspension and electronically controlled adaptive dampers soaking up the worst of the potholes, while delivering agile handling for such a big car.

As you would expect with a premium vehicle, safety kit is impressive  

The latest ADAS technology includes blind spot monitoring, evasive steering assist, smart cruise control, lane following assist, driver attention warning, forward collision alert with pedestrian and cyclist detection, plus advanced airbag technology.

There are 10 airbags with front centre airbags that are deployed if there is a side impact and these prevent the front occupants colliding with each other.

The boot is large, shallow, but long with 335 litres of space, the usual array of cubby holes bins and holders are arranged throughout the cabin.

Guess what, its not cheap to run. With economy of around 32mpg and emissions of 210g/km, it is thirsty and expensive to tax. It won’t be a cheap company car option either. But that’s not really the point with a car like this. It is designed to take a chunk out of the premium sector.

And, like its German rivals it comes with a full range of optional goodies, in this case around £12k worth, taking the overall price just short of £62k. A lot of money, but in its segment, it is brilliant value by comparison.

Factfile

GENESIS G80 Sport 2.5T

 Price: £49,450

Mechanical: 305PS, 2497cc, four-cylinder, turbo petrol engine driving all wheels via 8-speed automatic transmission

Max Speed: 155mph

0-62mph: 6 seconds

Combined MPG: 32

Insurance Group: 43

C02 emissions: 210g/km

Bik rating: 37%

Warranty: 5yrs, unlimited

DS4 Plug in hybrid

By Bill McCarthy

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It’s a bit of a juggling act when you have two very similar brands. In this case DS and Citroen. How do you share much of the technology but give each a distinct and separate identity?

By making sure your audience knows yours is a premium product by backing that up with style and panache.

 Making it jewel in the crown if you like, which is pretty much a theme with DS.

There’s no doubt this DS4 has both is spades and is arguably the most stylish DS so far, certainly in this specification.

It also offers impressive performance with this plug-in hybrid. The 1.6-litre petrol engine and electric motor generate develop around 225 bhp with a claimed electric range of just short of 40 miles.

It looks stunning, so much so the 37th Festival Automobile International jury has awarded the prize for the Most Beautiful Car of 2022.

You can see why. It offers sleek aerodynamic styling with the slim LED matrix headlights flanking a deep, black grille. To the rear slim light clusters incorporate a clever diamond design.

What can come as a surprise to passengers for the first time are the flush door handles, which pop out when the door is unlocked via keyless entry and settle back into place when the door is closed. 

The E-TENSE badging is prominent front and rear and dark tinted rear windows add that extra bit of class.

Inside, the Black Alcantara-clad interior is a masterclass of clever design and comfort and also features the running jewel-like theme, with diamond-shaped controls on dash and a seven-inch centre console which controls infotainment, connectivity via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and navigation.

Other nice touches include stitched upholstery, aluminium pedals and ambient lighting.

Below the touchscreen is a slim panel of controls with a starter button set in the centre and below that is another touchscreen next to the gear selector where you can finger swipe to access six programmable favourites on the main screen.

A bit gimmicky, but it does work.

Space for the front occupants is good, but can feel a bit cramped to the rear because of the sloping roof to the rear.

Goodies on this model include eight speaker sound system, Bluetooth® handsfree and media streaming with USB socket, multi-function on-board trip computer and a 3D navigation system, plus a host of safety kit including head up display and assisted parking.

On the road, performance is impressive with the hybrid combination powering the car to 60mph in just 7.7 seconds. Economy is pretty good, with the official 200-odd mpg figure nearer the mid 50s mark.

 Mated with an eight-speed auto transmission it moves sweetly through the gears with little hesitation.

The handling is decent, it feels well planted on bends with responsive steering. It provides a comfortable rather than sporty  ride with this range-toping model featuring Active Scan which uses a camera to map the road head and alter the damping to the prevailing conditions, smoothing out the ride substantially.

In practical terms, boot space is good with 390 litres expanding 1,190 litres with the seats folded, giving really usable stowage space, with plenty of other storage areas throughout.

It is packed with safety equipment with a host of active and passive aids which includes full set of airbags, stability control and all sorts of traffic, pedestrian and driver alerts.

It’s not cheap, what premium model is? But it is a whole lot of car for the money and looks brilliant. It also has the certain Gallic flair which its German rivals lack.

Factfile

DS4 E-Tense Ultimate Prestige

Price: £39,600

Mechanical: 1698cc 225bhp petrol engine and electric motor driving front wheels via hit speed auto transmission

Max speed: 145 mph

0-62mph: 7.7 secs

Combined mpg: 201mpg, 53 mpg (estimate)

Insurance group: 31E

CO2 emissions: 27-35 g/km 

BiK rating: 11%

Warranty: 3yrs/60,000 miles