Genesis injects its G80 sedan with a dose of performance to lure enthusiasts

By Ronan Glon Published November 17, 2016

Hyundai’s newly formed Genesis division has shown it knows how to build a true luxury car with the G90. The brand is now out to prove it can dabble in sports sedans, too, by launching a more muscular version of the G80 named simply Sport.

Introduced during the Los Angeles Auto Show, the G80 Sport is powered by a new, twin-turbocharged 3.3-liter V6 engine. The six-cylinder generates 365 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 376 pound-feet of torque from 1,300 to 4,500 rpm thanks in part to direct fuel-injection, though performance figures are still under wraps as of writing. The only transmission available is an eight-speed automatic that has been tweaked for use in the Sport model.

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Genesis has fitted bigger brakes on the rear axle to keep the power in check, and upgraded the suspension to provide a firmer, sportier ride. On paper, the Sport is markedly more engaging to drive than the G80.

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2018 Genesis G80 Sport — Image used with permission by copyright holder

2018 G80 Sport — Image used with permission by copyright holder

2018 G80 Sport — Image used with permission by copyright holder

2018 genesis g80 sport news specs pictures performance — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It doesn’t take a well-trained eye to tell the Sport apart from the standard G80. Up front, it receives a model-specific bumper with aggressive-looking air dams, mesh inserts in the grille, and dark chrome trim. Out back, the G80 Sport gets an air diffuser built into the rear bumper and four exhaust tips. 19-inch alloy wheels add a finishing touch to the look.

The performance theme continues in the cabin with leather-upholstered bucket seats for the front passengers and real carbon fiber trim on the dashboard. The driver also benefits from a thick-rimmed steering wheel and sport pedals. Like all variants of the G80, the Sport is compatible with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The 2018 Genesis G80 Sport will begin to arrive in showrooms next spring, and pricing information will be published in the weeks leading up to its on-sale date. Hyundai’s sport-focused sedan is aimed right at the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the BMW 5 Series, and the Volvo S90.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ronan Glon is an American automotive and tech journalist based in southern France. As a long-time contributor to Digital…

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Rivian set to unlock unmapped roads for Gen2 vehicles

rivian unmapped roads gen2 r1t gallery image 0

Rivian fans rejoice! Just a few weeks ago, Rivian rolled out automated, hands-off driving for its second-gen R1 vehicles with a game-changing software update. Yet, the new feature, which is only operational on mapped highways, had left many fans craving for more.
Now the company, which prides itself on listening to - and delivering on - what its customers want, didn’t wait long to signal a ‘map-free’ upgrade will be available later this year.
“One feedback we’ve heard loud and clear is that customers love [Highway Assist] but they want to use it in more places,” James Philbin, Rivian VP of autonomy, said on the podcast RivianTrackr Hangouts. “So that’s something kind of exciting we’re working on, we’re calling it internally ‘Map Free’, that we’re targeting for later this year.”
The lag between the release of Highway Assist (HWA) and Map Free automated driving gives time for the fleet of Rivian vehicles to gather ‘unique events’. These events are used to train Rivian’s offline model in the cloud before data is distilled back to individual vehicles.
As Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe explained in early March, HWA marked the very beginning of an expanding automated-driving feature set, “going from highways to surface roads, to turn-by-turn.”
For now, HWA still requires drivers to keep their eyes on the road. The system will send alerts if you drift too long without paying attention. But stay tuned—eyes-off driving is set for 2026.
It’s also part of what Rivian calls its “Giving you your time back” philosophy, the first of three pillars supporting Rivian’s vision over the next three to five years. Philbin says that philosophy is focused on “meeting drivers where they are”, as opposed to chasing full automation in the way other automakers, such as Tesla’s robotaxi, might be doing.
“We recognize a lot of people buy Rivians to go on these adventures, to have these amazing trips. They want to drive, and we want to let them drive,” Philbin says. “But there’s a lot of other driving that’s very monotonous, very boring, like on the highway. There, giving you your time back is how we can give the best experience.”
This will also eventually lead to the third pillar of Rivian’s vision, which is delivering Level 4, or high-automation vehicles: Those will offer features such as auto park or auto valet, where you can get out of your Rivian at the office, or at the airport, and it goes off and parks itself.
While not promising anything, Philbin says he believes the current Gen 2 hardware and platforms should be able to support these upcoming features.
The second pillar for Rivian is its focus on active safety features, as the EV-maker rewrote its entire autonomous vehicle (AV) system for its Gen2 models. This focus allowed Rivian’s R1T to be the only large truck in North America to get a Top Safety Pick+ from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“I believe there’s a lot of innovation in the active safety space, in terms of making those features more capable and preventing more accidents,” Philbin says. “Really the goal, the north star goal, would be to have Rivian be one of the safest vehicles on the road, not only for the occupants but also for other road users.”

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Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan hit the brake on shipments to U.S. over tariffs

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Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it will pause shipments of its UK-made cars to the United States this month, while it figures out how to respond to President Donald Trump's 25% tariff on imported cars.

"As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions, including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans," JLR said in a statement sent to various media.

Cars

Toyota shifts gears: 15 New EVs and a million cars by 2027

Front three quarter view of the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.

After years of cautiously navigating the electric vehicle (EV) market, Toyota is finally ramping up its commitment to fully electric vehicles.
The Japanese automaker, which has long relied on hybrids, is now planning to develop about 15 fully electric models by 2027, up from five currently. These models will include vehicles under the Toyota and Lexus brands, with production expected to reach 1 million units annually by that year, according to a report from Nikkei.
This strategy marks a significant shift for Toyota, which has thus far remained conservative in its approach to electric cars. The company sold just 140,000 EVs globally in 2024—representing less than 2% of its total global sales. Despite this, Toyota is aiming for a much larger presence in the EV market, targeting approximately 35% of its global production to be electric by the end of the decade.
The Nikkei report suggests the company plans to diversify its production footprint beyond Japan and China and expanding into the U.S., Thailand, and Argentina. This would help mitigate the impact of President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on all car imports, as well as reduce delivery times. Toyota is also building a battery plant in North Carolina.
For now, Toyota has only two fully electric vehicles on the U.S. market: The bZ4X and the Lexus RZ models. The Japanese automaker is expected to introduce new models like the bZ5X and a potential electric version of the popular Tacoma pickup.
Separately, Toyota and Honda, along with South Korea’s Hyundai, all announced on April 4 that they would not be raising prices, at least over the next couple of months, following the imposition of U.S. tariffs. According to a separate Nikkei report, Toyota’s North American division has told its suppliers that it will absorb the extra costs of parts imported from Mexico and Canada. Another 25% for automotive parts imported to the U.S. is slated to come into effect on May 3.

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