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What's the difference?
The Genesis Electrified G80 is a large electric sedan that’s managed to slide in under the radar compared to its competition; the Audi e-tron GT, BMW i5 and Mercedes-Benz EQE.
In fact, on first glance, many people assumed I was driving some sort of Bentley (it’s the winged badge!) and some were surprised that Genesis was even a brand. Genesis – take note here! Which is unfortunate because this stately-looking beast gives it’s rivals a run for their luxury and handling money.
I’ve been driving it for the last week with my family of three to find out how competitive this sedan is.
The Infiniti Q50 Red Sport sedan really wants you to love it, and this latest version is doing its best to impress the heck out of you with its looks and features.
So much so that you'll take it home... and live with it, forever. And then there's that engine – armed with a formidable twin-turbo petrol V6, the Q50 Red Sport's outpowers all its rivals.
But then there's the BMW 340i which is not that much more expensive... and it's a BMW. And what about the Lexus IS 350? That's more like the Infiniti, but also more popular.
Oh, and don't forget that we when first met the Q50 Red Sport last year we didn't exactly get off on the right foot. The engine's formidable grunt seemed too much for the car to handle. Then there was the jiggly ride, and the steering wasn't great either unless you were in Sport + mode. It's all coming back now...
Perhaps the Q50 Red Sport had changed. This is the new one, and Infiniti had assured us it's a different car now.
Do we give it another chance? Of course, and we do, in a quick 48-hour test. So, has it changed? Is it better? Would we live with it forever?
The Genesis Electrified G80 Luxury is feature-laden and comes with fantastic ongoing costs. This thing handles superbly, has enough power to satisfy and the cabin space feels luxurious. It’s a bit smaller in the cabin and boot than its size suggests, so will suit a small family best, but it's a damn fine example of what a luxury EV sedan can be.
My kid didn't want to give this one back and there was a risk of tears with the loss of the screens in the back and the power he had (mwah ha ha).
The Q50 Red Sport is a premium sedan that's great value, with a cracker of an engine. While Infiniti has improved the ride and steering, it still feels to me that the engine is too powerful for the wheels and chassis to handle. But if you're looking for something of an untamed beast, this car could be for you. Just don't say we didn't warn you.
With its rounded nose and solid body, this four-door leans more towards the ‘luxury saloon’ aesthetic than a sports car vibe.
However, some elements hint at this car's powerful prowess, such as the turbine-like 19-inch alloys, quad LED lights at the front and rear and the swoopy roofline.
The interior is handsome and the quilted tan Nappa-leather seats are naturally dyed, which is a cool feature. The suede-look headliner and two-tone door trims are all various shades of brown, which I’m not usually a fan of, but it creates an aura of old-world glamour inside.
However, while the chrome accents enhance that effect, the forged wood panels look out of place. They don’t look like wood, more like that rainbow pattern you can get when you mix oil on water.
While it might not be as sexy as the Audi or Beemer, I’d argue it looks statelier and more refined. It drew looks wherever I went and I especially adore the 'Matira Blue' paintwork.
It’s designed to resemble the colour variations found at Matira Beach on Bora-Bora, French Polynesia, and it’s just gorgeous.
The Q50 Red Sport looks cranky from front on, which I like in a car. Yes, the grille is simplistic and gaping, the nose is a bit bulbous, and sure, side on the car looks like a Lexus IS 350, but those rear haunches and the aggro body kit with its front splitter and boot lid spoiler make for an impressive looking four-door sedan.
The update brought restyled front and rear bumpers, those red brake calipers and the dark chrome 20-inch rims and new LED tail-lights.
Inside, the cabin is an asymmetrical paradise (or hell, if you're a bit OCD like me) full of sweeping lines, angles, as well as different textures and materials.
The red stitched quilted leather seats are an addition that came with the update, so is the new steering wheel and the ambient lighting.
The 'Sunstone Red' colour of our test car is also a new hue which looks a bit like Mazda's Soul Red. If red is not you, there are other colours – hope you like blue or white or black or grey because there's 'Iridium Blue', 'Midnight Black', 'Liquid Platinum', 'Graphite Shadow', 'Black Obsidian', 'Majestic White' and 'Pure White'.
The Q50 has similar dimensions to the IS 350: both are 1430mm tall, the Infiniti is 10mm wider at 1820mm, 120mm longer at 4800mm, and has a wheelbase that's 50mm longer at 2850mm.
It’s a low car to get in and out of, so I really like the comfort access function, where the seat slides back for easier access.
Once you’re in, you have plenty of head, leg and elbow room in both rows. Although, I did notice the sun visor felt very close to my head from my driving position. And if you sit closer to the wheel, you’ll be ducking your head to even pull it down.
The comfort factors up front cannot be downplayed – this has a sense of luxury from every angle. The seats are beautiful to sit in on a long trip and I especially like the massage function on the driver’s side. You also enjoy heat and ventilation functions plus a heated steering wheel.
Individual storage options are good up front with two cupholders, a drink bottle holder in each door, glove box and a middle console.
There is also a narrow utility tray that has the wireless phone charging pad, two USB-A ports and a 12-volt socket but I was hoping for the faster USB-C ports at this price point.
The rear seats are also well-cushioned but the space is narrower than at the front. The curved C-pillar makes you feel like you’re being tucked in and that makes it more like a four-seater than a five-seater for passenger comfort. This is further highlighted by the cockpit-like controls in the fold-down middle armrest.
These controls are a similar set up to the front multimedia system and are connected to two 9.2-inch touchscreens on the backs of the seats.
Annoyingly, back seaters can also access (and control) the front audio and climate controls. I didn’t find a way to disconnect this access and my six-year old was pleased as punch.
They also control the heat function on the outboard seats and the retractable rear window sun-blind. In the armrest’s middle console, you get a single USB-A port and two 'aux' inputs to hook up a couple of headphone sets.
I loved being able to entertain my son on our road trip but you can’t just hook up a phone and play Netflix or Disney. It has to be a video file on some sort of hard drive.
The multimedia system is simple enough and it uses a combination of touch and a rotary dial to operate.
The 12.0-inch coloured head-up display is clear and the 3D 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is cool but it did take my eyes a bit to get used to it as it can look like a hologram at times.
Surprisingly, this car only features wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The built-in satellite navigation is probably the fiddliest to use out of all of the systems because it flips between three functions – rotary dial, press-buttons and a touchpad but the option of ‘writing’ your address is cool.
The boot is an interesting one as it’s small for this class at 354L. To accommodate the electrics, the shape is stepped and it makes for an awkward space for bigger items like luggage.
I had plenty of room for my bits and groceries, though, and I enjoyed the powered tailgate with proximity opening feature.
The Q50 Red Sport is a five-seat four-door sedan and is vastly more practical than its two-door Q60 Red Sport sister, in that I can actually sit in the back seat. The Q60's coupe styling looks amazing, but the sloping roofline means headroom is so severely limited that it reduces the rear seats to a place to throw your jacket.
True, I'm tall at 191cm, but in the Q50 Red Sport I can sit behind my driving position with legroom to spare and more than enough headroom.
Boot space is good at 500 litres, which is 20 litres more than the luggage capacity of the IS 350.
Storage throughout the cabin is good with two cup holders in the rear centre fold-down armrest, two more up front and bottle holders in all doors. A large centre console storage bin and another big storage area in front of the shifter are great for keeping junk under control and your valuables covered.
There’s only one model for the electric G80, the ‘Luxury’, and it will cost $145,675, before on-road costs.
Worth noting that's around $30K more than the equivalent combustion-only model. And with a price tag like that, it’s in good company with the Mercedes-Benz EQE350 4Matic at $144,900 and BMW i5 eDrive40 M Sport at $155,900. However, Audi’s e-tron GT beats them all at $178,875!
Being the only model available and having luxury in its name should indicate how well-specified the G80 is.
For appointments, you’ll enjoy heated and ventilated front seats, electric front seats with memory function for the driver, heated rear outboard seats, a heated steering wheel and even a massage function on the driver’s seat (which I was very sad to part with at the end of my week).
It also features soft-close doors, which is a nice touch.
There are some great practical features as well, like a powered tailgate with proximity opening function, laminated front windows that muffle external noise and insulate the interior, solar panels (genius!) and retractable sunblinds on the rear doors and back window.
Other standard features include keyless entry, push-button start, three-zone climate control, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, built-in satellite navigation and a massive 14.5-inch multimedia system.
Back seat passengers also enjoy two 9.2-inch digital touchscreens on the backs of the front seats that hook into the front sound system and allow you to play videos and music.
Maybe sit down for this next bit. The Q50 Red Sport lists for $79,900. Are you okay? Do you want a moment? Remember, though that only seems like a lot because it's not a Benz or a BMW. Truth is the value is pretty good – better than a German car of the equivalent size and grunt.
Look at the standard features list: 8.0-inch and 7.0-inch stacked touchscreens, the 16-speaker Bose 'Performance Series' stereo system, digital radio, road noise cancellation, sat nav, 360-degree camera, leather seats, power adjustable from sports seats, dual-zone climate control, proximity key, sunroof, auto wipers and adaptive LED headlights.
The 2017 update brought new standard features to the Red Sport including, red stitching on the seats and dash, quilted leather seats, new 19-inch alloy wheels and red brake calipers.
Don't forget that the bang-for-buck factor is strong with the Red Sport, too. In that nose is a twin-turbo V6 that makes almost as much grunt as the BMW M3 for about $100K less. Even the 340i, which Infiniti says is a Red Sport rival, is $10K more. Truth is though, the Lexus IS 350 is the real rival to the Q50 Red Sport.
The Electrified G80 has a fully electric powertrain and a big lithium-ion battery with an 87.2kWh capacity. There are two electric motors – one on each axle. It’s an all-wheel-drive with a combined power output of 272kW and 700Nm.
Yep, this baby has the goods and it delivers them beautifully on the road. It can go from 0-100km/h in just 4.9 seconds.
Inside the Q50 Red Sport's nose is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine and it is a beautiful thing. To me this car is piece of technologically sophisticated jewellery that cradles a precious gem that pumps out 298kW/475Nm.
But I have my concerns... you can read about those in the driving section.
Shifting gears is a seven-speed automatic which delivers drive to the rear wheels.
The G80 has a great driving range of up to 520km, although the top km range I saw was 510km. The official combined cycle power consumption figure is 19.1kWh/100km but my average usage was around 17.2kWh.
That's pretty good considering how much open-road driving I did this week.
The regen braking has four levels, with the highest enabling one-pedal driving. The regen braking feels on the right side of firm and you’ll gain battery percentage going down a mountain.
This has a Type 2 charging port with a CCS DC connector, meaning you can hook it up to a fast charger. It can also accept the speeds from an ultra-fast 350kW charger and you can get from 10 to 80 per cent in just 22 minutes!
If you get on an 11kW charger, you’d expect that time to creep up closer to eight hours.
The Electrified G80 also has a vehicle to load function, so you can charge up devices using the car’s power while on the road.
Another cool feature is a solar panel in the roof for passive battery charging while parked and on the go!
Infiniti says the V6 petrol engine in the Q50 Red Sport should use 9.3L/100km if you're using it on a mix of highways, urban streets and country roads. We only had the Q60 Red Sport for 48 hours and after a couple of days of Sydney city commutes and a trip to the Royal National Park our trip computer was reporting 11.1L/100km.
I have thoroughly enjoyed driving this car. It has heaps of power and even with the firm regen braking, it never feels jolty or jarring. The power distribution is well-balanced.
The handling is superb because it manages to feel both graceful and fun. The steering is tight, which gives a sportier performance than I was expecting.
The adaptive suspension also makes this feel like it’s connected to the road when you hit corners.
The ride comfort is up there with the best and I’ve enjoyed how quiet the cabin is, too. There's very little wind or road noise, even at higher speeds.
No issues with parking because of the top-notch 360-degree view camera system but you feel its 5.0m length when you’re trying to navigate one of those skinny car park ramps.
I like the remote parking feature on the key fob, too. Great for a tight car spot!
Perhaps the biggest complaint we had about the previous Q50 Red Sport, which launched in 2016, was that it felt as though the chassis wasn't up to the amount of grunt running through it, and those rear wheels struggled to transfer the oomph to the road without losing traction.
We experienced the same issue again in this new car. I was breaking traction, not just in 'Sport+' and 'Sport' modes, but in 'Standard' and 'Eco', too. That was happening without pushing it hard and with all electronic traction and stability aids on.
If I was 18 I'd declare to the world I'd found my dream car - something that always wants to 'light 'em up' given half a chance. But like that one mate who always gets into trouble on a night out it's only funny when you're young.
A truly great performance car is planted, balanced and able to deliver the grunt to the road effectively. The Nissan R35 GT-R is the perfect example – a brilliant piece of machinery, a weapon of a performance car and with a chassis matched perfectly to its engine.
And that could be the issue with Q50 Red Sport - that engine feels overpowered for the chassis, and wheel and tyre package.
We also felt the previous Q50 Red Sport's ride, with its constantly adapting 'Dynamic Digital Suspension', was overly busy. Infiniti says it has developed the suspension system further and it does feel as though the ride is more comfortable and composed.
Steering was another area that we weren't overly impressed with when we drove the previous car. Infiniti's 'Direct Adaptive Steering' (DAS) system is super sophisticated and was the first in the world not to have any mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the wheels – it's all electronic.
The new Q50 Red Sport uses the upgraded 'DAS 2' and while it feels better than before, it's only in Sport+ mode that it seems most natural and accurate.
The G80 comes filled to the brim with safety features and like its stablemates, I like the blind-spot view monitor that pops a video feed of your blind spot onto the instrument panel.
I also like the 'Safe Exit Assist' feature (when a passenger opens a door to exit the car and an approaching vehicle is detected arriving from behind the system sounds a warning). Great for the city.
The G80 has a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating from testing done in 2021. It also has a whopping 10 airbags, including a front centre airbag and side-chest airbags on both rows (not just the front).
Other features that come standard, are LED daytime running lights, forward collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping aids, lane departure warning, intelligent seat belt reminders, front and rear parking sensors, 360-degree view reversing camera, reversing light guidelines, traffic sign recognition, driver attention monitor, and adaptive cruise control with stop and go functionality.
The automatic emergency braking has car, pedestrian, and cyclist detection and is operational from 5.0-200km/h.
There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outboard seats and three top-tethers, but you wouldn’t bother trying to get three kids back there. This isn’t that sort of family car.
You do have plenty of room, though, if you need to install a 0-4 rearward facing child seat.
The Q50 was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating in 2014 and the amount of advanced safety equipment which comes standard on the Red Sport is impressive. There's AEB, that works forwards and when you're reversing, forward collision and blind spot warning, lane keeping assistance and moving object detection.
There are two ISOFIX points and two top tether anchor points in the back row, for child seats.
The Q60 Red Sport doesn't come with a spare tyre because the 245/40 R19 tyres are run flats, which means even after a puncture you should be able to keep driving for about 80km. Not ideal in Australia where distances are seriously vast.
With the G80 you’ll enjoy a five-year/unlimited km warranty and an eight-year warranty on the battery. Plus, you get complimentary servicing for up to five years or 75,000km, whichever occurs first.
It's usual to see longer servicing intervals on EVs but hey, free is free.
You can choose to have an at-home wall charger installed or a ChargeFox subscription that gives you free charging for up to five years.
Genesis is leading the market with its customer-first ownership approach. Very few luxury brands include complimentary anything, so this is lovely to see.
The Q50 Red Sport is covered by Infiniti's four year/unlimited kilometre warranty with servicing recommended every 12 months or 15,000km.
Infiniti has a scheduled servicing program which will cost $1283 (in total) for three years.