Sparkling RWD platform underpins Genesis GV80

Genesis went standalone (in the same way most premium brands coexist with their parent company's volume brands) from Hyundai Motor Group in 2016 and immediately asserted itself as something quite different from the soft-riding Genesis sedans initially sold as Hyundai models. And Genesis went right for the premium-car jugular with a delightful cause celebre: no messing around with front-wheel drive. Every vehicle in the lineup uses a rear-drive platform. Can't say that for BMW and Mercedes-Benz anymore.

Long of hood and with a pleasing tension between the swept-back roof and slightly truncated greenhouse, the 2021 GV80 could pass for the next-generation Porsche Macan. It's tough to make a midsize SUV look truly unique and Genesis' designers were up to the job. The GV80 is at once tense but pleasing - even the gaping sea-of-mesh grille grows on you, which says something about the intrinsic rightness of the vehicle's design.