Just last week we posted an interesting comparison between the reigning king of the midsize sedan segment – the BMW 5 Series – and rather unexpected rival from South Korea – the Hyundai Genesis G80. The guys from AutoGuide pitted a BMW 540i against a Genesis G80 Sport to see whether the claims of the Asian car maker are justified and if the German sedan has anything to worry about. Now the video of the two going head to head has been published and it does arrive at the same conclusion.
The BMW 5 Series does bring a lot of new technology to the table, as the reviewer points out in the clip posted at the bottom of this post, and it does make the new sedan a winner in a lot of categories. From road safety to the way the car handles, we need to be grateful for the technology improvements brought along by the new model. With adaptive dampers and a lighter construction, together with more powerful engines, this refined recipe is hard to beat.
And that’s where the Genesis G80 Sport steps in. Unlike the BMW 540i, the Genesis is not available with an exhausting list of optional features. Instead, the G80 can only be had with everything the Korean brand has to offer and even in full-spec guise it doesn’t come close to the BMW price-wise. However, the same applies for the overall feeling the car is giving you. The interior isn’t on par with the German offering, lacking Nappa leather or massaging seats for example. The driving isn’t as involving either, even though the Genesis has more power.
Overall, the BMW 5 Series remains the king of its segment despite the Genesis putting up a good fight. The new brand of the Hyundai-Kia joint venture is definitely moving up but there’s still a lot of ground to cover until cars like the 5 Series and 7 Series will be genuinely threatened by its offerings. But don’t take my word for it, check out what AutoGuide had to say about them in the video below.
