GV80

Make
Genesis
Segment
SUV

Genesis continues to take the luxury market by storm. Earlier this week, we got our first official look at the next-generation G90 sedan. It looks stunning and, once again, the established German brands have been put on notice. But today there's some news about the GV80 SUV, perhaps the X5's most interesting and, perhaps in some ways, most serious rival.

Roadshow reports Genesis will launch the new GV80 Prestige Signature trim sometime in 2022. What's interesting about it? It'll ditch the third-row and replace the second-row bench with a pair of captain's chairs complete with a fixed console parked between them.

It should be fairly similar in packaging to the South Korea-only six-seat variant. In proper luxury fashion, these new seats will have full power adjustability and the console will have plenty of storage space and secondary controls for features like climate control and multimedia. This new four-seat GV80 will retain the same 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 with 375 horsepower and 391 lb-ft of torque found in the current Advanced Plus trim.

Buyers will also get standard all-wheel drive and, more than likely, larger 22-inch wheels. Pricing remains unknown at this time but it'll surely surpass the current GV80 top dog, the 3.5T Advanced Plus, which starts at $68,545 including the destination fee.

Knowing this, don't expect the Prestige Signature to cost anything less than $70k. That may seem like a lot but in the luxury SUV world, it's actually something of a bargain. A comparatively equipped X5 xDrive40i is also north of $70k, but that's only after several optional features are added.

At this rate, we wouldn't be surprised to see Genesis go one step higher with something above this new trim. It really all depends on what the competition offers and how, as usual, Genesis can find ways to undermine them in the so-called "more for less" department. Without a doubt, it's a winning formula Genesis continues to stick with.