Genesis GV80 v Volkswagen Touareg 2021 Comparison

The two large, luxurious SUVs tested for this comparison force us to confront the question: What exactly is ‘prestige’?

In one corner we have the base-grade Volkswagen Touareg – a vehicle that wears a badge that is well known and widely admired, but is not generally considered prestigious.

In the other corner, there’s the diesel-engined Genesis GV80 – an SUV that rivals prestige competitors such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE because parent company Hyundai tells us so, and prices the vehicle accordingly.

To confuse matters further, the Touareg is available in variants much closer in price to the GV80, and with a level of standard equipment that erodes any specification advantage the GV80 might otherwise enjoy.

So, our mission is to assess these two vehicles to determine whether value can trump ‘prestige’.

There’s a credible school of thought that ‘prestige’ isn’t achieved by just throwing a lot of ingredients into the pot.

The Genesis GV80 is equipped with many comfort, convenience and safety features, but do they collectively outgun the Volkswagen Touareg for value?

Particularly given there’s a gulf of around $26,000 between the as-tested prices of these two vehicles.

The Touareg came to us with an optional innovations package, adding $8000 to the manufacturer’s retail list price of $81,490 plus on-road costs.

Features bundled up in the option pack included a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation display with customisable menus, a 15-inch infotainment touch-screen, gesture control, voice control, a colour head-up display, ambient lighting, illuminated scuff plates for the door sills and a glossy black centre console.

At an as-tested price of $115,600 plus ORCs, the Genesis GV80 was fitted with a $10,000 luxury pack comprising Nappa leather trim, a 12.3-inch digital instrument display, three-zone climate control, soft-close doors, 18-way power-adjustable driver’s seat with massage function, plus heated and ventilated second row seats. The price was also lifted by a $2000 matt white paint option.

Over the specification of the Touareg, the GV80 gets 22-inch alloy wheels (19-inch for the Touareg), 21-speaker audio (versus eight speakers), digital radio, a lot more seat adjustment up front, a two-section glass sunroof and puddle lights.

There’s also that extra climate control zone, vanity mirrors for two of the second row seats and adjustable vents for the third row (the VW is a five-seater only).

Both vehicles are covered by a five-year warranty, but the GV80 also provides five years of roadside assistance, versus one year for the Touareg.

Where airbags are concerned, the Genesis GV80 has you surrounded – 10 versus eight for the Volkswagen Touareg.

One of those extra airbags is located between the front passenger and the driver, while another protects the driver’s knee. Second row seat occupants are also protected from side impacts to the thorax by a couple of other airbags in the GV80.

Although both vehicles come with a plethora of driver assist safety systems, it’s the GV80, once more, that goes the whole hog.

Blind spot monitoring cameras feed to a display in either side of the instrument binnacle, depending on whether the driver has actuated the left indicator or right. There are cameras everywhere to aid parking, which is truly beneficial in a car this imposing.

Both vehicles are equipped with adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking (plus reverse AEB for the GV80), rear cross traffic alert, auto-on headlights, rain-sensing wipers and emergency brake lights.

The Touareg has been rated five stars for crash safety by ANCAP, based on the 2018 testing protocol. To date, the GV80 hasn’t been tested.

One of the undeniable strengths of the Genesis GV80 is the powertrain. Its inline six-cylinder diesel is highly refined, delivers abundant torque right across the rev range and sounds surprisingly pleasant under load.

On a hill, with the cruise control set to 80km/h, the transmission drops back one gear, not two, like the Touareg, despite the GV80’s extra weight.

The eight-speed automatic in the Genesis never put a foot wrong on our test and its changes can be detected by the rise and fall of the engine revs rather than any sensation of shift shock.

There’s a very slight vibration present, but no actual noise as such from the powertrain at 1400rpm, equivalent to the 100km/h road speed.

If there’s one catch with the powertrain in the Genesis, it can’t compare with the Volkswagen Touareg for fuel economy.

On a test drive at night, it returned a figure of 9.1L/100km, which is 1.1 litres worse than the Touareg’s figure of 8.0L/100km over the same course.

The GV80 weighs 200kg more than the Touareg, and it lacks a fuel-saving automatic engine idle-stop system. There’s more output on tap as well, so all of those things add up to a fuel consumption figure that’s relatively better in the real world than the ADR-approved combined-cycle test figures (see below), but still no match for the Touareg.

In contrast with the GV80, the Touareg’s diesel V6 is slightly noisier at 100km/h and revs a little higher (1800rpm) at that open-road speed. It’s also more prone to turbo lag and tramping it from a standing start leaves the Touareg at least two car lengths behind the GV80 by the time the speed is up to 80km/h.

But it’s hard to look past the Volkswagen’s better fuel economy, and the idle-stop system which restarts the engine without fuss or bother.

And everything is relative too. Just because the Touareg V6 doesn’t suppress noise and vibration as well as the GV80’s straight six doesn’t mean it’s unrefined.

Colleague Feann Torr explained it succinctly: “The Volkswagen Touareg is like a small hatch to drive.” In Feann’s view, the Genesis GV80 felt more “truck-like”, but he admitted that he had arrived at that conclusion without having driven the Genesis in its Sport mode.

The Volkswagen Touareg certainly feels more agile out of the box than the Genesis GV80 does. At lower speeds in particular and left in the Comfort or Eco modes, the GV80 does wallow and pitch a bit, and it feels downright underdamped over speed humps.

But set the GV80 to Sport mode and everything tightens up markedly. It still rides very well though – better in fact, if you don’t care for your suspension to be pillow-soft.

Rolling on 22-inch wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 265/40R22 tyres, the Genesis delivers cornering prowess that certainly places it in the same league as its prestige rivals.

In essence, the GV80 does provide a wider spectrum of ride and handling adjustability, covering all bases, although it still rolls more than the Touareg in corners.

For buyers who can’t see themselves needing an SUV that in its default mode rides like a Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham, the Touareg provides a perfectly decent alternative.

The Volkswagen at this level is fitted with Goodyear Eagle tyres (255/55R19) on 19-inch alloy rims, but it’s not the wheel and tyre combination that lets the VW down (even though the tyres do feel soft in the sidewalls).

Nor is it the Touareg’s passive dynamics, which seem pretty good in isolation.

Actually, it’s the Touareg’s stability control that hampers its cornering ability. Not only does this system intervene early, but it stubbornly refuses to let the driver power on – not that many drivers would, once the stability control tells them they’re being naughty.

The Touareg rides quite well. While it’s not as cushy as the GV80, it does feel more measured and it soaks up bumps taken at speed on country roads, but the suspension remains very well damped also. Heavy or sharper impacts don’t faze it.

Feann said, and I agree, that the GV80 would ride perfectly well for most people if left in Sport mode all the time. Particularly over some tortuous sections of country road it felt much more composed in the harder-riding mode.

Both SUVs provide some braking feel through the pedal and work hard in a crash stop, but the GV80’s brakes are ultimately better than the Touareg’s, which may be due in part to the Michelins fitted.

The Genesis, despite its extra weight, really pulls up sharp and without any weaving around or squealing rubber under brakes. But as a prestige wagon the GV80 also excels for soft stopping.

The Touareg’s headlights are bright enough on low beam, but there’s no auto high beam or anything else fancy at this price point.

By comparison, the Genesis does have auto high beam, as part of its ‘Intelligent Front-Lighting System’, which progressively phases out high beam to create a shadow around an oncoming car, just like Audi’s Matrix headlights, albeit without Audi’s seamless operation.

The Genesis lights are effective though, keeping the road lit without blinding drivers on the approach.

The Genesis GV80 has a lot of standard features, plus about $12,000 worth of extras, but also boasts core engineering traits that certainly qualify the model as a prestige SUV.

Unfortunately, and as good as the GV80 is, in the eyes of some its styling and its presentation inside may lack the Euro aesthetic of vehicles like the X5 and GLE (both built in America, ironically).

In its defence, the GV80 offers a very good driving position and ergonomics.

But then there are the financial considerations – the same five-year warranty, with unlimited kilometres – and the projected resale value, which will likely favour the Volkswagen Touareg.

RedBook has set ‘modest’ retained value figures for the GV80, based at this early stage on the performance of other Genesis models. Being an SUV may mean higher resale values for the GV80 down the track, but don’t bet on it.

So all that leaves us with the Volkswagen Touareg. The badge doesn’t scream ‘prestige’, but the brand is much better known than Genesis, and that’s got to count for something.

While the GV80 does draw looks from passers-by, we don’t know whether that will translate to showroom traffic, or even whether they’re ‘admiring’ looks.

Aussie buyers get 90 or 95 per cent of what they’ll need in the entry-level Touareg.

You can also buy upscale variants (including a V8), if money is burning a hole in your pocket and you have to have every ever-loving gadget and a German badge.

But the Touareg 210TDI Elegance addresses most of the base-grade model’s shortcomings, and at $99,490 plus ORCs, it’s over $4000 less than the GV80.

Both the vehicles on test are great models, however you cut it. And to be frank about it, the outcome was very close indeed.

The Touareg is the winner of this comparison, nonetheless.

How much does the 2021 Genesis GV80 3.0D cost?
Price: $103,600 (plus on-road costs), $115,600 (as tested)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 204kW/588Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 232g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

How much does the 2021 Volkswagen Touareg 170TDI cost?
Price: $81,490 (plus on-road costs), $89,490 (as tested)
Available: Now
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 170kW/500Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 6.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 179g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2018)