If you’re the type of car person who laments the misuse of the word you should click away now, because if you haven’t already guessed from the headline and image, I’m here to talk about the , a with and a sloping roofline. largely used to be a term that was reserved for cars with , but things got blurry in the early 2000s when introduced and launched the original . Now, basically anything with a somewhat sloping roofline is called a coupe whether we like it or not.
didn’t fly me to scenic Minneapolis to bitch about automotive body style terminology, as fun as that might have been. No, I went to Minneapolis to the 2025 Genesis Coupe, and regardless of what you think about its name, I’m here to tell you it’s a damn good luxury SUV that looks and feels special. The GV80 Coupe is obviously very similar to , but Genesis took a few steps to ensure the Coupe buyer gets something unique for the extra dough they’ll spend.
Almost everything about the Coupe is different from the B-pillar back, and it has some model-specific styling touches and cosmetic options throughout. The Coupe is not available with the GV80 SUV’s standard turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-4 engine; instead, it comes standard with the twin-turbocharged 3.
5-liter V6, or that same V6 with a Coupe-exclusive 48-volt mild-hybrid system with an electric supercharger for added power and efficiency. I only drove a GV80 Coupe with the e-supercharged powertrain, which makes 409 horsepower and 405 pound-feet of torque, a boost of 34 hp and 14 lb-ft over the standard V6. Torque is routed to all four wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission, and thrust is ample for a vehicle this big, though it won’t throw you back in your seat like some German competitors can.
The power feels solid but not overwhelming, and the engine makes a pleasing growl higher in the rev range. The GV80 Coupe’s road-scanning electronically controlled suspension is tuned to be sportier than the SUV’s squishier setup, and though it feels competent and more buttoned-down than the SUV, this still ain’t a canyon carver. It doesn’t feel top-heavy or wallowy, at least, and it’ll safely get you around that corner you should have slowed down for but didn’t realize was so tight.
E-supercharged models also get quad exhausts instead of the standard car’s twin exhausts, a Sport+ drive mode, launch control, adjustable brake pedal feel, and active sound design to liven things up a bit. Sport+ pre-charges the turbos and sets the transmission to a pretty aggressive program that might just make you smile as it rips some feisty downshifts under braking. The adjustable brake feel gives you two options; Sport is too touchy but Comfort is just right, so set it in the latter and forget it.
At cruising speeds road noise is well subdued aside from some tire roar from the 22-inch wheels on my test car. The Highway Drive Assist adaptive cruise system is a total boon, too. On the outside, Genesis is offering the GV80 Coupe in a new color called Bering Blue, which is really a gray that’s hardly blue at all.
Inside, the Coupe gets more exciting color combinations including Ultramarine Blue with orange stitching, Smoky Green and Vanilla Beige, and Obsidian Black with Sevilla Red accents. My test car had the orange seat belts, which sound tacky but work oh-so-well. Virtually every surface I touch inside the GV80 Coupe is covered in premium materials, from the suede headliner all the way down to the insides of the back seat door pockets.
The interior is a lovely place to be overall. It’s also very spacious despite the sloping roofline. There’s plenty of room to stretch out in the front and back seats, and even with the standard retractable panoramic sunroof only folks with extremely long torsos may brush against the headliner.
As standard, the rear seats are power adjustable as well as heated and cooled, which is a very upscale touch. Tech-wise, the 2025 GV80 Coupe gets the same features as the facelifted GV80 SUV, including a new 27-inch single-piece OLED infotainment touchscreen and a dedicated climate control touchscreen lower in the dash. The screen looks crisp and is responsive, but the menu structure requires more taps than it should for some functions.
(You can also use a knob in the center console to control it.) The infotainment system will eventually offer wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto through an over-the-air update, but my test car still required a cable to use those much-loved functions. The cheapest GV80 Coupe you can buy starts at $81,350 including $1,350 for destination, and upgrading to the e-supercharged powertrain raises the price to $87,100.
That might seem surprisingly high — a non-Coupe GV80 starts at $59,050, or $75,150 with the V6 — but the Coupe has a lot of equipment that is optional on the normal SUV, so that has to be factored into the value proposition. All Coupes come standard with a comprehensive suite of excellent driver’s assistance features, Nappa leather seating, soft-close doors, a surround-view camera, a handy head-up display, and a banging Bang & Olufsen premium audio system. Aside from engine and color, there are no options or packages to choose from.
If you want the utmost in brand prestige or the sportiest driving experience from your luxury SUV, you’ll have to look elsewhere. But if you want a distinctive fastback crossover that’s great to drive, and you don’t want to go through all the trouble of speccing out a car with a bunch of trim levels and options, the GV80 Coupe is for you. Given the GV80 Coupe’s freakishly long list of desirable standard features, head-turning good looks and enticing interior, it’s a great option for someone looking to stand out from the crowd.
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