2021 Genesis GV80 vs. 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE

A few years ago, Hyundai spun off its Genesis brand, creating a stand-alone luxury line up, much like Toyota did with Lexus about 30 years ago. It has quickly become a player in the industry, establishing itself with three excellent sedans that offer impressive luxury, performance, and value when compared to competitors from BMW, Mercedes, Volvo, and Audi. Now Genesis has just launched its first SUV, and the midsize GV80 offers powerful turbocharged engines, all-wheel drive, a sleek design, and available third-row seating.

The 7-seater rivales the Mercedes GLE, one of the country’s best-selling luxury suvs. But which comes out on top? Let’s examine the 2021 Genesis GV80 and 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE in key areas and decide.

Completely redesigned just last year, the 2021 Mercedes GLE is one of the most dramatically styled SUVs on the road. It combines clean, crisp lines, a few curves, and a muscular stance to appeal to just about everyone. Although its shape could take a few more chances, it isn’t too conservative, and it’s contemporary style still connects to a few legendary Mercedes models from the past.

Genesis was a bit more daring with the design of its GV80. It’s sporty, youthful, and intricately detailed. Its big grille is distinctive, and the design of its lights and hard-edged tail are undeniably unique. Its extensive roofline, abundance of chrome, and the sizable strips of light on its front fenders give it some upscale chops. Its overall look is a bit more polarizing than the GLE’s, but we like it.

Winner: Genesis GV80

Although the Mercedes appears larger, these two SUVs are nearly identical in size. Both seat five comfortably, and each is available with a small third row for kids. That being said, the Mercedes is the more comfortable of the two. It has about 2 inches more legroom in the rear seats. Its seats are more supportive, and its driving position is superior, causing less fatigue on long drives. The GV80s seats are a bit flat. Both also offer an endless list of luxury add-ons, including heated steering wheels and seat massagers.

The Mercedes also has the edge when it comes to cargo space. There’s 33 cubic feet of space behind its second row, which is split 40/20/40, and 72.6 cubic feet with its rear seats folded out of the way. The GV80 has about 30 cubic feet of space behind its second-row, which is split 60/40. Both SUVs come with a power liftgate.

Winner: Mercedes GLE

Genesis has packed its first SUV with desirable standard features, including the brand’s best infotainment system, which features a massive 14.5-inch touchscreen, navigation, onboard WiFi, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. This is one of the more intuitive systems in the industry, with immediate touchscreen response and simple menus and prompts. It’s extremely easy to use. Like the system in the Mercedes, it can also be controlled by a large dial on the SUV’s console.  

Mercedes has improved its infotainment system over the years, and its latest version is equally as impressive. The GLE comes standard with a 12.3-inch touchscreen, navigation, onboard WiFi, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. The system offers some of the best graphics in the biz, is simple to operate, and is quick to respond to your inputs. Both SUVs are fitted with a sufficient number of USB ports.

Winner: Tie

The new Genesis GV80 has not yet been crash-tested by either the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The Mercedes has, however, and it has been awarded the highest possible safety scores. NHTSA awarded it five out of five stars and the IIHS named it a Top Safety Pick+.

Both SUVs get a full suite of advanced safety systems. Both come standard with automated emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, and lane departure warning with lane keeping assist. The GV80 also gets standard adaptive cruise control with semi-autonomous driving mode, which is available on the Mercedes-Benz.

Winner: Mercedes GLE

Genesis offers two impressive engines, and the GV80 has more standard horsepower than the Mercedes. Under the hood is either a 300-horsepower turbocharged 2.5-liter four-cylinder or a 375-horsepower twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6, if you pay up for it. Both are smooth, refined, and offer plenty of punch. Both are also connected to a well-tuned 8-speed automatic transmission, and buyers can choose between rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. With the V6 engine, the Genesis can sprint to 60 mph in about 5.3 seconds.

Mercedes offers a wider range of models and powertrains. The GLE 350 is powered by a 255-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder with either rear- or all-wheel drive. Then there’s the all-wheel drive GLE 450 with its impressive 362-horsepower inline six-cylinder. It’ll sprint to 60 mph in about 5.5 seconds. Mercedes also offers the AMG GLE 53 with 429 horsepower and two high-performance V8-powered models, including the top of the line 603-horsepower AMG 63 S, which can hit 60 mph in just 3.7 seconds. It’s one of the quickest SUVs in the world.

Winner: Mercedes GLE

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the two luxury suvs get about the same fuel economy. GV80 models with the four-cylinder engine have ratings of 21 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. With the more powerful V6 engine, GV80 models get 18 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. 

With its four-cylinder engine, the GLE 350 has ratings of 19 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. Surprisingly, the six-cylinder GLE 450 is more fuel efficient with ratings of 21 mpg city and 26 mpg highway. The V8-powered GLE 580 is rated 17 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. 

Winner: Tie

Around town, the GV80 feels solid and offers plenty of grip on the road. It’s responsive and agile. Its steering is quick and nicely-weighted, and its ride quality is comfortable and controlled. Choosing SPORT mode adds a little additional effort to the steering, quickens the throttle response, and modifies the transmission for more aggressive gear selection. It also firms up its suspension slightly.

As you’d expect, the Mercedes also feels solid, and its adjustable suspension soaks up the road beautifully. It never feels floaty or disconnected from the road. It’s sporty and fun to drive. It isn’t very quick with the four-cylinder engine, but it’s quick enough for most buyers, and the GLE is always planted and stable. As impressive as the Genesis is on the road, the Mercedes ultimately offers more response and refinement, especially at its higher trim levels.

Winner: Mercedes GLE

The Mercedes GLE 350 has a base price of $55,745, including a $995 destination fee. All-wheel drive is an extra $1,500. The more desirable GLE 450 costs about $7,000 more, while the GLE 580 is priced from about $80,000. The numbers continue to climb through the lineup and peak at about $115,000 for the 600-horsepower AMG 63 S.

Pricing for the Genesis starts at a very reasonable $49,925; however, add all-wheel drive and the price jumps to over $55,000. The most affordable model with the turbocharged V6 engine is about $60,000, and prices top out at $71,795 for the range topping 3.5T Prestige model. Considering the power, performance, and standard features included with each model, the Genesis is the better value.

Winner: Genesis GV80

Over the last few years, Genesis has wowed us with its sedans, and its first SUV is an impressive piece. The 2021 Genesis GV80 has fought a good fight, matching the Mercedes in several categories and even winning a couple. We like its design, its driving dynamics, its comfortable interior, its build quality, and it safety tech. We also like its smooth, powerful engines and its value proposition. Did we mention it comes with longer warranties than the Mercedes and that Genesis pays for three years of scheduled maintenance? That’s three years more than you get with the Mercedes. You get a lot for your money here.

The winner, however, is the 2021 Mercedes GLE. Its more striking interior design, more spacious cabin, more comfortable seats, greater cargo space, its longer list of available luxuries and features (heated and cooled front cupholders only cost an extra $180), and its far more expansive range of available models and powertrains led it to victory. We also really like the way it drives, especially the GLE 450, which is more fun and refined than the Genesis GV80. We’d proudly own a GV80, but we’d rather have the Mercedes.

Winner: Mercedes GLE