Can The Genesis G80 Actually Hold It's Own Against The Audi A6?

To succeed like Lexus did they have to top the Germans in terms of luxury and refinement, offer better service and be 20 percent cheaper...just as Lexus did with the original LS. Running neck and neck with an end of life Audi Model will not cut it. I hope they succeed, if nothing else it'll force the Germans to come down on their prices which are starting to get excessive especially when they are all using 4 cylinder turbos and it is a huge premium to go to the V6.

Key words here: US Market...
Genesis will likely be a decent player in the US if their marketing campaigns successfully inspire seniors to leave Caddy, Lincoln, Lexus, Buick.
Lexus did a fabulous job with the marketing of a reliable lux car, then they nailed it with excellent service, and all for a lot less than the Germans.
But now it's been 40 years and Lexus is still just a U.S. sales hit.

I have the current gen A6. My good friend has the Hyndai Genisis (before it was branded G80). Haven driven both, the A6 is much more refined in engine performance, sport handling, and a vastly superior interior. The quality of the interior materials, as well as the build quality of the car in its entirety is vastly superior and worth the price gap.

The end result of this comparison by this publication reinforces what I've been saying since day one: Genesis needs to make a mark for itself by besting its competition in all-around execution, not just being a lower-cost default alternative. In addition they need to be technologically innovative to be able to introduce "firsts" to the industry. Hyundai/Genesis has achieved neither objective so they will find it extremely difficult to make inroads in the luxury market. BMW benchmarked performance. Mercedes benchmarked safety and luxury. Lexus benchmarked reliability. Audi benchmarked high-quality interiors. All of these benchmarks are what helped distinguish each of these brands and solidified their own space in the market.
What is Genesis bringing to the table outside of a friendlier price tag? This comparison kind of proves the answer: not much.

The problem with your conclusion is that Lexus also did not bring much to the table but a friendlier price for years (whether Lexus was more reliable is still questionable). Lexus' largest sellers are STILL a sedan based on the Toyota Avalon- and an SUV based on the Toyota Rav4. However - what Lexus did - is target its audience better - and that Audience was an OLDER buyer who was happy with their Toyota vehicles when they were young - but were looking for more Luxury. (Ie - a Japanese BUICK). What Genesis needs to do it NOT benchmark its cars against Mercedes or Bmw or Audi - where they will get plastered. It needs to compete with Lexus and Buick and Lincoln - where they can Compete.

That was Cadillac's major mistake. Cadillac went to produce cars that competed with BMW - and found that people who wanted that performance - wanted the real thing. Cadillac jettisoned its old "lexus style older person" base - and has no replacement. The people who would buy Cadillac - did not want a SMALL poorly packaged screaming sports car - they want - and still buy - the Escalade. Tosay the the CT6 is the Top of the line Cadillac (ANd I have one) is still wrong - it does not have that "size" that appeals to Cadillac buyers.

I would suggest that the first thing Genesis should do is harvest customers from its current Hyundai buyer base who are now older - making more money - want more Luxury presence - but are still looking for a bargain. (Ie - ITs a lot like Mercedes- for a whole lot less - the original Ford Granada slogan)

Well, that's just an invalid conclusion on your part. No matter what type of excuse you try to insert, or no matter how much everyone wants to invalidate the various survey results, the question of luxury reliability is most consistently awarded to Lexus across the board.

Where I do agree with you is that Genesis should not be directly aiming at the Tier 1 luxury brands. They need to conquor the low-hanging fruit first and prove themselves. At the same time, they need to find a way to make a name for themselves, per my above write-up.

@TomM you have pretty much nail it on the head. The only point I disagree with is that Lexus has from the beginning built the most reliable vehicles with the highest build tolerances. There is plenty of objective evidence to support the reliability. Lexus did pick up a lot of relatively affluent buyers who were buying higher end Toyotas but didnt care to spend German car money; they also have a lot of brand loyalty where people buy one Camry after an other 3 or 4 times then move up to Lexus...Similar story at Honda/Acura. The problem at Hyundai is that they compete solely on price vs the Japanese, and they cater to lower income customers who can not afford the higher price tags o the Japanese makes, much less a Genesis.
There is also the issue for them that the lowest end of the luxury car market (ie. people leasing 328i, a4 c class) is VERY brand conscious, and very interested in the image a luxury car portrays...many of these customers will not even look at Lexus, much else Genesis

The G80 in a number of ways is superior.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but 2017 minus 1989 = 28 Years NOT 40 Years...

uh Lexus bowed in 1990 - 27 years ago - 40 is a stretch lol