It’s no secret that one of the most important factors people look for when buying a new car is reliability. Whether it’s a car, SUV, or truck, you’re investing thousands of dollars in a machine that you hope will last for many years and ultimately won’t cost you too much to deal with repairs. Brands like Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru are consistently ranked as the most reliable car brands in the world, to the point where it becomes second nature for people to think of them as reliable. Some brands, such as Genesis, underperformed.
South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor’s luxury brand launched its first car (as a standalone brand) in 2017, and while Hyundai itself received decent reliability ratings, the Genesis did not, especially from owners surveyed by Consumer Reports. Of the 26 car brands asked by the publication, Genesis had a higher average reliability score than just five companies, including GMC and Jeep.
Consumer Reports rated seven of the eight existing Genesis models, and every owner gave them below-average ratings. The biggest problem points identified by car owners are in-car electronics, including infotainment systems and reversing camera displays. That’s not surprising, as six of these models are currently dealing with recalls for electrical system faults, mostly related to the dashboard failing to display critical safety information. There are additional recalls for the 2026 GV70 due to side curtain airbag failures. All of this sounds bad, but there are reasons to be optimistic about Genesis.
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Genesis reliability is improving, but only slightly
White 2026 Genesis G90 on the road, front 3/4 view with mountains in the background – Genesis
While the Genesis’s reliability score from Consumer Reports is pretty poor, that doesn’t mean it’s all bad news for the automaker. With one exception, reliability scores for every model surveyed either improved from the 2025 model year to 2026 or remained the same. Some of these improvements are minor, but as long as the line goes up instead of down, that’s a good thing.
When it comes to the specifics of reliability, you’ll see continued improvements to the powertrain, suspension, and climate systems of these vehicles, but these aren’t universal. For example, expected powertrain reliability increases for both the 2026 GV70 and G70 models, but remains essentially neutral for the GV80 compared to the 2025 model year.
As mentioned before, when it comes to 2026 models being more reliable than 2025, there is one exception, and that’s the 2026 Genesis G80. Going back to the 2025 model year, the G80 is the rare Genesis model that Consumer Reports considers average. In fact, among similar models, such as the 2025 BMW 5 Series, it stands out from the competition in terms of reliability. SlashGear’s Travis Langness also praised the 2025 G80.
Compared to similar vehicles in the current model year, the G80 plummets to become one of the least reliable vehicles on the market, lagging behind the aforementioned BMW 5 Series and being destroyed by the likes of the Lexus ES. Hopefully, the 2027 Genesis model lineup will continue the overall trend of increasing reliability and lead to the development of the G80.
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Read the original article on SlashGear.
