I flat out agree. The original show was a formulaic giant robot show. It gave the viewers what they wanted every episode, Voltron battling a giant monster and defeating it with its signature move. It followed the classic anime giant robot formula that became a big hit here in the US which hadn't seen many shows like it (unlike Japan, where GoLion was just another show like many others and only achieved average ratings).
This show is more like Gatchaman. The overall threat of the enemy is nearly overwhelming and quite a few of the agents are extremely clever, requiring great skill, daring, and intelligence to overcome from the heroes. The situation for the heroes is pretty dire, with the enemy achieving many of their goals while suffering both minor and significant setbacks. The action also isn't on the big threats either. The threat from the enemy is varied and requires the heroes to fight on many fronts (hth, lion, Voltron).
In addition, we have the magic of the Avatar creative team creating some great focus on all of the Voltron team, not just Keith and Alura. Sure, there are a lot of similarities in the personalities between the Voltron team and the Avatar/Korra teams, but considering how good those shows were with character development, that's not a bad thing.
Dare say away. It is better than the original Voltron series.