Luxury Genesis now even more practical
Genesis continues to attract attention from curious car buyers, thanks in part to its eye-catching, often dramatic styling. Now the brand has recently updated and improved this electrified GV70.
It bears more than a passing resemblance to a Bentley, with its winged badge and crest grille.
As the luxury sibling of Hyundai, it isn't cheap. Still, it undercuts similarly equipped all-wheel-drive premium rivals, but add optional extras and the price can be eye-watering.
The range starts at £65,915 with the Pure trim, which includes standard features like a power tailgate, wireless charging, fingerprint recognition, heated front seats and steering wheel, and adaptive suspension. The Dynamic version, at £70,715, adds 20-inch wheels, a head-up display, and remote smart parking assist.
The premier Luxury model begins at £74,915 and includes a panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats, and heated rear seats.
It also offers a high-end Bang & Olufsen 15-speaker surround sound system. With all the added bells and whistles and options, the price on this model rose to £80k-plus.
Smart design
The latest exterior updates showcase what the brand describes as its “Athletic Elegance” philosophy, balancing style and functionality. New features include a dual-weave grille and distinctive parallel headlights, where the daytime running lights or main signatures form two horizontal strips. The front bumper has been redesigned with wider air intakes and is rounded off with 19-inch silver alloy wheels. At the rear, the parallel indicators are now integrated into the combination lights.
Elegant Interior
The swish interior offers aluminium accents and pedals, ambient lighting, and premium soft-touch finish. Leather-style seats are electrically operated and heated and ventilated depending on the model, and there is generous head and legroom.
Central to the dashboard is a 27-inch integrated combined touchscreen. It controls key features such as smartphone connectivity, infotainment, and navigation, as well as providing real-time driver info. The system supports over-the-air (OTA) software updates and includes a head-up display.
Additional features are a rearview and 360-degree camera. The touchscreen can also be operated from a central rotary dial, but care needs to be taken not to use the similarly sized and nearby gear selector dial, which I nearly did a couple of times.
There are neat touches, such as the two main binnacle dials turning into cameras to display the road when the indicator is activated, and the wing-style logo fading from view when the ignition is switched off.
Performance
On the road, the large 84kWh battery is paired with a powerful 490PS twin motor set up that delivers an impressive 700Nm of torque. This torque becomes especially noticeable during motorway overtaking.
The vehicle's performance matches its power, pinning you back as it races to 60mph in just 4.4 seconds, aided by a ‘boost' button on the steering wheel which delivers optimum torque. A range of 287 miles is decent, if not class-leading, and is assisted by smart regenerative braking with i-Pedal functionality, a shift-by-wire gear selector, and an efficient heat pump to maximise range in colder climates.
Ride and handling
It also offers excellent ride and handling characteristics, delivering a comfortable yet agile drive, even on rough roads. For a large SUV, it handles impressively well, feeling stable in corners as the adaptive suspension effectively reduces body roll. In addition, the all-wheel-drive system has three terrain modes to provide maximum stability and power distribution for different driving conditions.
Stowage space
The powered boot lid opens to provide 503 litres of space, expandable to 1,675 litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded. There is also the usual array of cubby holes, bins, and holders throughout the cabin, and a small amount of space under the bonnet—the so-called ‘frunk’.
Premium safety
Safety kit is impressive with blind-spot monitoring, evasive steering assist, smart cruise control, lane following assist, driver attention warning, forward collision alert with pedestrian and cyclist detection. There’s a full complement of airbags, and parking is handled by Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist (PCA), which operates in reverse, forward, and side scenarios.
This vehicle is equipped with advanced 400V/800V ultra-rapid charging capability, allowing for DC charging at speeds of up to 240kW.
Factfile
GENESIS ELECTRIFIED GV70 Luxury
Price: £74,100
Mechanical: 490PS electric motor and 80kWh battery driving all four wheels via single speed automatic transmission
Max Speed: 145mph
0-62mph: 4.4 seconds
Range: 287 miles (WLTP)
Insurance Group: 50
C02 emissions: 0g/km
Warranty: 5yrs/62,000 miles
