Genesis Electrified GV70 Review

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

Genesis – Hyundai‘s luxury offshoot brand – has already ushered in several electric cars, including the excellent GV60 small SUV.

But, whereas the GV60 was built as an electric vehicle, the model we're looking at here – the Electrified GV70 – is based on a car that previously had a combustion engine.

While the GV60 was launched to rave reviews, Genesis has had limited success in taking petrol and diesel cars and turning them into all-electric versions.

The automaker will be hoping the Electrified GV70, a size up from the GV60, does the trick.

Price and Options

If you like your trims and powertrain choices kept simple, then the GV70 already has you covered – there's a choice of one of each.

Sport grade is the only variant, featuring 19-inch alloys, a 14.5-inch Navi Screen with DAB Radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and an eight-inch digital instrument cluster. You also get dual front LED headlights, electric door mirrors, a leather steering wheel and seat upholstery, electric front seat adjustment with memory function and adjustable lumbar support for the driver, smart cruise control, a smart key and dual-zone climate control.

A 77.4kWh battery provides power to all four wheels via two 180kW motors, producing a hefty 490PS. Only expensive versions of the Tesla Model Y can trounce it off the line.

That equipment list and horsepower figure are certainly enough to amaze. And, in the latter's case, it outperforms most of its premium brand rivals, such as the BMW iX3 and the maturing Jaguar I-Pace. However, Genesis does offer some pricey optional extras.

Genesis’ base price for the Electrified GV70 is £63,600, although our test car, fitted with various options, cost £78,090.

Different metallic, pearl, and matte paint schemes are offered for the GV70, some of which cost north of £1,000. Twenty-inch rims are available, too, while you'll be handing over more than £2,000 extra for Nappa leather with quilting.

The main options, though, are the bolt-on packs – in particular, the Innovation Pack, which totals over £3,500 and includes a 12.3-inch 3D digital instrument display, a head-up display and advanced Highway Driving Assist.

Heated seats, a heated steering wheel, and three-zone climate control are among the add-ons in the Convenience Pack. Meanwhile, the Comfort Seat Pack includes ventilated seats and adds a massage function to the front seats.

A Lexicon Premium Audio System is available for around £1,000. There is also a Sunroof Pack, a fingerprint reader and a Vehicle-to-Load Package, which enables you to utilise the car's battery to power household items.

Overall, then, while the base car isn’t exorbitant in its class, once you add some extras it can get expensive.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

Like the rest of the Genesis range, the Electrified GV70 is a real head-turner.

And, like the rest of the Genesis range, it wears the large, Bentley-inspired radiator grille at the front, while the lower grille is shaped with diagonal edges, giving the car a sporty stance.

The headlights are positioned on the corners as two horizontal strips.

Around the side, it's athletic looking, with a prominent spoiler overhanging the rear windscreen, almost like the peak of a baseball cap. In contrast, chunky side skirts and tapered windows add a more muscular character.

At the back, the car has a minimalist design, again featuring dual-horizontal strips on each side for the taillights.

Interior Comfort

Finding a comfortable driving position is simple in the Genesis Electrified GV70.

The seats and steering wheel have electric adjustment as standard, while the driver can adjust lumber electrically as well.

Our test car came fitted with the Convenience and Comfort Seat Packs, so we also got heated seats, a heated steering wheel, electric side bolsters, and a massage function. In addition, it included electric lumbar support for the front passenger.

Nevertheless, even without the optional extras, the GV70 is very comfortable.

The driving position is reasonably high, giving you a good road view, while the front pillars are unintrusive. However, the slanted slope of the rear end, plus two pillars – one on either side of the rearmost side window – means visibility is heavily restricted at the back.

It looks the part, too – nobody will sit in this cabin without being seriously impressed.

Thankfully, front and rear parking sensors are included as standard, along with a rear-view camera to help with reversing.

There is plenty of leg and headroom for front-seat occupants, and although the rear isn't quite as generous, there's still a respectable amount of room in the back.

You will also find a generous amount of storage space inside the cabin, with a substantial centre console cubby, big door pockets, a glove compartment, and cup holders.

Storage and Load Carrying

The boot is generous, with 503 litres and a bit of space beneath the floor for some charging cables. There are large switches either side at the rear that release the back seats, with a 60/40 split. This enlarges the capacity to a very useful 1,678-litres. There is also a small frunk under the bonnet.

There are larger electric SUVs in this respect, including the Tesla Model Y, but this is still plenty of cargo space with a flat floor and no lip. One caveat is that it’s not immediately obvious how you open the boot without the key.

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

Genesis' infotainment system is housed within a 14.5-inch touchscreen, although it's wide and not exceptionally tall, so it doesn't look as enormous as that measurement might suggest.

That means reaching the far side of it could be a challenge if your arms aren't very long, although you get a handy rotary dial, as you find in many BMWs.

The system is very nice to use, with a display that's responsive and offers reasonably intuitively laid out menus. But, speaking of BMW, it isn't a match for the German manufacturer's class-leading iDrive system.

We also g0t the 12.3-inch digital instrument display in our test car, thanks to the inclusion of the optional Innovation Pack.

It is very nice, but not a disaster if you don't get it – you'll still get a smaller eight-inch instrument cluster instead, although you’ll miss out on the head-up display, which is excellent and very informative.

Thankfully, you still get physical dials to control the air conditioning, which are simple to use on the move, rather than navigating through menus on the infotainment system to adjust the temperature.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance and Driving

The 490PS underneath the bonnet results in a 4.2-second 0-62mph time, which is mightily impressive and enough to beat any SUV in this class but a performance version of the Tesla Model Y or Ford Mustang Mach-E GT.

However, horsepower enthusiasts should be aware that, by default, the Electrified GV70 ‘only' generates about 430PS. The additional 60PS is activated by pushing a ‘Boost' button on the steering wheel.

Nevertheless, there will be few drivers who aren’t satisfied by the muscle on offer, especially as it’s delivered via an instantaneous burst of torque as soon as you apply any pressure to the accelerator pedal.

This inevitably means that overtaking at any speed is straightforward, which is helpful when changing lanes on busy motorways, for example.

The ride isn’t uncomfortable, but the suspension setup is noticeably stiffer in the Electrified GV70 compared to the non-electrified model.

It doesn't bounce about as much, and while deep potholes may send a shudder through the cabin, it doesn’t wobble endlessly and quickly settles back down.

Despite this, when going around corners, there's still quite a bit of body roll, though there’s plenty of grip. Even putting the car into Sport mode fails to improve things, despite the Electrified GV70 having adaptive suspension.

But, when pushing it to its limits, the car rewards you by generating a pleasing willingness to turn in, helped by a modest drop of oversteer from the rear end.

Overall, it's not bad to drive for an SUV, with precise steering and reasonably responsive handling complimenting the enormous power output nicely.

Its thunderous power appears at odds with the calm tranquillity of the driving experience, with soundproofing – including laminated windows and an acoustic windscreen – helping minimise tyre and wind noise.

While the upgraded Lexicon sound system isn't cheap, it includes noise cancellation, which plays anti-noise through the speaker, further reducing the volume of your surroundings.

Range and Charging

Official range figures are claimed at 283 miles, though this reduces to 276 miles if you opt for 20-inch alloys over the standard 19-inches.

That compares with 285 miles in the BMW iX3, 292 miles in the increasingly dated Jaguar I-Pace and 331 miles in the Tesla Model Y Long Range.

Expect around 20% less than the quoted figures in the real world. The actual range will depend on many factors, including driving style and the ambient temperature.

Our test took place in autumn, whereas a frosty winter's morning is likely to reduce the electric range even further.

The party piece of the GV70, though, is it’s charging speed, which is up to 350kW, faster than all its competitors, meaning a 10 to 80 per cent charge can take a mere 18 minutes, if you can find a powerful enough DC charger.

A 0 to 100% top-up will take around 12 hours using a 7.4kW home wall box, but three-phase power is supported at 10.5kW. If you have access to this, the charging time will drop to around 8 hours.

Running Costs

Of course, the Electrified GV70 produces zero emissions, which means no road tax to pay, while it’s comfortably in the bottom band for Benefit in Kind tax, which will please company car users.

And, despite the price of electricity going through the roof, it'll still save you a handsome sum when you compare it with the cost of topping up a petrol or diesel GV70.

Genesis is still very young as a marque, so it's difficult to say how reliable it will be, although parent company Hyundai has an excellent reputation.

As a result, the Electrified GV70 comes with a notable five-year, 100,000-mile warranty for peace of mind.

Five-year servicing plans are also available, and if you sign up for these, Genesis will collect the car from your door and drop it back once it's ready.

Buying a Genesis also gets you access to a Personal Assistant – an after-sales point of contact at Genesis who can respond to your every need.

Safety

Although Euro NCAP hasn't yet tested the Electrified GV70, the fossil-fuelled version was put through its paces in 2021, earning a five-star rating.

It scored 89 per cent for adult occupants, 87 per cent for children and 87 per cent for safety assists.

You get automatic emergency braking, smart cruise control with stop and start, highway driving assist, blindspot collision avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, forward collision avoidance assist and lane following assist.

That is in addition to the front and rear parking sensors and the reversing camera we mentioned earlier.

If you choose the optional Innovation Pack, you get a head-up display, enhanced highway driving assist, an intelligent front lighting system, and forward collision avoidance assist. The bundle also includes a blind spot view monitor, reverse parking collision avoidance assist, remote smart parking assist and a surround view monitor.

Key Specifications