Genesis Electrified GV70

By Bill McCarthy

Genesis continues to attract attention from curious car buyers, thanks to its eye-catching, often dramatic styling. Since the brand’s launch in 2020, it has sold more than 200,000 units worldwide. Genesis recently updated this electrified GV70 and it certainly looks the part.

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, but it undercuts German rivals while Bentley remains in a different price bracket. However, as you’d expect, optional extras can be eye-watering.

The range starts at £65,915 for the Pure trim with features like a power tailgate, wireless charging, fingerprint recognition, heated front seats and steering wheel, and adaptive suspension.

The £70,715 Dynamic version adds 20-inch wheels, a head-up display, and remote smart parking assist, while the £74,915 Luxury model driven here brings a panoramic sunroof, active noise cancellation, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and a Bang & Olufsen 15-speaker system, rising to over £80,000 fully loaded.

Exterior Design

New features include a G-Matrix crest grille with a heated and electric-folding charging cover, plus parallel headlights.

The front bumper has been redesigned with wider air intakes, rounded off with 19-inch dark hyper silver wheels (or 20-inch diamond-cut alloys on higher trims). At the rear, the parallel indicators are now integrated into the combination lights.

Elegant Interior

The cabin has a luxury feel with aluminium accents and pedals, ambient lighting with a new ‘Mood Curator’ function, and a premium soft-touch finish across the dashboard and centre console. Leather-style seats are heated and ventilated depending on the model, and head and legroom is generous.

The new 27-inch Connected Car Integrated Cockpit (ccIC) combines driver and infotainment screens into one seamless panoramic display.

Unlike many, which can oe hard to navigate, I felt it was really intuitive.

It supports OTA updates via Genesis Connect Services. You can also use Digital Key 2 to lock and start the car with your smartphone, and fingerprint authentication adds a nice layer of security.

The touchscreen can also be operated via a rotary dial – but don’t confuse it with the nearby gear selector, which I nearly did a couple of times. There’s also a UV light-sanitising compartment in the armrest. A bit gimmicky, but handy for phones or keys.

Neat touches include the two main binnacle dials turning into cameras to show the road when the indicator is activated, and the wing-style logo fading from view when the ignition is switched off. Again gimmicky, or classy, depending on your mood.

Electric performance

It is blindingly quick off the mark. The upgraded 84kWh battery powers a dual-motor setup delivering 490PS in Boost mode and 700Nm of torque – especially noticeable during motorway overtaking. It hits 62mph in 4.4 seconds, aided by a ‘boost’ button on the steering wheel that gives you full poke for about ten seconds. That makes overtaking a breeze and feels safe.

Genesis has also thrown in Virtual Gear Shift, which tries to mimic a conventional automatic gearbox. A bit quirky in an EV, but some may welcome it.

Claimed range is up to 287 miles with 20-inch wheels (or 298 miles on 19-inch wheels), assisted by smart regenerative braking 2.0, i-Pedal, and a standard heat pump to maximise range in colder climates.

Rapid charging

Charging times are impressive. The 800-volt architecture delivers ultra-rapid charging at up to 240kW. Under optimal conditions, you can charge from 10 to 80% in just 19 minutes – coffee-and-a-loaf-of-bread territory. No more arriving at a rapid charger only to watch the speed crawl because the battery is cold.

An intelligent battery heating system (now manually adjustable via the infotainment screen) keeps charging consistent in lower temperatures.

---

Ride and handling

The GV70 delivers a comfortable yet agile drive, even on rough roads. For a large SUV, it handles impressively well, with adaptive suspension effectively reducing body roll.

The all-wheel-drive system has three selectable terrain modes (Snow, Sand, Mud), plus a new AI-powered Auto Terrain mode that analyses road conditions in real-time and adapts automatically. It pretty much went under the radar for me. Which is good.

Practicality and safety

The powered boot offers 503 litres, expanding to cavernous 1,675 litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded. There’s also the usual array of cubby holes and holders throughout the cabin. Unlike some EVs, there’s no frunk under the bonnet for extra storage space.

Safety kit includes blind-spot monitoring, evasive steering assist, smart cruise control, lane following assist, driver attention warning, forward collision alert with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and a full complement of airbags. Parking is handled by Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist (PCA), which works in reverse, forward, and side scenarios.

Factfile

GENESIS ELECTRIFIED GV70 Luxury

• Price: £74,915
• Mechanical: 490PS electric motor and 84kWh battery (approx. 80kWh usable) driving all four wheels via single-speed automatic transmission
• Max Speed: 145mph
• 0-62mph: 4.4 seconds
• Range: 287 miles (WLTP)
• Insurance Group: 50
• CO2 emissions: 0g/km
• BIK rating: 4%
• Warranty: 5 years/unlimited mileage