By Gareth Butterfield
This is the facelifted version of the Genesis GV70 Electrified which, as you can probably guess, is the battery-powered version of Genesis’s sort-of-SUV.
And, for a few reasons, you might struggle to spot the changes. Partly because the GV70 is an inexplicably rare sight on the roads anyway, and partly because the changes are very subtle.
There are some visual tweaks to the front, some new wheel designs, and some alterations at the rear. But, unlike most facelifts, the superficial alterations aren’t really the big news.
The biggest change is in the trim levels. There was previously only one “Sport” option, which limited buyers to one price point. Now there are three options; Pure, Dynamic, and Luxury.
Prices start at a shade under £66,000 for the Pure version, and it’s incredibly well specced. A Luxury version could cost north of £80,000 if you’re frivolous with the options list, but it’ll be a very luxurious car indeed.
Because the whole ethos of Genesis is to set itself out as a premium brand and, even on looks alone, it really does. While I was spending a week in the new GV70 Electrified, two people asked me if it was a Bentley and one even asked if it was an Aston Martin.
It’s a similar story inside, too. There’s such a lavish feel about the materials and the layout, and especially the tech on offer. It feels more like a Bentley than a “posh Hyundai”.
And it’s an interesting proposition, because it’s priced to compete with the likes of Audi’s Q6 e-tron and even Porsche’s Macan, so it really needs to pull something out of the bag.
And I think it does. It’s incredibly quiet and comfortable; long journeys are a delight, and the cutting-edge suite of driver aids takes all the effort out of a motorway stint or a B-road blast.
It’s quick, too. In all trim levels there’s 429bhp on offer, spread across all four wheels and, even in a car weighing well over two tonnes, progress is rapid.
And, just in case it doesn’t quite feel rapid enough, there’s a naughty “boost” button on the steering wheel that gives you a 10-second burst of 483bhp. It’s not strictly necessary, and it’ll be mostly used as a party piece to scare your passengers with, but it’s huge fun.
All this frivolity won’t help your electric range, though. While the styling offers a superb amount of aerodynamic efficiency, the weight eats into the overall efficiency and you’ll struggle to reach 4.0mi/kWh, even on a steady run.
That said, the new version has a bigger battery – it’s now 84kWh, and it can charge at up to 240kW. It equates to a range of up to 298 miles in the Pure version on its 19″ wheels, but expect something more like 250 on a good day.
There’s a big change inside, too. The dash is now dominated by a slab of digital display, and barely any buttons. This would normally bother me, but there’s a neat little panel for the climate control, and the main screen is very intuitive.
The driver display is less straight-forward, largely controlled through steering wheel buttons. And it’s just too complicated.
I got used to it after a while, but the amount of time I had to spend not looking at the road was rather frightening.
And, quite maddeningly, while I’m not looking at the road, the Genesis driver attention warning cuts in constantly and tells you off. That would be fine if I’d fallen asleep, or if I was carelessly cycling through my podcasts or something, but even just changing the air conditioning temperature got me a roasting.
These are the sorts of foibles that can be tweaked with software updates, so perhaps I’m being harsh, but it was an annoyingly conspicuous irritation in an otherwise serene cabin.
Everything else about the GV70 is immensely likeable. The boot’s a bit shallow, but it goes back a long way, there’s generous space for rear passengers, and Genesis offers some of the best customer service in the business.
Genesis is trying really hard to break our buying cycle of always opting for the German offerings and it feels like their chances are improving with every launch.
There’s a long way to go though, so I have a feeling the new GV70 will continue to be a rare sight. And it’s a pity, because it’s excellent.
