Genesis Electrified GV70 Review

Introduction

Genesis has been stealthily eating its way into the UK market over the past year or two.

The luxury arm of Hyundai has brought a raft of its cars to these shores, hoping to help itself to a slice of the premium brands’ pie.

While it's still early days and most commentators feel Genesis' cars lack the refinement of the typical German class leaders, there is one department where Genesis has them licked: ostentatiousness.

Genesis' range features opulence in abundance, and it hopes this will more than tip the balance in its favour.

It offers petrols, diesels and several electric cars – and the latter is the case here, with its large SUV, the Electrified GV70.

A smaller crossover, the Electrified GV60, went on the UK market earlier in 2022.

But, while the GV60 was built from the drawing board as an electric car, the Electrified GV70 is a conversion – a model that has had the combustion engine torn out and replaced with electric motors and batteries.

That isn’t a recipe that always works well, so we’re intrigued to see whether the result here is favourable or a failure.

At A Glance

Like every vehicle in Genesis’ range, the Electrified GV70 looks the part.

The front end is dominated by its design signature – the large grille, which, along with the Genesis badge, looks like it's taken heavy inspiration from Bentley, with only a point at the grille’s lower centre distinguishing it from the luxury manufacturer’s.

Another part of Genesis’ design language is the headlights, which sit as two horizontal strips, one on top of the other, on each side of the front end.

A lower grille sits at the bottom alongside a bodywork indentation, which allows room for small air intake-like slits.

Around the side of the car, chrome strips run along the bottom of the doors and around the borders of the three windows on each side.

The window nearest the back of the car is a rounded triangle shape, connected to the other windows by a chrome strip, giving a quiff-like effect.

There is also a roof spoiler which, along with the body-coloured bumpers, adds to its athletic aesthetics.

At the rear, the taillights sit as horizontal strips on top of one another, while indentations in the bumper add to the car’s character.

This Genesis is full of personality and grandeur, and parked next to a BMW X3, it looks imposing.

Key Features

There is no messing around with confusing trim levels here – there’s only one grade to choose from: Sport.

The model includes 19-inch alloy wheels, a 14.5-inch Navi Screen infotainment system with DAB radio, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto. You also get an eight-inch digital instrument screen, electric door mirrors, LED headlights, smart cruise control, a smart key, leather seats, a leather steering wheel and dual-zone climate control.

In addition, the vehicle houses electrically adjustable front seats, which include memory function and an adjustable driver lumbar support.

There is also only one powertrain, a dual motor providing four-wheel drive. It comprises two 180kW electric motors, which provide a whopping 490PS.

There are no single motor variants, nor can you choose a more leisurely, average amount of power. It is a choice of thunderous power or nothing. Evidently, Genesis doesn't believe in doing things by halves.

As a result, its foes are outgunned, including the ripening Jaguar I-Pace and the BMW iX3. However, Tesla offers the Performance variant of its Model Y SUV, which is quicker.

Range & Batteries

The electric motors are powered by a 77.4kWh battery. Not sure how that translates? We've got a guide to talk you through what kWh and kW really mean.

According to official figures, this will result in a 283-mile range, dropping to 276 miles if you choose the larger 20-inch alloy wheels, which are an optional extra. 

Of course, you should expect less than this in practice as the range figures you achieve in real life will depend on various factors, including temperature, weather conditions and your driving style.

If you're driving carefully, you'll likely be making it last longer than if you're having fun and making the most of its 490PS. Therefore, 200 to 250 miles is more accurate in the real world. Need to make the most out of your car's range? Take a look through our guide on official v. real-world battery range.

The official range figure is much more than the Mercedes-Benz EQC but marginally less than the BMW iX3, while the maturing Jaguar I-Pace can still go a little further.

The Audi Q4 e-tron and the Tesla Model Y dual-motor variants claim to exceed 300 miles.

Performance & Drive

With 490PS under the bonnet, we’re sure you’re looking forward to finding out what the GV70’s 0-62mph time is.

So are we. And it's 4.2 seconds.

That is despite a kerb weight of over two-and-a-quarter tonnes.

Yes, we know the Tesla Model Y Performance will do 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds, but 4.2 seconds is still supercar territory.

You will unlikely notice the deficit to the Tesla, though, as you'll be busy wondering how on earth you’ve made it to the next road junction so quickly.

The Electrified GV70 only produces 490PS in bursts, though, via the press of a button on the steering wheel. When that’s not activated, power is reduced to a meagre 430PS - the cheek!

When you floor the accelerator, your surge away instantly with no delay like you’d get in a standard automatic with a fossil-fuelled car.

The torque is incredible and pins you back in your seat.

Few cars will outgun it, so overtaking is a doddle, whether at low speeds around town or needing to overtake on dual-carriageways and motorways.

Adaptive suspension is included as standard, which makes adjustments on the move to deal with potholes and crevices in the road.

However, more is needed to cover up the differences between this and the non-electrified version.

The suspension is noticeably stiffer in the Electrified GV70 to cope with the extra weight of the batteries, and while it isn’t uncomfortable, it’s not as absorbing either.

As a result, you can feel more bumps and creases in the road, but the body doesn’t take long to settle down and doesn’t see-saw around.

For a large car, you’d expect the handling won’t be up to scratch, and although the tyres grip the road well, there is a fair bit of body lean in the bends.

Despite this, understeer on corner entry is well limited, and, if anything, it has more of a tendency to oversteer from the rear, although you can feel the weight of it around bends.

The steering is responsive and precise but lacks any real feedback.

Nevertheless, Genesis has exceeded our expectations for a reasonably sized SUV, although the handling and ride comfort are on a different level than a BMW iX3 or Audi Q4 e-Tron.

There isn’t much noise in the cabin, either, with an acoustically treated windscreen and laminated windows helping to turn down the volume of the outside world.

You can also have active noise cancellation technology, but this is part of a premium sound system, which is an optional extra.

Charging

The Electrified GV70's maximum charging speed is 240kW, among the fastest on the market.

While a few cars can exceed 300kW nowadays, most aren’t even breaking the 200kW mark yet.

A 10-80 per cent charge can be done in 18 minutes, although only a few charging points are capable of such speeds.

Using a 7.4kW wall box, a 0-100 per cent charge will take around 12 hours. Want to get the most out of every charge? Be sure to consult our guide on picking your ideal electric car charger.

You also get a Shell Recharge pass, which includes free access to Ionity's network of charging points. In addition, it provides a significant discount on the cost per kWh of electricity, which is helpful given the price of it is increasing so much. After some more info on the essentials of EV charging and tips? Have a read through our guide selection on getting ready for electric!

Running Costs & Emissions

Zero emissions mean zero road tax for the moment, although the Government has recently announced that it will introduce road tax for electric vehicles in 2025.

Company car drivers will be attracted to the Electrified GV70, too, as it’s in the lowest band for Benefit In Kind tax.

The deal Genesis has struck with Ionity will provide around a 66 per cent discount on its standard price per kWh, too, which will help slash running costs.

Also, Genesis excels in customer service, assigning you a Personal Assistant who is at your every beck and call.

This also includes collecting the car from a place of your choice, taking it away to be serviced, and returning it to you afterwards.

Genesis is still too new a brand to gauge how reliable it will be, but it's owned by Hyundai, which has a formidable reputation for dependability.

Interior & Technology

If you're familiar with Genesis interiors, you'll know that the ostentatiousness on the outside is only the beginning.

The Electrified GV70 is no exception, boasting an opulent cabin which looks lovely, with shapely precision, sprinkled in silver trim.

It looks even more impressive if you choose the dual-coloured ‘ocean wave glacier white’ design (also known as ‘black and cream’ to you and us).

The infotainment screen is 14.5 inches, among the biggest on offer by measurement; although it's a lot wider than tall - the large size mainly stems from its width.

The system is easy to use, with a high-resolution screen responsive to touches and presses. However, it's so broad that reaching the far left of the screen might be a task in itself if you’re short.

Still, there are plenty of conveniences to get around it, notably a gorgeously presented centre console with rotary dials for the infotainment and gear selector.

The temperature controls remain separate from the infotainment screen, which is always welcome. Instead, the temperature is displayed digitally in the middle of the adjustment dials, so you can see what it’s set to at a very brief glance.

An eight-inch digital instrument cluster is included, although our test car has a larger 12.3-inch screen thanks to an optional extra pack which we’ll come on to later.

This also adds a beneficial and informative head-up display.

Practicality & Boot Space

Electric steering wheel and front seat adjustment are standard on the Electrified GV70, so making changes to get comfortable is easy.

You are not short on leg or headroom either, and although the rear isn't as spacious as the front, it’s still not bad, although rivals can offer more room.

The rear seats can recline, but they don’t slide forwards and backwards, so you can’t increase the legroom by sacrificing boot space.

The seats are very comfortable, too, thanks to the included driver lumbar support, which also has electric adjustment. But it’s an optional extra if you want the same for your front seat passenger.

You sit reasonably high up, too, which allows an authoritative view of the road, and the front pillars aren't incredibly thick either, although they're not as thin as we've seen on other SUVs.

The same can’t be said about the rear, though, as the back window slants at a 45-degree angle.

There is a third window at the back which helpfully keeps the rear D pillar reasonably thin. But, due to the small size of the window, the C pillar isn't far away, so the view is still restricted from most angles.

Parking sensors and a reversing camera are included, though, which should mitigate the issue.

There is also plenty of storage space inside the cabin, with large door bins, a generous glovebox and a large cubby beneath the centre console.

Boot space measures 503 litres, expanding to 1,678 litres with the back seats folded down in a 60:40 split, less versatile than the 40:20:40 split offered by some rivals, such as the BMW iX3.

Safety

Crash-testing experts at Euro NCAP are yet to assess an Electrified GV70.

The combustion-engined GV70 was tested in 2021, earning a five-star rating and scoring 89 per cent for adult occupants, 87 per cent for children and 87 per cent for safety assists.

It is full of technology, too, getting automatic emergency braking, highway driving assist, blind spot collision avoidance assist and lane-keeping assist. You also get lane-following assist, forward collision avoidance assist, front and rear parking sensors, and a reversing camera.

It also gets smart cruise control with stop and start, which will maintain the gap to the car in front, slowing down to a halt and moving away again when needed.

If all that isn't enough, you can choose the Innovation Pack from the options list.

This adds remote smart parking assist, a surround view monitor, a blind spot monitor, reverse parking collision avoidance assist, a head-up display, enhanced highway driving assist and intelligent front lighting system, plus forward collision avoidance assist.

Options

The body is solid white, although pearl and metallic colours, including white, black, silver, dark grey, dark blue, dark green, red, burgundy and copper are available.

Five of those shades are available in matt finish: dark green, burgundy, copper, white and very dark grey.

We wouldn't recommend making your Electrified GV70 less comfortable, but the 19-inch rims can be replaced with 20-inch alloys if you wish. Although, as we said earlier, this will slightly reduce the range.

Interior colours include black, plus two dual-colour options of pine and black and black and white, while the material can be upgraded to Nappa leather with quilting.

The metallic interior trim can be changed from silver to brushed aluminium.

In terms of 'packs', there's the safety Innovation Pack we mentioned earlier, which, along with adding a host of safety systems and a head-up display, upgrades the eight-inch digital instrument cluster to a 12.3-inch screen.

The Convenience Pack also adds heated seats and steering wheel, tri-zone air conditioning and a premium cabin filter.

The Comfort Seat Pack adds ventilated massage function front seats with electric cushions, amongst others.

If you want noise cancellation, which we mentioned earlier, then the Lexicon Premium Audio System is the one for you.

Heated seats can be added in both the front and back with the Second Row Comfort Seat Pack.

There is also a panoramic sunroof and a Vehicle-To-Load function, so you can run household electronic devices using the car’s battery. And, as an additional layer of security, there’s a fingerprint authentication sensor for the driver.

Rival Cars

As mentioned, the BMW iX3 will be in the Electrified GV70's sights.

While it can’t match the iX3 for refinement, ride comfort or handling ability, it makes up for it with outright pace and its grandiose cosmetics.

The Jaguar I-Pace is vaguely impressive for its age, while you may also want to consider an Audi Q4 e-tron and Mercedes-Benz EQC, which also get resolute nods of approval.

The Tesla Model Y Long-Range will outlast all of them for range, and it'll outgun most of them for pace, too. However, if this is the priority, then you might want to look at the Model Y Performance, whose batteries will run out of juice just 15 miles earlier.

Volvo's C40 Recharge is also well worth a look.

Verdict & Next Steps

Overall, the GV70 is impressive, boasting excellent performance, decent handling for its size and fast charging speeds.

It also has a typically lavish cabin design – especially with the dual-coloured black and white cream interior.

This ticks all the boxes if you're after something that stands out from the crowd.

There are downsides, though, with less space in the rear than its rivals, and the price is on a par with the premium brands, such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes, when the refinement and driving experience isn’t on the same level.

Although it’s well-equipped as standard, a few of its best features are optional extras and the car, as standard, is already expensive enough.

Nevertheless, if splendour and luxury are the order of the day, this should be right up your street and, even better, parked on your drive.

Where to next?

View our latest Genesis GV70 Electrified Leasing Deals  - from just £843.28 per month inc VAT**

Looking for a great leasing deal? Check out our incredible range of Special Offers

New SUV? Read our latest Car Reviews and find the right model for you

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_{*Score based on Select’s unique meta score analysis, taking into account the UK’s top five leading independent car website reviews of the Genesis GV70 Electrified}

_{**Correct as of 08/12/2022. Based on 9 months initial payment, 5,000 miles over a 48 month lease. Initial payment equivalent to 9 monthly payments or £7,589.52 Ts and Cs apply. Credit is subject to status.}