Taking the Battle to Germany | Genesis GV70 2022 –
The gv70, in my opinion, is the most exciting new luxury vehicle for 2022, and it reminds me a lot of the old infiniti fx because the fx was styled differently than the german options but it really focused on performance, and that applies to the gv70 as well.
The gv70 is quite different from the luxury options in this segment from Japan like the nx, rdx, or qx50 because even though all-wheel drive is standard What has impressed me the most about genesis in their brief existence is how quickly the brand has evolved.
When genesis first launched about six years ago, their cars were frankly generic luxury cars when it came to styling, but now they have a distinct style of their own.
Unlike some of the German alternatives, genesis decided not to style all of their vehicles like russian nesting dolls, so we have the family grill here but the shape is not exactly the same I These are 21 inch wheels with 255 width up front and, unlike some of the European competition, 255 width in the back as well, so these are symmetric tires that can be rotated front to back let me know what you think about the styling decision to give this more of a sloping rear end this reminds me a little bit of the mccann right here in this area genesis continues the double stripe theme around the rear with the tail lamp mod genesis continues the double stripe theme around the rear The turn signals are red, and we have standard dual exhaust on all models, but on the 3.5 t, we get a little badge right there and slightly larger exhausts in the back.
One thing worth noting is that this cross hatch pattern down here in this area that extends all the way to the side of the vehicle is definitely attractive, but it is a little difficult to clean.
In case you’re wondering, the backup lights are right down there at the bottom of the vehicle.
In the gv70, there will be two distinct engines available.
The standard engine is a 2.5-liter four-cylinder that produces 300 horsepower, but you can upgrade to a 3.5-liter twin turbo V6 that produces 375 horsepower and 391 pound-feet of torque.
If you buy the gv70 outside of north america, you may be able to get your hands on an optional diesel engine and possibly a rear-wheel drive version at some point in the future.
If you look closely, you’ll notice that genesis has placed the v6 engine in the chassis in a similar manner to where mercedes places their engines in their chassis when they have a v6 engine.
Of course, we also have a transmission that can handle the power of a rear-wheel-drive vehicle with a twin-turbo v6, which is one of the reasons I believe the upcoming rdx type s will not be nearly as quick as the gv70 or, of course, an x3 with their turbocharged six-cylinder engine or the mercedes etc.
One of the reasons genesis chose rear-wheel drive platforms for all of their vehicles is that rear-wheel drive transmissions have better cooling ability, there’s a little bit more room for them to exist, and dynamically you can put more power in a vehicle, which is also why all of the front-wheel drive competition currently tops out at around 300 horsepower, and that’s just where this begins.
If you’ll indulge me for a moment, I’ll explain why I find the rear-wheel drive competition to be Take a look at a close competitor, Lexus, who debuted their first two cars in 1989, one of which wasn’t truly new, the Lexus es, which was just a rebadged Camry.
For those keeping track, it took them two years to bring us a ls-based coupe, two more years to bring us the lexus gs sedan, and two more years to bring us a land cruiser rebadged as the lexus lx.
The original Hyundai Genesis is the genesis of the genesis brand, but it wasn’t until 2015 that parent company Hyundai decided to spin off genesis as its own separate luxury brand, and in the intervening six years, we’ve had five models that share nothing with any currently produced Hyundai vehicle, we’ve got a new eevee coming out next year and the promise of possibly a three row crossover, and even other crossovers or other evs coming at some point in the future.
I’m particularly surprised by how quickly Genesis seems to develop its models.
The g70 is fairly new, and they’ve given it a pretty significant refresh as well.
We’re expecting an all-new g90 to arrive at some point soon, as well as the brand’s full EV.
It’s worth noting that it’ll be several years before we see the first full EV from Lexus.
Jumping inside, we find a very comfortable and very adjustable driver seat in this top end trim.
The seat bottom cushion only adjusts for height, but it also adjusts for For me at least, this is one of the most comfortable seats available in this segment.
We have a four-way powered tilt telescopic steering column with two position memory over there on the driver’s door, but unfortunately, I do have one problem up here, and that is the fact that the front seat on the passenger side does not have the same range of motion as the driver.
I can sit right here behind myself with that front seat adjusted for me at six feet tall I can also move over to the right side here we definitely have a hump in the middle this is a rear wheel drive vehicle again this front seat is all the way back in its tracks I have about an inch of leg room left so you could put a child seat in a rear-facing position back here behind I would say the average adult driver up front but taller folks may find it difficult Remembering that this is a compact crossover, the back bench is going to be narrower than the one found in the gv80, but headroom is still pretty generous back here my hair is just barely brushing the ceiling this has the optional large panoramic moon roof and the rim of that moon roof is right there above my head genesis gives the rear passengers a fairly wide footwell so I didn’t have any trouble squeezing my feet in there we have three zone automatic climate control Let’s take a look around the interior.
Up here we have the telematics system controls as well as this large panoramic moonroof that extends just over the rear passengers heads in case you’re wondering, yes the sun visors do slide side to side.
We also have height adjustable shoulder belts and two-way adjustable headrests, as with most luxury cars.
Because these seats are heated and ventilated, we offer a variety of interior color choices.
This model includes a blend of genuine leather and imitation suede pieces right in the middle.
The center area of the seat bottom and back cushion is perforated.
This one has a contrasting charcoal and red inside with a lot of red on the front doors.
I really like how Genesis has provided us with a variety of interior and exterior color choices here, as well as a variety of trim options.
This one features carbon fiber on the front doors, and you can see all the red on the center console on the front door.
Let me know what you think.
I really like the color of this inside, as well as the fact that Genesis is providing us with so many alternatives for getting our genesis.
There are also a variety of trim options.
Carbon fiber is used on the doors and the center console in this model.
Let me know what you think of the red interior color; there is also a blue interior that I think is incredibly cool.
Instead of dashboard trim, this interior has trim inserts on both sides of the center console.
We have a soft touch injection molded top area of the dashboard stitched bottom section of the dashboard and then a soft touch cover on the glove box, which is fairly distinct from the other genesis cars in the United States.
The glove compartment is a little on the small side, and I couldn’t fit a 10 inch tablet computer inside in this model.
The large strip that runs across the dashboard connecting one air vent to the next doesn’t have any air vents inside it.
In the middle of the dash, we have the same large touchscreen infotainment system that we find in other Genesis vehicles, but it’s a little further away from the driver, so some people might find it a little difficult to use.
right now on the monitor The genesis interface is essentially the same as the rest of the genesis range, and if you don’t want to touch the screen, you can use a controller knob in the center console to operate it.
Below the screen are two huge air vents.
the start/stop button for the engine This little bump over here is a fingerprint sensor, which means you can use your phone as a key and your finger as a key to start the vehicle.
We also have an auto button for the climate control system, which is a three zone automatic climate control touch lcd right here in the middle for the heated and ventilated seats and some of the climate control functions, and then physical buttons across the bottom for some of the climate control functions.
Controls for that infotainment system’s 360-degree camera system are right here.
This is the knob you’re looking for.
In addition to spinning, this top is touch sensitive, allowing you to navigate between settings with your finger.
We have a qi wireless charging pad, a USB input, and a USB charge only port on this side of the door, and you can place some of the bigger smartphones with the cable still connected beneath that door.
The shifter is the same rotary design that we see in other genesis vehicles it has a clear top you can see the knurling right there through the clear top it rotates around drive right there reverse right there park is that button and then we have auto break hold under the center armrest we find a fairly small storage cubby remember the transmission is basically under this section of the vehicle there’s a new full color heads-up display there’s a new full color heads-up display there’s The technology behind this display is interesting because these demon eyes are tracking your eyes and where you’re looking at the display so that it can project the images back in a way that looks 3d regardless of exactly where your head is pointed.
However, you’ll notice that the passenger in the vehicle sometimes notices that it’s a little bit fuzzy from the side because the 3d technology is not designed to be viewed from that angle but is designed to be viewed by the driver.
The steering wheel is a novel design for Genesis.
One thing I’ve observed is that almost every genesis car has a distinct steering wheel design.
This one looks a lot like the one in the G70, but it’s not exactly the same.
We have touch controls over here for the adaptive cruise control system, which is standard, and over here for the infotainment system, thanks to the twin turbocharged engine, this vehicle takes off like a bat out of a mixed metaphor land zero to sixty happened in 4.8 seconds, which is very close to the c43, the bmw x3 m40i, the volvo xc60 t8 plug-in hybrid, which is a mouthful, and of course the audi sq The standard all-wheel drive system is definitely going to be a big deal for a lot of people out there keep in mind that the majority of the competitors in this segment will start out in two-wheel drive format whether that’s front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive is standard even in the base model out on the road the gv70 feels like wh The transmission in this vehicle shifts a little slower than the bmw x3, but it has the same sense of urgency.
Only two tenths of a second separates the 0-60 time in this from the last x3 that I was able to test from a dealer, and in my 60 to 0 braking testing, it took just 110 feet for this vehicle to stop from 60 miles per hour, which is definitely bmw-like in terms of stopping distance, thanks to the big brake rotors Unless slip is detected, eco will send more power to the rear axle, while comfort will try to balance things out for decent handling that feels very predictable, and sport will try to send even more power to the rear so you can really get that rear end to curve around in corners when you floor it, which you can’t do in the lexus, acura, or infinity when it comes to handling.
I’m definitely going to give this an a.
If I change it to sport plus or sport, it will firm things up, but it will never be as firm as a c43 amg in its firmest setting, which is why I’m going to give the ride quality even in this sportiest version of the gv70 and a now if you’re looking for the most compliant ride available in a similar price range to the model that i’m driving here, that would be something like the lexus rx, but the mission of When you push this a little harder in the corners, it will send more power to the rear axle to help you steer around the corner with your right foot.
I also love the fact that this is the same all-wheel drive system and basically the same all-wheel drive system as the bmw and mercedes all-wheel drive systems when you push this a little harder in the corners, it will send more power to the rear axle to help you steer around the corner with your right foot.
Please let me know what you think in the comments area.
Now that I’m out on the open road, I’d like to discuss about the driver aid technology in the gv70.
This includes practically the complete genesis active safety system package.
cruise control that adapts Their aggressive lane centering system, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic detection, driver retention monitoring, and so on are optional, but the vast majority of these systems are standard, which is a little different than many of the German alternatives, which don’t have as much active driver assistance tech standard.
In addition to traditional lane keeping, this vehicle also has highway driving assist.
The so-called highway driving aid is one of the most forceful lane centering systems in the premium category, and it’s quite comparable to Mercedes’ current technology.
When the cruise control is active, the heads-up display and the lcd instrument cluster both show the outlines of vehicles around you.
I think the most interesting thing about the gv70 is how genesis has decided to position the vehicle they have neatly avoided the same kind of comparisons that we find with the brand new lexus nx by making the gv70 unique i’ve seen a lot of people comment out there being reassuring.
The bmw x3 is also going to be more costly, starting at 43 700 and the glc at 43 200.
I’m going to ignore the audi and volvo here since the gv70 is more dynamically comparable to the bmw and mercedes.
The audi has a nice balance and is a decent bargain, but the engine is totally in front of the front axle, which is not the case with the gv70, and the volvo xc60 is, of course, a front-wheel-drive car from the start, so let’s go straight into the comparisons with the bmw x3.
This has long been one of the most popular small luxury crossovers in the United States, and for good reason: it’s well-balanced, well-priced, and gets decent gas mileage.
With the exception of the fuel economy component, everything about the gv70 applies to the x3.
Obviously, bmw has been around the luxury business longer, so the brand logically carries a little bit more cachet for some people.
Fuel economy is also better, especially when we’re talking about the base 2-liter turbo in the x3 fuel economy is really quite good.
I like the x3’s interior design and the level of customization that you can get in that model there’s also the x3m and of course the m340i versions of that the three liter inline six is a beautiful engine in the bmw x3 now on the downside there’s the price tag it may seem like the price difference is only a few thousand dollars at first but if you start comparably equipping your bmw you’ll be thousands and thousands of dollars more expensive If you want a rear-wheel-drive luxury crossover for that rear-wheel-drive dynamic, you won’t find it in the Genesis because it comes standard with all-wheel drive, though it is a rear-wheel-drive biased all-wheel drive system.
However, if you want all-wheel drive, the genesis will be significantly less expensive.
The glc’s nine-speed automatic transmission has nice gear ratios, but I think the genesis’ eight-speed automatic is actually a little bit smoother when it comes to interior design.
I like both the dlc and the genesis gv70 a little bit more than the bmw x3, but the mercedes has more customization options, and that’s one of the things to keep in mind with modern mercedes period is that there are a ton of different ways There are several leather options, as well as wood and interior design options.
There are a plethora of option packages to choose from, as well as a plethora of individual choices, so if you get carried away with possibilities, don’t worry.
Your glc can get quite pricey, but it might not look like any other glc you see on the road.
I like the design of the infotainment software and the instrument cluster on both of these vehicles, but the mercedes offers more customization.
There are more whiz-bang features available in the infotainment system, and the instrument cluster is definitely more configurable, even though it lacks the 3d ability that we find in the gv70.
If you’re a gadget freak, the Mercedes system is for you; if you simply want something that’s simple to use and works all the time, the Genesis system is for you.
final conclusion The gv70 is incredibly impressive, but what’s most impressive about it is the competitive set that genesis has chosen for itself.
Instead of making a lexus nx, an acura rdx, an infiniti q50, a cadillac xt5 or xt4 or a lincoln corsair, or even logically a volvo xc60, they chose to take on the germans directly, In the meanwhile, make sure to visit awaymerch.com, where you can purchase shirts similar to this one, as well as Facebook.com, Alexander’s Instagram, and all of the other social media outlets, and I’ll see you all next week.