Long-term review: Genesis Electrified GV70 introduction

Say hello to our new long-term test car – a premium SUV looking to challenge some of the biggest names in the business.

As a car review, it’s useful and informative to spend a day or a week with a car, getting an overview of its strengths and weaknesses. But to really understand a car and learn how it will fit into an owner’s life requires more time.

That’s why for the next six months, I will be living with a Genesis Electrified GV70, assessing how it handles family life – from the school run and daily commute to mountain biking trips and long-distance work trips – and finding out its foibles and hidden highlights.

The Electrified GV70 is a premium D-segment SUV which means it’s up against the likes of the Audi Q6 e-tron, the BMW iX3 and Jaguar I-Pace. Unlike the Audi or Jag, it’s not built on a dedicated EV platform. Instead, like the BMW, it shares an awful lot with a petrol/diesel sibling.

Shared platforms can sometimes lead to technical compromises for EVs but apparently not in the GV70’s case. This is a big-battery, fast-charging beast with buckets of power and torque from a four-wheel-drive powertrain.

At the heart of everything is a 77.4kWh battery which WLTP testing suggests should offer up to 283 miles of range and which Genesis says will charge at up to 230kW. I suspect the maximum range was calculated on the smaller 19-inch wheels rather than the test car’s 20-inchers. Delivered with 86% charge, the trip computer suggested a maximum of 210, but we’ll find out the real-world truth over the coming months.

The battery sends its juice to twin 180kW motors – one at each axle. In old money, that’s a total of 483bhp and 516lb ft and it’s enough to get this big five-seater from 0-62mph in just 4.2 seconds. We’ll see how exploiting that affects the claimed range.

Genesis’s model line-up is pretty simple, especially if you go for the battery-powered versions. While the ICE GV70 is offered in three trim levels, the Electrified GV70 comes exclusively in Sport grade – the top of the tree with touches such as full leather upholstery and interior ‘mood lighting’.

But, this being a press car, the standard spec has been enhanced with what appears to be every option on the Genesis list. We’ll explore the tech and toys fully at a later date but, on top of the £64,300 starting price, our car adds features such as the vivid Mauna Red metallic paint, the Innovation, Comfort Seat, Convenience and Outdoor packs, plus Nappa leather and an upgraded Lexicon sound system. That takes its on-the-road price to £77,825.

That’s in the same realm as most of its biggest competitors but they come with status built up over decades of sales while Genesis has only been operating in the UK since 2021. One of the key tests of our time with it will be to see if this still relatively unknown brand can justify itself among such well-respected badges.

The initial signs are good. The smooth lines and bold crest grille have already attracted complimentary comments from the neighbours and the GV70 manages to have road presence without veering into the realms of obnoxiousness.

First impressions of the interior are also good. Pretty much anything that can be clad in leather has been and elsewhere there are high-quality chromed-colour elements that highlight the car’s soft interior shape.

My time at the wheel has been limited to a couple of short local runs but on those the GV70 has felt composed, solid and suitably refined. We’ll see if that impression lasts but the main challenge for the next few days will be getting to grips with the wealth of technology that should, in theory, make live with the car easier.