First Australian Drive: Genesis GV70 2.5T AWD

The Genesis GV70 has a big role to fill. Of all the offerings from the fledgling luxury brand, it’s the vehicle most likely to make its way into the hearts, minds and driveways of Australian buyers.

Establishing a premium brand is hard; Lexus and Audi made it, Eunos and Infiniti did not. It takes patience, commitment, plenty of investment but, most importantly, the right product. Genesis’ current offerings of a pair of sedans and a large SUV are never going to be volume sellers, which is what makes the GV70 so important.

It lands smack-bang in the middle of the popular premium mid-size segment with its sights set firmly on the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, Audi Q5, BMW X3, Jaguar F-Pace, Mercedes-Benz GLC and Volvo XC60. A tough crowd, so the GV70 is going to need to be good.

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The GV70 range kicks off with the 2.5T RWD, with a 2.2D (for diesel) and 3.5T – both all-wheel drive – also available, but we’re testing what’s expected to be the most popular variant, the 2.5T AWD.

It’s priced from a very competitive $68,786 before on-road costs, a serious saving over the likes of the $85,900 BMW X3 30i and $86,800 Mercedes-Benz GLC300, though it’s lineball with the $69,600 Audi Q5 45 TFSI.

Despite the lower entry cost, Genesis hasn’t skimped on the equipment list. There’s eight airbags, every conceivable lane and collision warning and assist, dual-zone climate control, a panoramic sunroof, powered tailgate, fingerprint recognition, 12-way adjustable heated and ventilated front seats, keyless entry and go with remote start, wireless phone charging and a 14.5-inch infotainment system with smartphone mirroring and augmented reality satellite navigation.

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The interior of a Genesis GV70 is an impressive place to sit

Nor has it skimped on the materials. The interior is a seriously impressive place to sit. Double-stitched leather adorns the dash, wheel, doors and centre console, the metal knurling and trim is real and there’s very, very little use of conventional hard plastics – even the lower doors are soft-touch!

Finding a comfortable driving position is no problem thanks to plenty of electric adjustment of the wheel and seats, though the interior ergonomics are a slight mixed bag.

The digital HVAC controls are executed well, bucking the trend of burying them in the main multimedia screen, which is just as well as while the massive widescreen is touch-operated, it’s located too far away for such a function to be useful.

That leaves the iDrive-like controller on the centre console, which works fine, though without quite the same positive action as the BMW, and I did find myself grabbing it on occasion instead of the rotary gear selector, especially when I was in a rush – maybe it’s just me.

There’s a neat cubby hole to hold your phone, which includes the wireless charging pad and a pair of USB ports.

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In the rear there’s ample space, more leather, manually-operated sun blinds, a pair of USB ports and the 60:40 split rear seat reclines to a satisfactorily nap-accommodating angle.

The boot has quite a high floor thanks to the space-saver spare located underneath yet can still hold 542L with the rear seats in place and 1678L with them folded, which is competitive with the upper end of the segment.

A variety of interior colours are available depending on the options packs chosen, which I’ll get to in a moment, while there is a choice of 11 exterior colours, including three $2000 matte options, though not all hues are available with all engines.

Complicating matters slightly is the pair of options packs offered. The $4500 Sport Line Package is relatively straightforward, including a new design for the 19 x 8.0-inch alloys, larger brakes all round, larger exhaust tips, a Sport+ drive mode, new bumpers front and rear, a variety of gloss black and dark chrome exterior trim, combination Nappa Leather/suede seats, suede headlining, three-spoke steering wheel, alloy pedals, geometric aluminium interior trim and sport gauges.

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So far, so good, however the Luxury Package lists at a whopping $11,000, or buyers can score a slight discount by opting for both at $13,000.

On the one hand it’s a slightly strange all-or-nothing approach to ask buyers to stump up an extra 19 per cent on top of the purchase price, but on the other it merely brings the GV70’s price tag into line with key rivals and packs it to the gills with equipment.

The Luxury Package adds a 16-speaker, 1050w stereo, tri-zone climate control with rear control panel, intelligent front lighting, rear privacy glass, 21 x 9.0-inch wheels with 20mm wider tyres, quilted Nappa leather seats, 3D-effect trim, 18-way adjustable driver’s seat with massage function, heated rear seats and steering wheel, 12.3-inch 3D digital instrument cluster, head-up display and smart parking assist with remote function.

And here’s the thing. While it’s easy to spend other people’s money, I’d tick both boxes, as the extra equipment both improves the GV70’s looks both outside – the 21s fill the guards much better than the 19s – and in, the quilted leather seats, 3D dials and head-up display giving the car a luxury feel that the lesser-specced variants don’t quite pull off.

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On the road the 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine of the 2.5T is effective if not particularly inspiring. It boasts impressive numbers of 224kW and 422Nm, figures that are a good 20 per cent higher than most of its competition, but while it has an impressive spread of torque and revs keenly to 6000rpm, it sounds like a diesel at low rpm and is slightly coarse in the upper reaches.

Genesis claims a 0-100km/h figure of 6.1sec, which feels a little optimistic, though of possibly more interest to buyers will be the 10.3L/100km combined claimed fuel figure. Most of the GV70’s rivals are in the low-eights/high-sevens and while official fuel figures aren’t always particularly accurate, it suggests the Genesis will be thirstier than most.

One figure on the spec sheet is a clear culprit. At 1973kg, the GV70 2.5T is very heavy for a vehicle this size (Q5 45 TFSI 1750kg; X3 30i 1720kg; GLC300 1805kg), which is probably why it’s neither as quick nor as frugal as one might expect.

Our test figure over 400km was 14.2L/100km, but this should be taken with a grain of salt as plenty of that was spent enjoying the lower reaches of the throttle pedal’s travel.

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One main reason why so much time was spent with the throttle pinned is that the GV70 is genuinely entertaining to drive. The steering is fairly mute but accurate and well-weighted, especially if it’s kept in its Comfort setting via the Comfort drive mode, which allows settings to be mixed and matched.

Adaptive dampers are restricted to the top-spec 3.5T but while the passive suspension allows a reasonable level of pitch and roll, the chassis has impressive balance.

Really pushing the limits will overwhelm the Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres and generate understeer but the handling is responsive to throttle and brake inputs making it quite fun to hustle.

A word of praise to the eight-speed automatic gearbox, too, which is smooth in its changes and does a great job of selecting the appropriate gear when left to its own devices.

Manual override is also exactly that! Sport+ mode not only sharpens the throttle further but backs off the traction control, allowing you to really dig into the GV70’s dynamic talents.

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Drive in a more conventional manner and the GV70 is generally impressive. It’s well-insulated courtesy of its acoustic laminated windscreen and front windows, with some tyre noise from the rear only noticeable when driving in complete silence.

The primary ride is very impressive, the suspension absorbing larger bumps and lumps with ease, but the secondary ride can be quite busy, feeding smaller road imperfections back to the occupants. It’s not a huge issue but it is noticeable and perhaps unexpected, especially for a car wearing the 55-profile tyres of our test car.

Exactly where the GV70 sits in the premium mid-size SUV pecking order will need a comparison to decide, but that in itself is praise as Genesis has at least put itself in the conversation.

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The Korean brand also puts its best foot forward with aftersales service, with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, five years of complimentary scheduled servicing (though only up to 75,000km with 12-month/15,000km intervals), five years' complimentary roadside assistance, map upgrades and Genesis-To-You courtesy vehicles.

In summary, there are two things to mention. Despite the substantial cost involved, the Luxury Package does make the GV70 feel more special, more – funnily enough – luxurious. It’s worth considering regardless of engine spec.

Speaking of, while the 2.5T AWD is expected to be the biggest seller, unless you regularly head to the snow the RWD is almost $2500 cheaper, 68kg lighter and also more frugal, cutting the urban fuel consumption claim from the AWD’s 15.1L/10km to 13.8. Stay tuned for a full review of that variant to confirm the hypothesis, but it does look to be the smarter choice.

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