2022 Genesis GV60 EV review: International first drive

UPDATE, May 27: Australian details for the Genesis GV60 have now been confirmed. Get all the details at the link below.

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The Genesis GV60 delivers up to 360kW of power and five-star specs in a compact wrapper.

Please welcome the new brother in arms to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. Although all three cars share the same E-GMP architecture, they are quite different in character and appeal.

The Ioniq is the pragmatic choice – roomy, solid and comfortable, but it features the same 800V fast-charging system and long-range battery. The Kia is more of a drivers car, especially in 436kW GT form.

Genesis splits the pair with its GV60, but by trying to be exactly what? More prestigious for sure, notably better equipped, more stylish inside and out.

It also is rather more expensive (in Europe, with Australian pricing still to come), undercutting the base BMW i4 by a couple of shekels yet matching the 405kW i4 M50 xDrive when arriving fully loaded like our Uyuni White test car.

Similar money also buys a high-end Tesla Model 3 (again, in Europe) that is quicker and faster still, while promising more range per charge than all of the above.

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Ordering a new car is a painful anti-climax these days. Prices keep increasing at a terrifying rate, delivery times are getting longer by the hour, and putting in a special order can only multiply problems and boost frustration.

Hyundai/Kia/Genesis are a notable exception to this experience. The waiting list for most Korean EVs is under nine months, and the GV60 may turn out to be an even quicker delivery since the brand's personal assistants are currently selling batches of pre-specced vehicles en route to various ports around the world, which can be with customers before June 30.

In stark contrast, the quoted arrival time of a new Audi Q4 e-Tron for European customers is November 2023. We're also talking 2023 with regard to EVs by BMW, Mercedes, Tesla, Polestar and even Volkswagen.

Genesis GV60 specifications breakdown

The GV60 is available as a 234kW/605Nm Sport version and as the 320kW/605Nm Sport Plus pictured here. The Sport Plus model also allows you to hit Boost mode for these figures to jump to 360kW/700Nm for 20-second bursts.

Both all-wheel-drive GV60 models share the same 77.4kWh battery and 800V charging system.

The two GV60 variants offer respective driving ranges of 470km and 465km and sport a claimed WLTP energy consumption of around 19kWh/100km.

(In Europe, but not planned for Australia, there's a single-motor rear-drive entry model with 168kW/350Nm and a driving range of 516 kilometres. Seems the local Genesis arm will prioritise performance over range.)

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The Kia EV6 GT throws in an extra 112kW and 40Nm over the GV60 Sport Plus, but it will be even more expensive and won't launch for three more months at least.

Despite several price hikes, the 383kW Tesla Model 3 AWD Performance is still the segment's undisputed value-for-money leader, performance king and range champion. A comparison of base prices confirms a €10K (AU$15K) advantage for the now German-built best-seller.

Double that when pitted against a fully loaded GV60 like our princess snow white, which featured massage seats, headlining and steering wheel all trimmed in white leather or suede. It was also equipped with a non-opening panoramic glass roof (is there a sillier extra?), digital door mirrors and a splendid B&O sound system.

Nail the pedal to the metal, and the GV60 Sport Plus will beam itself in four seconds flat from 0 to 100km/h. Although the maximum speed is a perfectly acceptable 235km/h, please hold the applause for a moment to check out the numbers fielded by the competition.

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BMW quotes 3.9sec for the marginally quicker i4, Tesla claims a supersonic 3.3sec and 261km/h for the Model 3 Performance. Ranges? Over 465km for the Genesis, 521km for the i4, 547km for Elon's baby. The consumption derby also ends in a photo finish. On paper, the Tesla (16.5kWh/100km) beats the BMW (18.0) and the GV60 (19.1).

Upon return from a two-hour loop around Frankfurt in the GV60, however, the onboard computer displayed a less impressive efficiency reading of 29.1kWh/100km that would have clipped more than 150 clicks off the nominal range. Say what you will, but as long as Germany does not enforce a speed limit on the autobahn, EVs are better off stretching their legs elsewhere.

The heat pump is standard on the Genesis, which should take the sting out of cold start winter driving with lights, bum warmers and heating running on full blast. A diligently preconditioned battery can be charged from ten to 80 per cent in only 18 minutes, but only when you are lucky enough to spot an available 350kW charging station.

Get a wallbox, and be prepared to wait over seven hours for the same result. Trouble is, the sat-nav is at this point not yet able to show charging stations, prices and eventual delays in sync with the selected route. This can lead to iffy situations when the car is running on empty.

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What's inside? Tech & luxury

Having said that, the technicolour cockpit is of course stuffed with animated energy flow graphics, torque distribution readouts, actual and average consumption bar graphs, remaining range indices and whether your driving style is still that of an incorrigible petrolhead.

The digital world of Genesis runs a two-metre circle around the car. Enter it, and face recognition will via a tiny camera in the B-pillar pop open the flush-fitting door handle and unlock the vehicle. Simultaneously, the black box selects one of two memorised user profiles before adjusting seats, climate control, music and mirrors to your liking.

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A fingerprint scanner integrated into the starter button activates the Go signal and reveals the gear selector. Sounds familiar? About 20 years ago, Audi introduced a similar system only to withdraw it again after several customers had been robbed of their index fingertips in a series of brutal carjackings. But back to the GV60, which has several new assistance systems in store for us.

Most useful is the autobahn assistant complete with automatic lane guidance, distance control and speed discipline monitor. Also worth mentioning are the easy entry/exit feature available for the driver and the front seat passenger as well as the eye-tracker that lets you access the 3D instruments.

Call us old-fashioned, but it's a clear thumbs down for the miniature TV-like door mirrors. Why? Because the monitors sit on the inner door frames at the bottom of the A-pillars, where they are so totally out of sync with the visual axis we have become used to that reprogramming the brain really hurts.

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There is nothing at all wrong with the two large panorama monitors high up on the dashboard but things are getting messy lower down, where a second display and various shiny silver buttons enter the fray.

Add to this the exceedingly busy multi-functional steering wheel and you may agree that this cockpit was designed by the digital devil.

Embedded in the wide centre console is an alien object, lit at night and transparent during daytime. It is called many names, among them Crystal Sphere, orb, palm cuddler, glowball and Janus-faced double-header. When you enter the car, the globe shows only its lucent upper half.

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Cabin and cargo space

At 4510mm, the GV60 is 120mm shorter than the Ioniq 5, and it undercuts the EV6 by an even more substantial 170mm. This results in a certain shortage of rear legroom, not helped by the fact that the low-mounted front seats leave little space for needy toes.

Boot volume of 432 litres is not worth writing home about either, but the Genesis does have a token secondary 20-litre frunk where engines used to sit. While the seats look mega and are quite comfortable, dimensions and support are not their main strengths.

Driving the Genesis GV60

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Now start the car and watch Janus spin along its longitudinal axis until its other face, a rotary aluminium gear selector, locks in place. A brief twist determines the direction of travel, a push activates the electric parking brake. The driving mode is selected by a button on the steering wheel.

We start in Sport mode to placate the nervous right thumb, which can't wait until the boost feature finally unleashes the full 360kW for ten seconds. Since ESP will release the extra grunt only when grip and stability permit it, summoning overkill mode mid-corner delays the desired effect until the driver begins to unwind lock.

Handling and roadholding? We're on thinner ice here than previous experience gained in the sister models would suggest. True, the GV60 takes off like greased lightning, willingly punches 700Nm of instant torque at the single-speed transmission 24/7 and energetically builds up momentum even at the other side of 160km/h.

But that's only one side of the medal. Flip it and you may soon start arguing with the i-pedal, which is a real spoilsport because it keeps decelerating the car at lift-off even in the lowest regenerative braking setting.

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Since there is no way the driver can coax the system into on-demand coasting, fighting the current – which gets worse in one-pedal-feel antics – soon becomes tiresome second nature.

As expected, selecting Eco turns the GV60 into a toothless tiger. At the other end of the excitement scale awaits the Drift mode, but engaging it is a complicated four-step procedure that requires a more patient operator.

Thankfully, the 21-inch wheels and tyres refrain from destroying the low-speed ride. Supported by adjustable dampers and expertly tuned springs, they actually enable an unexpected degree of compliance. That's the good news. The bad news starts with the car's desire to tramline and leads straight to the ho-hum directional stability on bumpy roads when tackled with enthusiasm.

Neither AWD, mechanical rear diff lock or electronic watchdogs seem to be able to do much about this underlying vagary. Still on the suspicious side of things, the front end in particular displays a fair amount of brake dive, roll and pitch while also relaying the effect of full-throttle acceleration squat.

The steering is light and correctly geared, but it feels artificial throughout most of its motion range. Even through corners with a reasonably constant radius, repeated minor corrections are the rule, not the exception.

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Although the brakes bite with vigour, the pressure increases under high loads and the modularity suffers as a result.

Unlike most carmakers, Genesis has few dealers and sells most cars online at fixed no-haggle prices. Customer benefits include a five-year warranty package complete with no-cost maintenance, automatic pick up and delivery, free courtesy car and a wide range of personalised mobility services.

In the wake of the GV60, the brand will later this year launch two more EVs, variants of the G80 and the GV70. Although they are still offering a selection of diesel and petrol models, PHEVs are considered an inefficient stop-gap solution.

From 2025, new Genesis models with combustion engines will be history, and by 2030 the entire fleet is to be CO2-neutral.

But for now, the all-electric Genesis offering is pricey, dynamically not as convincing as the numbers suggest, and puts bling above function.

2022 Genesis GV60 Sport Plus specifications