Genesis Electrified GV70 review

Sometimes waiting so you don’t get caught up in the initial stampede is the best course of action. Take the Genesis Electrified GV70, which as you may have guessed from the name, is the electric version of the brand’s large SUV. By not being among the first flood of electric SUVs it could stand a better chance of being noticed.

But is it worth the wait? Well, the standard Genesis GV70 turned out to be a nicely specified, well-finished, and stylish vehicle that’s unfortunately marred by an uncouth range of diesel and petrol engines, and ditching these engines in favour of near-silent electric motors should cure this shortcoming at a stroke.

It should be a very quiet car, too. We found the standard GV70 was well insulated against wind and road noise. Plus, the Electrified GV70 gets the same active noise-cancelling tech as we’ve already experienced in the hugely impressive Genesis GV60. It could even redefine SUV, substituting the ‘S’ that usually stands for ‘Sports’ in Sport Utility Vehicle for ‘Subdued’.

That said, the Electrified GV70 isn’t short on speed. In fact, it has the performance stats to embarrass the likes of its BMW iX3, Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model Y Long Range and Volvo C40 rivals. It also comes exclusively with four-wheel drive (although a single-motor, rear-wheel-drive option hasn’t been ruled out from arriving later on) to better get all its power down on to the road.

We’ll let you know whether it does manage to do so in this review, along with how it stacks up with the aforementioned rivals in all sorts of other disciplines, such as how easy it is to see out of, how much stuff you can pack into it, and how it compares in terms of costs. 

Once you're clued up on the Genesis Electrified GV70 and its rivals, and know which car best suits your needs, we can help you find the best deal quickly and simply. Just search our free What Car? New Car Deals pages for the make and model you want. It features lots of excellent new electric SUV deals.

That there’s only one mechanical package keeps the Genesis Electrified GV70 line-up simple: you get dual electric motors and four-wheel-drive set-up with a total power output of up to 483bhp. Officially, that’s enough for a 4.2sec 0-62mph sprint, and significantly quicker than the BMW iX3, Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model Y Long Range or Volvo C40. 

However, the full extent of that power is only available if you engage ‘Boost’ mode via a button the third spoke of the steering wheel, otherwise you ‘only’ have a measly 429bhp at your disposal. That’s still more than enough to send your head firmly into the head rest, though. In fact, the instant surge of power is quite addictive; not only is it fun, but it also gives you confidence when pulling into traffic, overtaking, or merging onto a busy motorway.

Official range is 283miles (dipping to 276 miles with the 20in wheel option), which is basically a match for the BMW iX3. It’s unlikely that you’ll match that figure in everyday driving; based on the efficiency we’ve seen so far, we expect it to be more like 230 miles. That puts the Electrified GV70 somewhat shy of the Model Y Long Range’s range. That car managed 304 miles in our Summer Range test, and 247 miles in the winter one.

Handling wise, the Electrified GV70 is a lot more settled and taut than the combustion-engined GV70, but its body isn’t kept as well controlled as in the iX3, which is much more settled at speed on an undulating road.

There’s more body lean in bends than in the more agile X3, too. You can stick the Electrified GV70’s adaptive suspension into Sport mode to firm things up, but it remains a bit soft. It is, however, far nicer to drive than the nervous-feeling Model Y, with a far more compliant ride.

If you learn to accept the greater comfort and ease off a touch, you’ll quickly build up a rapport with the accurate steering and high levels of grip, enabling you to still make quick progress. There’s even some fun to be had because the Electrified GV70’s power delivery is biased towards the rear, so you can sense the car pivoting round a bend and sticking the nose exactly where you want it into a turn. Some other four-wheel drive systems behave in a more overtly neutral, manner.

Refinement is a strong suit of the Electrified GV70, almost matching the iX3 and comprehensively thrashing the Model Y. There’s little electric motor whine to speak of, and you can turn off the augmented ‘engine’ sound via a setting in the infotainment display.

Wind noise is well suppressed by the standard acoustic windscreen and laminated side windows, and can be improved further with the Second Row Comfort pack, which adds laminated glass for the rear windows. Plus, if you add the Lexicon sound system, you’ll get active noise cancelling technology – a worthwhile option if your commute includes coarse road surfaces, such as the concrete sections of M25.

When you ease yourself into the Genesis Electrified GV70, it's easy to find a comfortable driving position because the seat and steering wheel have lots of electrically assisted adjustment. Adjustable lumbar support is standard, too, providing additional comfort, and opting for the Comfort Seat pack adds a massaging driver’s seat that has a programme to improve your posture automatically during long trips.

All the armrests and controls are well placed, and the rotary dials to operate the front climate settings are easy to operate, being far larger than the rather fiddly rocker switch arrangement you’ll find in the BMW iX3. 

You sit in a more commanding driving position than you do in the Jaguar I-Pace. The dashboard top isn’t as low as that of the Tesla Model Y, but you see over it better than you do in an iX3, and you can see the extremities of the bonnet. The front pillars are surprisingly slim and give you good forward visibility. Sideways visibility is fine too, and the rear pillars have windows to break up what would otherwise be a large blind-spot – although you can also opt for the pricey Innovation pack to get a blind-spot monitoring system.

Front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera come as standard. The Electrified GV70 also has a neat trick to help you see kerbs in the side mirrors; the reversing lights project lines on the ground behind the car. LED headlights are standard, too, and the aforementioned Innovation pack adds upgraded matrix lights that can adjust the shape of their beams to provide as much illumination as possible without dazzling other drivers.   

The standard driver’s display uses a mix of analogue dials and digital read-outs, but the Innovation pack brings a 12.3in fully digital cluster with a 3D visual effect. The latter is more of a gimmick than a genuinely useful piece of tech (you can turn off the 3D effect if it's not to your liking). The head-up display that comes with the Innovation pack is much more useful, displaying your speed right in your line of sight, together with warnings of traffic approaching from behind.

The standard 14.5in infotainment screen is one of the largest touchscreens you’ll find in the class. However, it can be a bit of a stretch to use while driving, compared with the tablet-style screen of the Model Y, partially because it’s mounted so high on the dashboard. Fortunately, it can also be operated via a rotary controller – just like the iX3’s. It falls naturally to hand, but we found it easy to mistake for the gear selector. 

The Electrified GV70’s menu layout isn’t as intuitive as that of the BMW’s system, but it doesn’t take long to get used to. We wish, though, that the infotainment system had as many physical shortcut buttons as you get in the iX3. As far as the sat-nav goes, programming it on the move is made a bit fiddly by the small icons in its sub-menu, but that’s a minor criticism, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring is included so you can use your preferred apps to circumvent the car’s system. 

The optional upgraded Lexicon stereo is reasonably priced and offers clear sound quality, as well as the noise-cancelling technology mentioned earlier.

Overall interior quality is very good, with soft surfaces for all the points you’re likely to touch frequently, and even in some unusual places, such as at the bottom of the doors.

The Genesis Electrified GV70 has a generous amount of head and leg room for those sitting up front. The front-seat passenger gets electric seat adjustment (including for height) as standard, but you’ll need to add the optional Comfort Seat pack for them to gain adjustable lumbar support 

Space to store odds and ends is fine, with a decent-sized glovebox and large door bins, as well as handy cup holders and a sizeable cubby under the armrest. There’s also a lidded tray area for your phone with wireless charging.

The back seats aren’t quite as generous for head room as the Tesla Model Y, and while the two offer similar leg room, the Model Y has a lot more foot room under its front seats, allowing passengers to slide their feet underneath. The seats recline for greater comfort, but they can’t be slid rearwards for extra leg room.

You also miss out on the BMW iX3’s more flexible 40/20/40-split folding rear bench. The Electrified GV70 mirrors the less versatile 60/40 arrangement of the Volvo C40. There are useful handles just inside the boot so you don’t have to open the side doors to fold the seatbacks down, though.

The boot itself will swallow a set of golf clubs or a pushchair with ease, and there’s no loading lip to heave bulky items over. Unfortunately, it’s much shallower than the space provided in an iX3, and doesn’t have deep underfloor storage like you’ll find in a Model Y.

The space under the floor is big enough to serve as dedicated storage area for the tonneau cover (which looks so cheap that you’ll understand why it has its own hiding place). A 250V electric outlet is provided along the inside edge of the boot if you specify the Vehicle-to-Load pack. This enables you to power all manner of household appliances, which could be useful during a power cut or a camping trip.

Pricing for the Electrified GV70 holds a premium over the BMW iX3 and Tesla Model Y, which some may consider to be understandable given the additional performance. Genesis doesn't do discounts, but it’s still worth checking out our New Car Deals pages to see exactly how it compares with its rivals.

Impressively, the Electrified GV70 is predicted to hold onto its value similarly to the iX3, and this should mean competitive PCP finance, because resale values form part of the finance calculations. Just be aware that the Model Y is the undisputed leader in this class when it comes to predicted future values.

This GV70 can charge at a faster rate than iX3 and Model Y – it can take on power at a rate of up to 240kW. That means a  10-80% charge will take around 18 minutes if you can find a rapid charger capable of such. A home wall charger, meanwhile, will take around 12 hours to perform a full 0-100% recharge.

There's only one trim level, and it provides you with such niceties as 9in alloys, LED headlights, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise, and electric front seat and steering wheel adjustment. It does miss out on some kit the iX3 gets as standard, though. You have to add pricey option packs if you want matrix LED headlights, heated front seats or three-zone climate control.

We don't have any UK reliability data for Genesis but every car is backed up by a five-year, unlimited mileage warranty. Hyundai – its parent brand – did very well in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey finishing fifth out of 32 brands.

All versions get automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, lane-keeping assistance and rear cross-traffic alert. The Innovation pack adds other automated features, such as lane-change assist on the motorway, blind-spot monitoring, and an upgraded emergency braking system that helps you avoid vehicles that suddenly pull out of junctions in your path.

The combustion-engined GV70 was awarded a five-star rating by safety experts Euro NCAP, although it has yet to be confirmed that this electric version will score as highly. We anticipate a five star result, though, matching the the Model Y.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here