Item: Genesis G70 Shooting Brake
Rating: 2
Author: What Car? Team

The sole diesel engine available offers all the performance you need. It’s our pick of the range because it's significantly cheaper than the 245 2.0T petrol, but it sounds horribly coarse and sends unpleasant vibrations into the car. To make matters worse, it's not even especially efficient.

2.2D

Estate

GENESIS

Even the entry-level G70 trim gives you lots of standard equipment, including auto-dipping LED headlights, 17in alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera. Meanwhile, inside it provides an electrically adjustable driver's seat, adjustable lumbar support, dual-zone climate control, and a 12.3in touchscreen infotainment system with a DAB radio, built-in sat nav and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

Premium Line

2.2D Premium Line 5dr Auto

22d-premium-line-5dr-auto

Audi A4 Avant

Audi A6 Avant

BMW 3 Series Touring

BMW 5 Series Touring

Dacia Logan MCV Estate

Ford Focus Estate

Genesis G70 Shooting Brake

Hyundai Nexo

Hyundai i30 Tourer

Hyundai i40 Tourer

Jaguar XF Sportbrake

Kia Ceed Sportswagon

Kia Optima Sportswagon

Kia ProCeed

Mazda 6 Tourer

Mercedes C-Class Estate

Mercedes CLA Shooting Brake

Mercedes E-Class All-Terrain

Mercedes E-Class Estate

Mini Clubman

Peugeot 308 SW

Peugeot 508 SW

Renault Megane Sport Tourer

Seat Leon Estate

Skoda Fabia Estate

Skoda Octavia Estate

Skoda Superb Estate

Subaru Levorg

Subaru Outback

Suzuki Swace

Toyota Avensis Touring Sports 

Toyota Corolla Touring Sports

Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

Vauxhall Insignia Sports Tourer

Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

Volkswagen Golf Estate

Volkswagen Passat Alltrack

Volkswagen Passat Estate 

Volvo V60

Volvo V60 Cross Country

Volvo V90

Volvo V90 Cross Country

Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Costs & verdict

A Genesis G70 Shooting Brake&nbsp;in Premium Line trim undercuts all its main rivals on price, except for&nbsp;entry-level petrol versions of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/3-series/estate/review/n108">BMW 3 Series Touring</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volvo/v60/estate/review/n17266">Volvo V60</a>. Meanwhile, nothing comparable is cheaper&nbsp;if you’re after a diesel engine.&nbsp;

Sadly, the G70 doesn’t fare well when it comes to economy and emissions. All its official WLTP figures are significantly worse than those of rival&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-estate-cars-2022/n16998">estate cars</a>, and&nbsp;there isn’t a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/company-car-tax-calculator">company car&nbsp;tax</a> friendly <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/what-is-a-plug-in-hybrid-and-should-you-buy-one/n1141">plug-in hybrid</a> option.

On a brighter note, the G70 Shooting Brake comes with lots of standard equipment for the money, with even the entry-level trim getting 17in alloy wheels, automatically dipping LED headlights and dual-zone climate control. We’d therefore recommend sticking with the entry-level Premium Line trim.

If you do want to upgrade, Luxury Line adds the Convenience Pack with heated front seats and steering wheel, 18in alloy wheels, and access to the more powerful petrol engine. Top-tier&nbsp;Sport Line trim adds heated&nbsp;Nappa leather sports seats, 19in alloy wheels and performance Brembo brakes.&nbsp;

We don't have any reliability data for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/genesis">Genesis</a>&nbsp;but every car is backed up by a five-year&nbsp;unlimited mileage warranty. What's more, parent company Hyundai did very well in the 2021&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2021-what-car-reliability-survey-brands/n23418">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>, coming joint third out of 30 manufacturers included, which&nbsp;bodes well for its premium car division.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/genesis/g70/saloon/review/n23541">Genesis G70</a> saloon (which the G70 SB is based on) was awarded five stars out of five for safety by the independent experts at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-safest-cars-on-sale-today/n19724">Euro NCAP</a>, and all versions come with&nbsp;lane-keeping assistance and&nbsp;automatic emergency braking&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">(AEB)</a>&nbsp;with pedestrian detection.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter&nbsp;<a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">here</a>

The&nbsp;2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine in the&nbsp;Genesis G70 Shooting Brake produces 194bhp or 241bhp, depend on which version you go for. There's also&nbsp;a&nbsp;197bhp 2.2-litre diesel.&nbsp;Each has four cylinders and feeds power to the back wheels via&nbsp;an eight-speed automatic gearbox. There's no hybrid option, as there is with the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/3-series/estate/review/n108">BMW 3 Series Touring</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/c-class/estate/review/n17346">Mercedes C-Class Estate</a>.

The more powerful of the two petrols is impressively responsive from low revs. It can get you up to motorways speeds without becoming&nbsp;stressed, and offers a good amount of shove for overtaking. We’ve yet to try the least powerful petrol, but its 9.3sec 0-60mph time suggests it’ll need a fair bit of coaxing to make decent progress.

The gearbox shifts pretty smoothly most of the time, and doesn't dither when pulling out of junctions in the way that the auto in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/a4/estate/review/n101">Audi A4 Avant</a> can. However, when you're driving through town, the G70 has a habit of changing down unnecessarily rather than relying on the engine's torque.

That's a problem with the diesel engine as well. While it offers all the performance you need, it sounds horribly coarse and sends unpleasant vibrations into the car.&nbsp;Indeed, it feels closer to diesels of the early Noughties than the refined four-cylinder units used in premium <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-estate-cars-2022/n16998">estate cars</a> today. It is a fair bit quicker to 60mph compared with the entry-level petrol at 197bhp (7.7sec), but other diesel rivals will out-accelerate the G70 SB.

More positively, wind noise is well contained, even at motorway speeds, but you hear quite a lot of road noise, especially with the largest 19in wheels.

We drove the G70 SB with the adaptive suspension <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/genesis">Genesis</a> fits to Luxury Line and Sport Line trim versions, and it's pretty good at isolating you from scruffy road surfaces when it's in the Comfort setting. The car can still crash and shudder over larger bumps and potholes, though.

Switching to Sport mode firms up the suspension slightly to keep body lean well controlled in bends. It also adds greater heft to the steering, but this remains disappointingly vague, so the G70 is nowhere near as fun as a 3 Series Touring on winding roads.

The standard brakes are progressive and easy to modulate, and make the bigger brake option on Sport Line models seem superfluous.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

We’ve yet to try the least powerful (194bhp) 2.0-litre turbo petrol, but its 9.3sec 0-60mph time suggests it’ll need a fair bit of coaxing to get up to motorway speeds. Less powerful versions of the Audi A4 Avant and BMW 3 Series Touring are swifter than that.

http://example.com

2.0T (194bhp)

OUR PICK

The more powerful of the two petrol engines can officially get the G70 from 0-62mph in a little over six seconds, and we can well believe it's capable of that. It feels responsive from low revs, has plenty of muscle in reserve for overtaking and makes it easy to get up to motorway speeds. It's not an especially frugal choice, though, averaging 34.0mpg in official tests.

2.0 T (241bhp)

20t-245

If the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake&nbsp;has stopped you in your tracks with its&nbsp;looks, you might be half way to&nbsp;buying one already.

So&nbsp;now it's caught your eye,&nbsp;what exactly is the G70 Shooting Brake, and is it any good? Well, first up, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/genesis">Genesis</a>&nbsp;is Hyundai's luxury arm, and it aims to compete with the big (mainly German) premium brands we all know well.

With the G70 Shooting Brake, it's taken the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/genesis/g70/saloon/review/n23541">Genesis G70</a> executive saloon and added a hatchback-style extension on the rear end. That gives it a more practical <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-estate-cars-2022/n16998">estate car</a> silhouette to go with the plush interior and three engine options (two petrols, one diesel).

The G70 Shooting Brake isn’t just about having a bit more room for your shopping or luggage, though – it's also designed to have driving manners to match its looks.&nbsp;With that in mind, Genesis has given Sport Line models beefier brakes for buyers keen on more spirited driving.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;combination of&nbsp;extra luggage space, a luxury feel and a bit of&nbsp;performance isn't unique, of course. The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake will be competing&nbsp;with the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/a4/estate/review/n101">Audi A4 Avant</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/3-series/estate/review/n108">BMW 3 Series Touring</a>, <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/c-class/estate/review/n17346">Mercedes C-Class Estate</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volvo/v60/estate/review/n17266">Volvo V60</a>.

The G70 Shooting Brake is set apart from the front-wheel-drive V60 and less powerful versions of the A4 Avant by its sporty rear-wheel drive layout&nbsp;(which the 3 Series Touring and C-Class Estate have&nbsp;too). Unlike more potent A4&nbsp;and&nbsp;3 Series variants, the G70 isn't available with four-wheel drive in the UK.

So, has Genesis done enough to make this a worthy contender to those impressive <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/category/estate">estate car</a> rivals? That's what we'll reveal over the next few pages of this review. We’ll tell you what it’s like to drive, how good the interior quality is, how much equipment you&nbsp;get,&nbsp;how big the boot is and lots more.&nbsp;

When you know which make and model of car you want to buy, we can help you find it for the lowest price available if you search the deals on our free <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals">What Car? New Car Buying service</a>.

The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake makes it easy to find&nbsp;a good driving position&nbsp;because even the entry-level Premium Line trim gives you an electrically adjustable&nbsp;seat.

Unlike in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/3-series/estate/review/n108">BMW 3 Series Touring</a>, you get lumbar adjustment to help you stay comfortable on a long drive. However, you might want to consider adding the&nbsp;Comfort Seat Pack, which&nbsp;lets you adjust the&nbsp;side bolsters, thigh support and steering wheel electrically, and save your preferred settings.

You sit quite low down, yet still get a great view out at junctions, thanks to slim windscreen&nbsp;pillars. Over-the-shoulder visibility isn't as good as it is in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/a4/estate/review/n101">Audi A4 Avant</a>&nbsp;though, so you'll be grateful&nbsp;that all G70 SBs have&nbsp;blind-spot monitoring, front and rear parking sensors, and a rear-view camera. The Innovation Pack adds a&nbsp;camera display in the driver’s instrument cluster, which shows what’s coming down your flank when you indicate.

Those instruments are&nbsp;a combination of analogue dials&nbsp;and an 8.0in screen unless you add the&nbsp;Innovation Pack, in which case you get fully digital instruments&nbsp;with a 3D effect to layer information. Perhaps most usefully of all, the&nbsp;pack includes&nbsp;a head-up display that projects your speed, sat-nav directions and other information on to the windscreen&nbsp;so you don't have to take your eyes off the road.

The dashboard is quite logically laid out and has lots of physical controls, unlike in the A4 and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/c-class/estate/review/n17346">Mercedes C-Class Estate</a>&nbsp;(they put almost everything on screens).&nbsp;That might&nbsp;make the G70&nbsp;look a bit old-fashioned inside, but it also means that it's far less distracting to adjust the climate control.

That’s not to say that <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/genesis">Genesis</a> is stingy with tech. You get a 10.25in landscape-oriented&nbsp;touchscreen with built-in sat-nav, Bluetooth, and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-apple-carplay/n1193">Apple CarPlay</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/owning/what-is-android-auto/n1194">Android Auto</a> smartphone mirroring. The screen isn't as easy to operate on the move as the iDrive system in the 3 Series. For example, it has quite small icons and does without a separate control dial, although mercifully you do get some proper shortcut buttons for swapping between menus.

The quality of the interior materials is&nbsp;good, and everything feels solidly put together, although the A4 still sets the standard.&nbsp;One word of caution: all the G70s we’ve driven have had the pricey Nappa option with fine-grain leather and a classy suede headliner, and cars without it might not feel as plush.

Well equipped, but rivals are more practical, quieter, better to drive and cheaper to run

Up front, the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake has plenty of head and leg room, even for those well over six feet tall. While the&nbsp;door bins only really give you enough space for a bottle of water, there's a useful cubby in front of the gear selector, a big storage bin under the front centre armrest and two cupholders.

The G70 SB disappoints in the rear, though, because head and leg room are distinctly tight, and anyone sitting in the middle will struggle to find a spot for their feet due to a sizeable central tunnel.

The rear seats do have a handy 40/20/40 split, as they do in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/audi/a4/estate/review/n101">Audi A4 Avant</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/3-series/estate/review/n108">BMW 3 Series Touring</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/mercedes-benz/c-class/estate/review/n17346">Mercedes C-Class Estate</a> (but not the<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volvo/v60/estate/review/n17266"> Volvo V60</a>). Sadly, you’ll need to fold them often if you regularly carry longer items, such as a child’s pushchair or a set of golf clubs – while the boot width is fine, the load area isn’t as long or tall as in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/best/best-estate-cars-2022/n16998">best estate cars</a>.

It&nbsp;also has the narrowest opening among rivals, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/genesis">Genesis</a> has fitted an odd two-piece parcel shelf that makes loading quite awkward. The tailgate opens electrically, as it does on the&nbsp;main competitors, but the lift-over height to put stuff in the back is very high.

premium-line

Building on the entry-level trim, Luxury Line adds leather upholstery, 18in alloy wheels, a heated steering wheel and a powered tailgate. However, while these are nice things to have, we wouldn't bother spending the extra.

Luxury Line

luxury-line

Top-tier Sport Line models give you all of the equipment found in Luxury Line models, plus heated sports seats, Nappa leather upholstery, 19in alloy wheels and more powerful Brembo brakes. Due to the cost, however, we find this trim hard to recommend.

Sport Line

sport-line

If you’re after an executive estate that comes with lots of toys and stands out from the crowd, the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake delivers. However, in most other respects it's well off the pace, with the majority of rivals more practical, quieter, better to drive and cheaper to run, whether you're a private buyer or a company car driver.

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Huge boot and excellent practicality</li> <li>Plenty of interior space so you can carry passengers as well as luggage </li> <li>Strong engines to pull a heavily laden car</li> <li>Comfortable ride, especially on the motorway</li> <li>Low running costs for company car drivers</li></ul>

If you’re after bags of space but you don’t want to commit to the van-like dimensions and styling of an MPV, there are some great estate cars on offer that should do the job.

Tricks to look out for include an electric tailgate&nbsp;that opens automatically when you wave your foot under the rear bumper; this is&nbsp;particularly handy if you’re trying to load in a heavy or&nbsp;bulky item. You should also look for handles in the side of the boot itself that can drop down the rear seats; these are much more convenient than having to walk around the side of the car to do it.

There are some terrific estates at most price ranges. The humble Skoda Fabia Estate offers cavernous space for not much cash at all, for example.

Further up the price range, another of our perennial favourites is the Skoda Superb Estate;&nbsp;it’s great to drive and as practical as most people should ever need. Meanwhile, for serious mile-munching ability and a premium, well-finished interior, it’s hard to look beyond the BMW 5 Series Touring.

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Effortless long-distance capability</li> <li>Strong standard specification</li> <li>Low running costs</li> <li>Comfortable driving position</li> <li>Comprehensive yet easy-to-use infotainment system</li></ul>

Executive cars are often the choice of company car drivers, so factors such as CO2 emissions (which govern your monthly tax bill) are just as important as cruising refinement for those long motorway journeys, a plush cabin and (whisper it) the image of the badge on the bonnet.

The good news is that there are options for all budgets and tastes. If rear space is crucial and you’re willing to put up with a less-than-premium badge, the Skoda Superb is tough to beat, while if you want a premium badge on the bonnet then the BMW 3 Series is consistently one of our favourites in this class.

And don't think you're limited to just petrol or diesel-powered choices in this class,&nbsp;because at the top end the Tesla Model 3 is well worth considering for its long range and engaging driving style.

Executive

Genesis G70 Shooting Brake review

Fill out our 2022 Reliability Survey - and win a prize!

Alfa Romeo Giulia

Volvo XC60

Nissan Ariya

Fiat 500

Hyundai Ioniq 5

Honda HR-V

Dacia Jogger

/news/complete-the-2022-what-car-reliability-survey-for-the-chance-to-win-a-prize/n15554

New car deals >>

site ribbon config

Buying advice for the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake covering running costs, MPG, Fuel Economy, Reliability and Safety, from the expert What Car? review team.

A Genesis G70 Shooting Brake in Premium Line trim undercuts all its main rivals on price, except for entry-level petrol versions of the BMW 3 Series Touring and Volvo V60. Meanwhile, nothing comparable is cheaper if you’re after a diesel engine. ,Sadly, the G70 doesn’t fare well when it comes to economy and emissions. All its official WLTP figures are significantly worse than those of rival estate cars, and there isn’t a company car tax friendly plug-in hybrid option.,On a brighter note, the G70 Shooting Brake comes with lots of standard equipment for the money, with even the entry-level trim getting 17in alloy wheels, automatically dipping LED headlights and dual-zone climate control. We’d therefore recommend sticking with the entry-level Premium Line trim.If you do want to upgrade, Luxury Line adds the Convenience Pack with heated front seats and steering wheel, 18in alloy wheels, and access to the more powerful petrol engine. Top-tier Sport Line trim adds heated Nappa leather sports seats, 19in alloy wheels and performance Brembo brakes. ,We don't have any reliability data for Genesis but every car is backed up by a five-year unlimited mileage warranty. What's more, parent company Hyundai did very well in the 2021 What Car? Reliability Survey, coming joint third out of 30 manufacturers included, which bodes well for its premium car division.,The Genesis G70 saloon (which the G70 SB is based on) was awarded five stars out of five for safety by the independent experts at Euro NCAP, and all versions come with lane-keeping assistance and automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection.For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here

New car deals >>

Genesis G70 Shooting Brake review

BMW 5 Series Touring

Skoda Superb Estate

Costs & verdict

Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is

What Car? has a buying service

Quick search

Tools & services

Legal bits

Information