Genesis Is A Good Idea

20 January 2020

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By Paul Gover.

For people who buy cars based on the badge and brand the Genesis G70 will be a non-starter.

Yet the all-new compact Genesis is a very good car and worth a look from $59,300, although prices and performance also rise right through to the $79,950 showroom sticker of the fully-loaded G70 with a twin-turbo V6 engine.

The G70 is a clean-screen car from Genesis, which is the upscale spin-off brand at Hyundai. If you want a clearer picture, think Lexus above Toyota.

The Genesis plan is a smart one, as the G70 sits in the same size bracket as the best selling prestige cars in Australia, the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class. It’s looking to win new followers to the brand before they become older and crusty rusted-on buyers of BMWs and Benzes.

So the target is 20-something singles and 30-ish young families, something reflected in a mechanical package which focusses on a taut sports-sedan chassis, old-school rear-wheel drive, and sharp engines including the headliner 3.3 V6 that makes a solid 272 kiloWatts with 510 Newton-metres of torque.

The G70 is, in some ways, a shorter and sportier version of the popular Kia Stinger. But the position is more prestigious than the Stinger, which has been a solid success with police highway patrols since the death of the Holden Commodore SS.

Genesis is looking for people who are also keen on value, something it will emphasise later this year when the all-new GV80 arrives from South Korea as the brand’s first SUV, although the quality is well above anything with a Hyundai badge.

Talking of the badge, some people who turn their heads to the G70 are confused by a winged mascot that looks a lot like a Bentley badge. Smart marketing, perhaps.

The packaging of the G70 is tight, particularly in the back seat and boot, so it’s not a hauler for a full family and works best as a 2+2 that can carry a pram with its 60:40 split folding rear seat. Anyone with children older than 10 will be looking somewhere else for their next car.

The Genesis drives tight, has solid performance – really quick with the front-line V6, which is great for overtaking – but can also run light on fuel thanks to an eight-speed automatic. But beware, as the turbo engine demands premium unleaded and that’s a nasty surprise in 2020.

The G70 package varies depending on the model, as there are six trim levels and two engines. Not surprisingly, over the Christmas break the test car is a fully-loaded Ultimate Sport Auto.

It has all the latest safety systems, with a big central infotainment screen and a welcome head-up display that keeps the speedometer front-and-centre during long-distance travel.

The seats are comfy, despite one front-seat passenger complaining about the lumpy base, the aircon is great, it is quiet and easy to drive.

Everything is well finished and it has a touch of class, while a solid investigation proved that the Genesis team has managed to eliminate every sign of the Hyundai connection, right down to the smallest stickers and stampings.