Genesis GV60 review

It’s the Genesis GV60 – the South Korean firm’s first ever EV and one of three that it’ll launch in the next year or so. Exciting times.

If you’re thinking it looks strangely familiar, that might be because there’s more than a hint of the wacky Pontiac Aztec in the design. Just look at that rear three-quarter section – the GV60 is an Aztec for the EV age. Hurrah! It may also be because it’s based on the same E-GMP platform as the impressive Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. Clearly Hyundai went super retro with its blank sheet design, but the Kia and the Genesis share a similar-looking coupe-crossover body shape.

Wait, what’s Genesis?

Ah yes. Genesis is still fairly new to our shores and there’s no doubt you’ll be asked this question on the regular if you plump for a GV60 over its myriad rivals.

Essentially it’s the posh branch of the Hyundai-Kia megacorp, much like Lexus is to Toyota and Infiniti is to Nissan (although that venture didn’t end so well in the UK). Genesis has been building standalone cars since 2015, but the company only made the decision to enter the European market in May 2021.

The first cars to arrive here were the G80 saloon and the GV80 SUV, although they were quickly followed by the smaller G70 saloon and GV70 crossover. Getting the hang of the naming structure already, aren’t you? The only Euro-specific car launched so far has been the fantastic-looking G70 Shooting Brake, but the GV60 feels like the product that should have led the onslaught from the beginning.

Why’s that then?

Well it’s really very good, but more on that later. It would have also felt new and fresh to launch with an exciting EV. It would have shown that this is a brand here for the long-haul, and besides we haven’t been too enamoured with any of the petrol or diesel Genesis’ (Genesi?) so far – the posher G80 saloon being the only one to slightly buck the trend.

Genesis has also announced that it’ll only launch electric cars from 2025, so surely the combustion-powered cars could have been left for the US.

Give me some GV60 stats, then… 

So, there are three versions of the GV60 known as ‘Premium’, ‘Sport’ and ‘Sport Plus’.

Genesis has just gone with the larger of the two battery packs that fit in the E-GMP platform, so it’s a 77.4kWh unit all round. Sport Plus is obviously the quickest of the bunch, with an electric motor on each axle for 4WD and a rapid 0-62mph time of 4.0 seconds.

Sport still gets two motors and all-wheel drive, but both are a little less powerful, whereas Premium trim is rear-wheel drive only with a single motor out back.

How far will they all go on a charge?

Because the battery is only feeding one motor, the lowest spec Premium trim actually gets the best WLTP range figure. That’ll do 321 miles on a charge, whereas Sport manages 292 and Sport Plus 289. All pretty respectable. There’s ultra-fast 350kW charging too, so if you find a plug capable of those speeds you can go from 10 – 80 per cent in 18 minutes.

How much does it cost?

In the UK prices will start from £47,005 for Premium, £53,605 for Sport and a hefty £65,405 for Sport Plus. The latter does get a 10-second Boost Mode function that’s activated via a steering wheel button though. Oh and yes, those are digital side mirrors. They’re a £1,240 option.

How many people can I fit in it?

Only five but with plenty of room, although unlike the Tesla Model Y there won’t be a seven-seat option. Click through to the Interior tab of this review for more on the inside.

The EV crossover market is more than a little crowded right now. Just check out our 11-car mega-test video by clicking these blue words to see what we’re on about – that’s pretty much every one of the GV60’s rivals in one place for you.

It’s mightily impressive, though, the Genesis. We’d avoid the Sport Plus – it’s too quick and would be around the £70,000 mark with a few option packs added. The longer range Premium is where to start from, although it’s still a similar price to top spec versions of the Ioniq 5 and EV6. Genesis will have to hope the aftercare services live up to the hype of its own making.

It’s interesting to look at (although it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea) and the interior gets lots of neat design touches and premium materials. It’s decent to drive too, although perhaps not quite at the level of the Ford Mustang Mach-E or the Polestar 2.

This very much feels like the car that should have introduced Genesis to Europe. Still, now it’s here we’ll get to see if the buying public responds…