Better than BMW or Mercedes?: Genesis GV60 – unusual, comfortable, fast

The Hyundai-Kia group wants to establish Genesis as a luxury brand in Europe. Can that be successful? ntv.de has tested the all-electric GV60.

The interested party can decide for himself what exactly Genesis GV60 wants to be. You can see it as an SUV, but also as a crossover. At 1.58 meters long, it doesn’t necessarily qualify as a regular SUV, but its length of 4.52 meters certainly suggests it’s a mid-range model. And the designers of the GV60 give indications that there is no combustion engine. A careful observer will notice a disturbance in the passing roof line: in the area of ​​the C-pillar, it takes an extension directed towards the edge of the door and in this way creates a clearly visible flash. Is it understandable?

You can think anything you want about an electric car. And of course it has disadvantages too. But you can see his silence as an advantage. Especially since the supposed combustion engine is no longer the guarantee of a six-cylinder engine, even for a top engine. Four-cylinder hybrid concepts, for example, have been around for a long time and even though they produce hundreds of horsepower in engine power, they still have an unimpressive grunt.

Genesis GV60 is one of the fastest electric cars

Then it’s better to have 490 silent horses from two engines, which means all-wheel drive is mandatory. This is also required when 700 Newton meters of system torque are on. Then the impressive weight of 2.2 tons does not stand in the way of pushing the four-door car to 100 km / h in four seconds (after pressing the boost button). And a little later to increase it to 200 things. And then it is still not finished, which is still foreign in the world of electric drives. Genesis says 235 km / h, but according to its standard speedometer measurement, the Korean can easily reach speeds over 240 km / h.

So much for longitudinal dynamic performance. Of course, the GV60 is not a powerful rear-wheel drive, but it is a grateful long-term driver with real suspension comfort. And there are also well-made armchairs (with air and massaging) that you can stretch out in a relaxing way. But wait, a few tricks from the car frame still need to be told. To give combustion fans who are only interested in trying to switch to electric mobility, the engineers have come up with little toys. In basic mode, electric motors increase pressure with a slight delay, as is typical of turbo engines today. And the GV60 can now also simulate switching processes. Very funny trick. If you want that is another matter.

Diesel users who have been damaged in the range find it difficult to switch

Another advantage of an electric car is of course the direct torque recovery and the elimination of gear ratio changes. Interruption of traction? Not with Stromer. Never. But how was that? For a long time with the GV60? At this time, combustion engine drivers are starting to think and car manufacturers are having trouble driving solid gasoline or, worse, diesel, consumers for battery electric cars. Genesis is boldly targeting customers with 800 volts and promises that it will be able to bring the battery from 20 to 80 percent of the state of charge in 18 minutes. It seems wild, but it is possible as long as there is no freezing temperature outside. ntv.de tried it.

However, it has to be said that the company – known for excellent drives – has created a great model with this top variant. Indeed, power comes from oil. This also applies to electric vehicles. According to the factory, a maximum of 19 kWh should be required for a trip of 100 km according to the average WLTP career. In practice it is sometimes more than 20 kWh with a mixed mode profile. Accordingly, there is only about 300 km on the clock – you can usually get by with that.

Of course, driving style also plays a role. If you want to reach distant places as quickly as possible, you have to keep the accelerator pedal under control a little. It does not exceed the recommended speed, if it is possible to use cruise control, it will be a very reasonable measure to achieve good results in terms of efficiency and speed of travel. Of course it always tries to reach the maximum speed. You can do that too. But then additional charging stations can be useful. And naturally you want to avoid that, even if the GV60 has up to 240 kW of power in the battery.

The GV60 is a small package of technology

By the way, the powerful GV60 is not lacking in technology. Accessories such as the display as external mirror switches (the image is based on the corresponding cameras) and the front-facing chassis are definitely things that are good on the table of ordinary people. Or today in digital spaces, where car owners always discuss their achievements. Cameras sitting on the right tracks may seem aerial, but mirrors are better. The traffic picture in the background is very bad, especially at night.

And moisturizers work great, but they also can’t do magic. What about the more technical substance in the chassis? All-wheel drive would be a nice touch as would the variable steering ratio. These are ingredients that Germany’s premium competition certainly offers. On the other hand, the payment performance there leaves a lot to be desired. However, that is changing now.

However, the abundance of support and infotainment reinforces the feeling that Genesis is a modern brand. Although the dual screen as the instrument cluster is now almost obsolete. However, it definitely works. And even if the top GV60, which costs 74,480 euros, has enough equipment, the manufacturer still leaves room for improvement. For 3,430 euros there is not only a head-up display now, but also LED lights that change and the company’s famous feature of displaying an invisible area on the instrument cluster as a camera image. And otherwise? If Genesis would now work on making the helper configuration a little easier and more intuitive to configure (this also includes the ability to disable certain system functions), that would be great.

Datasheet for Genesis GV60 Sport Plus package

Conclusion: Genesis GV60 is a refreshing alternative in the mid-range. The Korean can compete with premium domestic competition in terms of looks and technology. For its performance, a better adjustment in the operating area would be good. Overall, a spacious and fast-charging car is convincing. The price is also not very low.

A little tip: If it is not necessarily a very athletic model – a representative of 229 hp and one engine will do the job too. It also uses less electricity. But here too, you can’t get less than 60,000 euros. Genesis GV60 is very high, even in terms of money.