Genesis GV60 review

In music, your first single can propel you to fame or flop and end your career. Likewise, as Genesis (the car brand, not the band) launched the Genesis GV60 – its first dedicated electric car – it will have been hoping for a big hit.

Genesis couldn’t have picked a more competitive sector of the electric vehicle (EV) market to try to break into, though. Why? Well, the GV60’s size puts it up against some well-established electric SUV rivals. 

Luckily, it didn't have to start from scratch. Genesis is the luxury arm of the Hyundai Group, and the GV60 is closely related to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6. That means it features proven technologies, including the same dedicated electric car platform as those cars, called E-GMP.

All versions of the Genesis GV60 have the same 77.4kWh battery as you’ll find in the EV6. Its 239kW rapid charging capability allows it to go from 10-80% in as little as 18 mins (if you can find a fast enough charger). 

The GV60 is more than just an Ioniq 5 or EV6 in different attire, though. Genesis has designed it to offer you a more luxurious experience, with an interior unlike almost anything else out there.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But is the Genesis GV60 good enough to beat its cheaper siblings? And what about other rivals, including the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Nissan Ariya, Tesla Model Y and VW ID 4?

Over the next few pages of this review, we'll cover all the important stuff, including real-world range and running costs, and tell you which power output and trim level make the most sense.

When you’ve decided which make and model of car is right for you, make sure you find a great deal for it by searching our free What Car? New Car Deals pages. You'll find lots of attractive new electric SUV deals.

The GV60 is available in three guises: Premium, Sport and Sport Plus. So far, we’ve had the chance to test the Premium and Sport Plus versions.

Sport Plus is the most potent and has an electric motor on each axle for four-wheel drive. In normal driving, each motor can pump out up to 214bhp, but there's a Boost button on the steering wheel, and when you push it, that figure rises to 241bhp for a combined 482bhp.

With Boost enabled, the GV60 Sport Plus can accelerate from 0-62mph in just 4.0sec. In other words, it's Porsche Taycan 4S fast – and it feels it, too: when you put your foot down, you're instantly and forcibly pinned back in your seat. You really ought to give passengers fair warning (even though acceleration isn't quite as savage as in the Kia EV6 GT or Tesla Model 3 Performance).

If you don’t crave that much power, the mid-rung GV60 Sport retains four-wheel drive but has a more modest 314bhp. It's still very quick, though.

The entry-level Premium version ditches four-wheel drive in favour of rear-wheel drive, but still has a hearty 226bhp from its one rear-mounted electric motor. It feels suitably quick and can do 0-60mph in around 7.5 seconds.

What about when the road gets twisty? Well, the GV60 grips well and there's less body lean than in the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Nissan Ariya or VW ID.4. It's a big and fairly heavy car, though, so it's no hot hatch.

The lower-riding Model 3 is more agile, although the only electric cars that could genuinely be described as great fun are the Audi e-tron GT and the Taycan – and they're both much more expensive than the GV60.

The car defaults to Comfort driving mode when you switch it on, but there are two others to select if you want: Sport and Eco. Sport is the sharpest, with a quicker accelerator response and heavier steering. It also makes the driver display gauges glow red and tightens the seat bolsters to grip you better in corners.

Eco is set up to maximise your range between charges. You can also adjust the strength of the regenerative braking using paddles behind the steering wheel, with four levels to choose from. In Level 4, the slowing effect when you lift off the accelerator is so strong that you rarely need to use the brake pedal – although when you do you'll find it relatively predictable.

Of the GV60s we've tested, the entry-level Premium version has the most comfortable ride, thanks largely to its smaller 19in wheels. On most roads (especially motorways) it isolates you very well from lumps and bumps and is more comfortable overall than any direct rival.

Sport Plus cars have 21in wheels and low-profile tyres so they're a bit harsher, although still far from bone-shaking. All versions are really quiet on the move, keeping you better isolated from noise than the Ariya, Kia EV6 and Tesla Model Y.

Another reason to go for a version lower down the range is, er, range (the mileage kind). You see, while the Sport and Sport Plus variants are fast, they use up the energy stored in their battery less efficiently. The Sport Plus can officially do 289 miles on a charge, while the Sport is slightly better at 292 miles. The GV60 Premium, on the other hand, can officially manage 321 miles, which isn't far behind the Model Y Long Range.

Take the official range figures with a pinch of salt, though. In our real-world winter range test, the Premium version managed 251 miles on a full charge in temperates ranging from 3-6deg C. In warmer weather, expect a range of about 280 miles.

The GV60 really comes into its own when you get in and sit down. In fact, the materials and design features make it feel more like a concept car than something you can actually buy. One example is the crystal ball on the centre console, which spins upside down to reveal the drive selector when you push the 'start' button.

Digital instruments and a head-up display are standard on all versions, and both can show driving information (the speed limit and so on), media and navigation directions.

The GV60's driving position is somewhere between that of an SUV and a regular hatchback. That means you don't sit as high up as in a Nissan Ariya but you're elevated farther from the road than in a Tesla Model 3. The driver’s seat has electric adjustment as standard, including for the lumbar support, and there's a good range of movement in the steering wheel.

The large side windows give you a decent view out of the front and sides, so you won’t struggle to see cars around you. The view out of the back isn't great, though, because the tapered roof limits the size of the rear window. However, all versions come with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, which helps make up for that.

One visibility feature that isn't particularly helpful is the optional digital camera 'mirrors'. The video feed they show is clear, but you don’t get the same depth of field perceptive as with the standard-fit traditional mirrors, so it can be hard to tell how close other road users are.

In better news, the materials used throughout the interior give the GV60 a proper premium feel, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find any hard or scratchy plastics. Most of the surfaces are covered with soft-touch materials, synthetic leathers and attractive metals. You can pay extra for quilted Nappa leather and different colour schemes. It’s not necessarily any better built inside than the Audi Q4 e-tron, but it feels much more luxurious and special inside.

All versions have a 12.3in touchscreen infotainment system that’s positioned high on the dashboard and angled slightly toward the driver. The screen is bright and quick to respond to presses, and the operating system is intuitive.

Unlike in many modern cars, you don’t have to operate the system solely through the touchscreen because there's also a rotary controller between the front seats. It's much less distracting (and therefore safer) to use while you're driving – you just spin a wheel to scroll through the menus and press down to make a selection.

All models come with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, along with a built-in sat-nav, Bluetooth and multiple USB-C sockets. If good sound quality is a priority, consider the optional Harman Kardon upgrade.

Tall people sitting in the front are treated to plenty of head and leg room, and the GV60's broad interior means the driver and front passenger aren't even close to rubbing shoulders. It's a shorter car than the closely related Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, so rear leg room isn't as impressive, but there's still enough for six-footers.

The sloping roofline means that head room in the back isn't as generous as in the front, but you’d need to be well over six foot for this to be a problem in the outer two seats.

Unfortunately, the middle rear seat is slightly higher, so head room is reduced and six-footers will have to cower to fit there. Another slight criticism is that those sitting in the back don't have much foot space under the seats in front of them. 

Storage for drinks and other odds and ends is good. Up front, you'll find two cupholders, a central cubby under the armrest, a storage tray beneath the dashboard and a large glove box (which opens like a drawer). The door bins are shaped to hold a large water bottle.

The boot is less impressive than in many rivals, though. You get 432 litres of space below the load cover, which is slightly less than in the EV6 and Nissan Ariya, and much less than in a Tesla Model Y and VW ID 4. Still, the GV60 won't exactly struggle with the weekly shop or a couple of buggies. 

If you need more load space, you can fold down the back seats, which split 60/40. They lie almost flat when dropped, so sliding long items into the extended load bay is easy. There's enough underfloor storage for charging cables and the load cover.

The GV60 also has a small storage area under its bonnet, with 53 litres of space in the single-motor Premium and 20 litres in the dual-motor Sport and Sport Plus.

All GV60s have a 77.4kWh (usable capacity) battery, along with the ability to charge at speeds of up to 239kW. In ideal conditions and with a very fast public charger, a 10-80% top-up can take as little as 18 minutes, but in reality you'll probably be waiting around half an hour (which is still quick).

The entry-level GV60 Premium is generously equipped. It has full LED headlights, wireless phone-charging, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and an electric tailgate, plus the infotainment and visibility kit we covered earlier. You even get heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel.

So, while the starting price of the GV60 is higher than that of the Kia EV6, the Tesla Model Y (and even the Audi Q4 e-tron), you get more creature comforts for your money.

There's plenty of safety equipment, too, including eight airbags, lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot collision avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic alert and an all-important automatic emergency braking (AEB) system. The GV60 was given a five-star safety rating by Euro NCAP testers, and proved superior at protecting both adult and child occupants in a simulated crash than the Nissan Ariya.

Both the GV60 and Genesis as a brand were too new to have featured in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey. Hyundai and Kia – which are part of the same group – came fifth and seventh out of 32 manufacturers. 

Genesis gives you a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, plus eight years of cover on the main battery, as well as free servicing and over-the-air software updates for five years.

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