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 all-electric model – it was naturally hoping for a big hit.

Genesis couldn’t have picked a more competitive section of the electric car market to try to break into, though. Why? Well, the GV60’s size and shape puts it in the electric SUV class – and up against plenty of well-established 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 electric car platform, called E-GMP.

Genesis GV60 video review

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

Sounds good – but is the Genesis GV60 strong enough to beat its siblings? And what about other rivals, including the Nissan Ariya, the Tesla Model Y and the VW ID 4? Read on to find out how it performs against the best electric SUVs...

The Genesis GV60 is available in three guises: Premium, Sport and Sport Plus, all with a 77.4kWh (usable capacity) battery.

The GV60 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 four seconds. In other words, it's Porsche Taycan 4S fast – and it feels it: 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 quickest versions of the Kia EV6 or Tesla Model 3).

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 has a hearty 226bhp from its single rear-mounted electric motor. While nothing like as rapid as the Sport or Sport Plus, the Premium is still more than nippy enough for everyday driving, with 0-60mph taking around 7.5 seconds.

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

The lower-riding Tesla 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 Porsche Taycan – and they're both much more expensive.

The GV60 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 a Nissan Ariya, a Kia EV6 or a Tesla Model Y.

Another reason to go for a version lower down the range is, er, range. 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.

In our real-world winter range test, the Premium version managed 251 miles in temperates ranging from 3-6C. In warmer weather, expect about 280 miles.

The Genesis 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. A digital driver's display 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 higher up from the road than in a Tesla Model 3. The driver’s seat has electric adjustment as standard, including for lumbar support, and there's a good range of movement in the steering wheel.

The GV60's 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. All versions come with front and rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, which helps.

One visibility feature that's not particularly helpful is the optional digital door mirrors, which show a real-time image from a camera rather than a simple reflection. 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, for example, the Audi Q4 e-tron but it feels much more luxurious and special inside.

All versions of the GV60 have a 12.3in infotainment touchscreen 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 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 to use while you're driving – you just spin a wheel to scroll through the menus and press down to make a selection.

All GV60s 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 of the Genesis GV60 are treated to plenty of head and leg room, and the 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 head room in the back isn't as generous as in the front, but you’d need to be well over 6ft 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 crouch slightly to fit there. There’s not a huge amount of room under the front seats for feet either.

Storage for drinks and other odds and ends is good. In the front of the GV60 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 space is less impressive than in many rivals, though. You get 432 litres of storage below the load cover, which is slightly less than in the EV6 and Nissan Ariya, and much less than in a Tesla Model Y or VW ID 4. Still, the GV60 won't exactly struggle with the weekly shop or a couple of buggies.

When you need more load space you can fold down the back seats, which split 60/40. They lie almost flat, 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.

The starting price of the Genesis GV60 is higher than that of the Kia EV6, the Tesla Model Y and even the Audi Q4 e-tron but you do get more creature comforts for your money.

The entry-level GV60 Premium comes with full LED headlights, wireless phone-charging, dual-zone climate control, adaptive cruise control and an electric tailgate. You even get heated, ventilated and massaging front seats, heated rear seats and a heated steering wheel.

All GV60s have a maximum charging speed of 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).

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.

The GV60 came a middling ninth out of 16 electric SUVs ranked in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. Genesis as a brand did not feature, but Hyundai and Kia – which are part of the same group – came 10th and 11th out of 31 manufacturers.

Genesis gives you a five-year unlimited mileage warranty, plus eight years of cover on the GV60's main battery, as well as free servicing and over-the-air software updates for five years.

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