GEN ON THE G70(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 38

With this G70, fledgling Korean premium brand Genesis tries its hand at a BMW 3 Series-sized executive sports saloon. There's an interesting CV here, a plush feel and an impressive customer service promise. But the competition is tough.

Background word count: 197

If there's one market sector that the German brands expect to be their own, it's that for the compact-to-mid-sized executive sports saloon. The kind of car epitomised by the BMW 3 Series, the Mercedes C-Class and the Audi A4. Brand after brand has tried valiantly to break this segment's Teutonic dominance. Infiniti, Cadillac and Mazda's Xedos nameplate all failed; Honda's Acura brand didn't bother and even more established makes like Alfa Romeo, Lexus, Volvo and Jaguar have had very limited success here. So what chance a completely unknown Korean class entrant, Genesis, with this car, the G70? You might be inclined to write this model off with little more than a cursory glance, but don't do that quite yet. Genesis, in case you didn't know, is the Hyundai Motor Group's premium brand and the Korean conglomerate has hired some of the biggest names in the motor industry to make sure that Genesis succeeds. This G70 is offered as a saloon and a 'Shooting Brake' estate and there's a separate GV70 SUV model featuring the same mechanicals too - a platform and engineering shared with the impressive Kia Stinger GT. So yes, the G70's worth a second look.

Driving Experience word count: 222

Interestingly, Genesis has chosen to completely ignore the Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid tech it has access to from other Hyundai Motor Group brands and go straight from conventional combustion engines to full-EVs. For the time being, customers are being offered those ordinary engines, a 197bhp 2.2-litre diesel for those inclined to ignore the current environmental zeitgeist; or a 2.0-litre petrol turbo unit offered with either 194bhp or 241bhp. Most of the rear-driven platform engineering here is shared with the Kia Stinger but disappointingly, that model's 3.3-litre twin turbo petrol V6 (available on the G70 in other markets) isn't currently in the UK price list. The looks of this car suggests that it might be a bit of a wafter, like, say Volvo S60 or a Peugeot 508, and sure it can do that in the drivetrain's 'Comfort' mode. But in 'Sport', you might be surprised by just how agile the G70 can be. Those modes also alter the damping, plus the fast versions get for pot Brembo brakes, a sports exhaust, grippy tyres and a mechanical limited slip differential for extra cornering traction. Across the range, you have to have an 8-speed auto gearbox, but it rushes through the ratios in the 242bhp petrol version to reach 62mph in 6.1s. There's no 4WD option; you'll need the GV70 SUV model for that.