In the beginning, there was Hyundai. After that came Kia. And then, third, was Genesis.
I am referring, of course, not to the order of the books in the Bible, where Genesis comes first and there is no Hyundai nor Kia, but to the release date of the electric EVs based on the same platform---the Hyundai IONIQ 5, the Kia EV6 and now, the Genesis GV60. The release cadence has been quite quick with these--all three in less than a year.
As with the Hyundai and Kia, the hood opens to reveal what looks like an engine shroud. That opens to reveal---well, a small cubby, really. Some other automotive writer said "briefcase", but it's really too small for that.
We won't dwell on that design faux pas, though, because the GV60, like the IONIQ 5 and the EV6 before it, has 800-volt charging, allowing it to wring the most out of DC fast charging.
Even on a 350kw charger, seeing 230kw current charge speed is, in my experience, a rare thing, but now I've seen it. It's speeds like that which allow the GV60, like the IONIQ 5 and the EV6, to recharge from 10% to 80% in as little as 18 minutes.
Hyundai, Kia and Genesis (corporate cousins all) are using the three new EVs to cover a broad spectrum of range and performance. The Kia EV6 can be had as a rear-wheel drive with 225 horsepower and 310 miles of range per charge or an all-wheel drive with 300 horsepower and 250 miles of range. The Hyundai IONIQ 5's rear-wheel drive models duplicate the Kia's numbers, but its AWD versions go for 320 horsepower and still manage 250 miles on a single charge.
The Genesis GV60 is only available as an all-wheel drive, in two trims: Advanced AWD (314 horsepower and 248 miles of range) or Performance AWD (429 horsepower and 235 miles of range).
That performance puts the GV60 in the same ballpark as the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition and the BMW i4 M50. The only EVs that do it faster are named Taycan, Tesla, e-Tron, Hummer, Lucid or Rivian---and they all cost a lot more.
Inside is where it becomes obvious that the GV60 is the same basic vehicle as the EV6 and the IONIQ 5. It is, in fact, the only vehicle in the current Genesis lineup that has a resemblance to anything else in the corporate catalog, so Genesis swings for the bleachers, attempting to differentiate the GV60 from its cousins via display graphics, materials and textures---and largely succeeding.
I say "largely" because a few things strike me as a bit gimmicky. See that upright rectangle on the B-pillar? Behind that is a camera. Face Connect allows you to unlock and lock your GV60 without your key fob.
But if the key fob's not with you, how do you start the car? Well, that's what the fingerprint authentication system is for. Just put your finger on the round button between the volume and tuning controls on the center console.
Okay. But if I leave my key fob at home, then I can't use Smart Parking Assist (y'know, the thing the less-fancy folks at Hyundai call "Smart Park"). And then, there's this. Get in the car, using either your face or your key fob, and you'll see a crystal-ish ball in the center console.
Press "start" (or use your fingerprint) and watch what happens:
Presto! An automatic shift control knob where---one could have been in the first place (sorry to be a buzzkill, Genesis, but...).
The good news is that Genesis is sharp enough not to charge extra for this stuff. There are two prices---$58,890 for the Advanced AWD with 314 horsepower and 248 miles of range and $67,890 for the Performance AWD with 429 horsepower and 235 miles of range. No extras. You pay one price for one power level, another price for the more powerful one and---that's it.
So, with $1,095 freight, the as-tested price of the 2023 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD is $68,695---which is actually about $1,000 less than the bottom line on the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition I tested---and that was a 2021 model. Yeah, I could do without the gimmicks, but when it comes down to putting an EV in the same performance class as the Mach-E GT Performance and the BMW i4 M50 and bringing the price in under those two (the BMW, a 2022 model, topped out at $82,820), I have to congratulate Genesis on hitting its target. Despite my quibbles, it doesn't undo a single thing I like about the IONIQ 5 and the EV6, and that's one remarkable base from which to build a car.
