The Genesis GV70 is a brand new compact luxury SUV that hit the market not too long ago. Manufactured by parent company Hyundai, the GV70 is now the second SUV to sell under the Genesis name, next to the bigger GV80. Priced to compete in the affordable luxury category, the GV70 faces some stiff competition.

In the time since the GV70 has gone on sale, I have seen quite a few of them on the road and have wondered what it is like to drive. Luckily, I was able to get the keys to a pristine example for a week to find out how exactly it stacks up against its rivals. Do you want to know where it lands? Well, let's find out together.

Exterior Styling

The exterior styling of the Genesis GV70 is sleek as it is beautiful. The GV70's front fascia with its big grille shares its split headlights setup with the G80 and GV80, distinguishing the GV70 from every other car on the road. As for the side profile, there is one pronounced crease starting above the headlights and flows along the sides of the GV70 all the way up to the rear quarter panel.

There is also a distinctive piece of chrome trim that runs from the passenger front window to the rear window. This subtle use of chrome contrasts well against the Barossa Burgundy paint ($500) and the optional 19-inch wheels on my tester.

As for the rear, Genesis has taken more of a minimalist approach. There is not much going on in the rear of the GV70 and, just like the headlights, the rear tail lights split and come from both sides like four red Japanese katana swords. Sadly, the exhaust pipes really aren't as big as they look. They're just regular circular exhaust pipes that sit inside each opening. But like several manufacturers these days, the setup is just phony - all for show and not the go.

The GV70 may look small, it actually is larger than you'd expect when you see it in person. It is 186 inches long, 75 inches wide, and 64 inches tall. The wheelbase on the GV70 is 113.2 inches. Overall the design and proportions of the GV70 are right on the money. It is handsome and yet distinctive from what we see on the road these days.

Exterior Dimensions

Interior Design

When someone thinks of a luxury marque, Genesis isn't the first manufacturer that comes to mind, is it? However, the interior design of the GV70 will make you think otherwise. The metallic trim, leather, and the occasional use of plastic help create a blissful environment that you don't want to leave. My favorite luxury detail in the GV70's cabin was the rotary gear dial.

Most cars either have a plastic or metal solid dial to change gears. Not the GV70. It has a clear material with a solid outside ring on the top. At night, courtesy of the ambient lighting system, the gear selector dial changes colors when switching to reverse. Speaking of ambient lighting, it sure does go a long way to spruce up the cabin.

As for the seats, they're some of the best seats that I've sat in, in a long time. They're comfortable and offer excellent support. They are both heated and ventilated, and boy do they work, unlike other vehicles I have reviewed. The only issue I had in the GV70's cabin was with the A/C controls. You get touch-sensitive controls on a display instead of buttons. But at least they function properly like the smartphones of today.

The seating and cabin space are abundant. There is plenty of space to fit full-sized adults in every seat and still have some leg room. Looking at the driver's seat, there is a lot of room behind it to easily fit someone of my height in the second row. You get 41.3 inches of legroom up front and 37.2 inches of rear legroom.

For trunk volume, there is enough room to fit a few suitcases for a family vacation. With all of the seats up, the trunk space offers nearly 29 cubic feet of open space. With the rear seats down, the space nearly doubles to 56.86 cubic feet of space.

Cargo Room

Comfort and Convenience Features That Stand Out

- Ventilated front seats ($4,000 select option package with 19-in allow wheels, aluminum trim w spin brushed pattern, panoramic roof, Lexicon Premium Audio with 16 speakers)

- Advanced Package of $4,150 containing leather seating surfaces, heated steering wheel, wave line backlit trim, surround view monitor, etc. See "Safety Features That Stand Out" for the rest of the package

- Heated and powered front seats front seats

- Satellite navigation

- Infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capabilities

- Wireless device charger

- Fingerprint recognition

- Am/FM/XM Radio/HD Radio

- Multi-colored ambient lighting

Safety Features That Stand Out

- (Continued from Advanced Package) Surround view monitor, blind spot monitoring, remote smart parking assist, parking distance warning front, and rear, and advanced rear occupant alert.

- 8 airbags including the center airbag

- Smart cruise control with Stop and Go

- Forward collision avoidance assist

- Pedestrian/cyclist detection

- Lane change oncoming and junction turning

- Highway driving assist

-Driver attention warning

- Lane-keep assist

- Lane following assist

- Blind spot collision avoidance assist

- Rear cross traffic collision avoidance assist

- Intelligent speed assist

Performance

The 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder under the hood of the GV70 produces 300 horsepower and 311-pound feet of torque. Power goes to all four wheels through the 8-speed automatic transmission. With my driving habits, I was able to achieve almost 21 mpg. I had already put 220 miles on the trip meter with 84 miles left in the GV70s range. The fuel tank has a capacity of 17.4 gallons.

As for the GV70's ride comfort, you should expect it to be excellent. Thanks to the adaptive multi-link suspension, there is no drama when driving on the uneven and bumpy roads of New Jersey. It extends further for long trips with the help of the seats. However, the soft suspension setup doesn't inspire confidence and so don't expect to thrash the GV70, especially around corners.

The steering isn't tight and stiff like an older BMW. Feedback from the tires isn't great either, but that is okay, given the GV70 is a luxury car. When applying the brakes, you will feel the weight transfer during hard braking the GV70 gets from 60 miles per hour to zero in just 117 feet.

2022 Genesis GV70 2.5T Specifications

Key Issues I Had With The GV70

There isn't much to complain about the GV70. The only issues I had were more or less pertaining to personal taste and the placement of a couple of features. To begin with, the location of the rotary gear dial is in close proximity to the infotainment control dial.

Speaking of controls, the volume control, driver mode switch, and everything beyond the infotainment control module is a little out of reach for me if I wanted to comfortable change things up. I just wish it followed a similar setup to how Lexus does their controls, similar to the UX 250h I recently reviewed.

Pricing, Warranties, And Competition

So, how much does this Genesis GV70 cost? After adding everything up from the suggested price of $41,000, the final price comes to $50,695. This includes over $8,100 worth of options. The starting price of the GV70 is $41,500 for the 2.5T model. That is a price gap of $9,695 between the model I tested and the starting price. The starting price of the 3.5T model is $55,000. The tested model price is $4,305 cheaper than the starting price of the GV70 with the bigger engine.

Genesis GV70 Price

The warranties offered by Genesis for the GV70 are among the very best on the market. You get the 5-year/60,000 miles new vehicle warranty. The powertrain warranty has a 10-year/100,000-mile warranty - and the last warranty Genesis offers is a 7-year/unlimited-mile anti-perforation warranty. Then you also get "The Genesis Experience" that comes with the GV70. And they're all complimentary services.

The competitors of the GV70 are as follows; the Volvo XC60, Acura RDX, and Audi Q5. The Volvo XC60 starts at $43,450. The Acura RDX starts at $40,600. And the Audi Q5 starts at $43,500. I have driven the RDX and Q5 not too long ago. Of the list of competitors, I can say that there are two vehicles I would stay clear away from buying if I had to choose between them or the Genesis.

The first vehicle I'd stay away from is the Audi Q5. Not only does it have horrible warranties to offer, but it also has the worst ride comfort out of all the luxury vehicles I have ever reviewed. The Q5 has one of the worst ride qualities that I can remember for something supposedly luxurious. I drove it from outside of Philadelphia in New Jersey to Nashville, Tennessee last year for my wedding anniversary and lost all comfort, being a loss of feeling from my waist down, by the time I reached Deleware. That's roughly an hour into a 13-hour drive.

The other vehicle I'd stay away from is the Acura RDX. The RDX is an Acura. A glorified Honda to be exact, with cheap parts. I'd just buy the CR-V. I have experienced enough problems with Acura models to give a list. The most recent experience with Acura that I had that went wrong was a braking system failure while driving it to review. For the XC60, I would have a tough time deciding. But based on warranties, I'd go for the GV70.

2022 Genesis GV70 Competition Prices

Conclusion

So, where does the Genesis GV70 land on the long list of luxury compact SUVs available on the market today? It is a simple answer. At the top. I not only thoroughly enjoyed my time with the GV70 but felt that it was reasonably priced. On top of that, I would choose it over the competition because of the warranties and peace of mind it offers. No other manufacturer offers the warranties that Genesis offers.