2023 Genesis GV60 Performance: EV SUV reveals the shape of the future

2023 Genesis GV60: Genesis has disappointed with previous SUVs. Will this one be any different?

Price: $69,560 as tested. The only option was the $575 Hanauma Mint paint.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “off-beat design, athletic driving demeanor, punchy electric powertrain,” but not that “some rivals offer more range, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto don’t work wirelessly, Hyundai and Kia models offer similar performance for less money.”

Marketer’s pitch: “The future of luxury mobility.”

Reality: Genesis seems to have hit its SUV sweet spot, and in an EV no less.

What’s new: The GV60 is a brand-new, all-electric, small SUV, so small that it kind of resembles a tall sedan or hatchback.

The competition: Audi Q4 e-tron, Volvo XC40 Recharge and C40 Recharge

Warm welcome: The GV60 interior is everything a buyer could want in a 2020-era luxury vehicle. A pretty cream color with gray accents on the dashboard, nice stitching on the seats, ebony touches throughout.

But this is par for the course from Genesis; initially they’re quite attractive, but the driving and quirky operations tend to make things less than fun.

Shiftless: Further exploring, drivers may notice the delightful looking palm-sized crystal sphere with orange lights drawn through it atop the center console. It’s a beautiful orb, but just wait.

Hit the “on” button to fire up the EV and watch as the crystal sphere slowly rotates, revealing the shifter knob. We entertained guests with this party trick time and again.

But this also has a practical side. In the GV70, I complained that the infotainment dial sat just in front of the shifter and I constantly mixed them up. In the GV60, I never did, because I was reminded every time I sat down. Smart.

Up to speed: It’s an electric, so acceleration is its strong suit — especially with the 429-horsepower setup in the Performance model. (The Advanced creates 314 horses.) The small SUV arrives at 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, according to Car and Driver, and it does so with smoothness and plenty of torque from the 160 kw front and rear motors.

I kept the vehicle in eco mode the whole time satisfactorily. Later on, I tried sport mode and of course things got a little crazy. Woosh!

On the road: The GV60 swallows curves and corners. We took pretzel roads around the northeast part of the state at speeds I’d never otherwise consider in all but the most exotic of sports cars. The GV60 just sailed on through with minimal roll and perfect manners.

Bumpy surfaces and highway seams could be a bit much, but switching into Comfort mode helped with this portion of our event. I only used it in the potholiest roads, although some call that “Pennsylvania.”

Friends and stuff: The rear seat offers far better conditions than expected. Legroom and foot room are excellent, and even headroom is better than expected, as confirmed by tall Sturgis Kid 4.0, who rode in the back in 80-mile increments.

The center seat almost matches the others for comfort, as there’s no floor hump to speak of, and the console stays toward the front.

Cargo space is 24 cubic feet behind the second row and 54.7 with the rear seat folded. There’s also 0.71 cubic feet in the frunk (no engine, so there’s a small front trunk). We had more than enough room behind the seats for three people packing for an overnight trip, plus a large storage bin full of a college grad’s dorm room contents.

Play some tunes: The Bang and Olufsen stereo provides great sound, about an A-. It’s not quite stellar enough for anything higher.

Operation is simple as well, with dials for volume and tuning and a big 12.3-inch touchscreen for everything else.

Keeping warm and cool: Here, the GV60 controls address complaints I had about the GV70. A nice graphical LED display shows temperature, fan speed, and air source. Changing one feature did not change the entire display, so other choices remained in view.

In addition, the seat heaters and ventilators work in a normal fashion. They are operated via silver buttons on the console, and they follow a typical toggle pattern — high, medium, low, off. The GV70 was too clever for its own good, or certainly for Mr. Driver’s Seat’s own good.

Range: 248 miles. Note that the Hyundai Ioniq 5 AWD is 266 miles and Kia EV6 is 300.

Rapid charging from 10% to 80% of range can be as quick as 18 minutes at a 250-kilowatt or higher charger.

Where it’s built: Ulsan, South Korea

How it’s built: Consumer Reports has no data on the GV60 reliability. The gasoline-powered GV70 and G80 are both a 2 out of 5, and they’re also built at Ulsan.

In the end: Everybody wanted to see this vehicle, to get in it, to ask about it. People were telling their friends, who were asking to have photos and copies of the window sticker.

And I’d have to agree — fun to drive, super comfortable, looks great while still being user-friendly — it was one of the best weeks I had in a vehicle in a long time. But I’d also like a longer range. I found traveling chargers for about $800, and think this would be a wise investment in all cases.

Next week: Mercedes EQS580.