This is the Genesis G70, and more importantly the sporty 3.3V6 model
It’s one of the best, most slept on sport sedans out there
So today we’re hitting the highlights both good and bad
The Genesis G70 – it’s been around for a few years, and long enough to have received a pretty significant facelift in 2022
We’ve spent time in the pre-facelift car, did a head to head video against the BMW M340, AND Paolo even owns the pre-facelifted version
It’s a brilliant car, but nothing is perfect so we’re going to talk the best and the rest, starting with the rest..
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BAD:
1 – The Sound
For 2022, the Sport 3.3 models get a new valved exhaust which has a couple benefits
It helps the engine breathe better and that has a power benefit – the new exhaust means a 3 hp bum from previous
However, if you were expecting an AMG shouty exhaust you’d be mistaken
The sound itself is nice, but i’d like a little more volume for some additional drama
2 – Rear seat space
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who is familiar with this Genesis G70 platform
It;s a great looking car and a great balanced car, but somewhere in that recipe rear seat legroom was nixxed
It’s not like its intolerable, but for someone over 6 feet it is a bit cramped
3 – The engine
This one is less of a negative and more of a general wondering
This Genesis G70 still uses the original 3.3TT V6 – which is a perfectly peppy engine
It makes 368 hp and 376 lbft
And through the 8 speed box it’s good for 0-60 in ~4.5 seconds
The question I have, though, is why they didn’t put the new 3.5TTV6 under the hood
I understand this is more of a mid-cycle facelift so maybe they’re saving it for a new generation, but by that time we’ll be expecting PHEVs and other powertrains
So it’s a little odd to me that for 2022 they didn’t put the 3.5 in that the GV70, G80 and GV80 get
Just something I would have had on my wishlist
4 – The cluster
This is a weird nitptick, btu something I really thought was cool on the GV70 was the 3D gague cluster
It’s weird that on the G70 you, not only don’t have the 3D cluster, but you don’t even have a full digital cluster at all – very weird to me
But that’s really it, those were the only eyebrow raisers I could think of with this thing which means there’s a lot to like about the G70 so let’s cover that
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GOOD:
1 – The looks
The 2022 refresh really helped this Genesis G70 fit more in-line with the Genesis design philosophy
The old car is still really handsome, but this new car is another step up
You get the typical Geneis Quad headlamps we’er familiar with now
We have the big shield shaped grille that we’ve seen from the other models
The front end is really clean and elegant while not losing the aggressive nature
Around the side it’s a very familiar shape
Of course you get new wheel designs
But the biggest change is the removal of the boomerang behind the frnt wheels
I liked the boomerang
The profile looks very sport sedan, very 3 series
The rear design mirrors the front with the quad taillights
You do get genesis spelled out now though
And your license plate moves into your lower diffuser area
And it’s sandwiched by very big dual oval exhausts
Overall it’s an incredibly handsome car that looks expensive and fast
2 – The dynamics
We talked about how this car still gets the 3.3 rather thna the new 3.5, but it’s still a perfectly good engine
It’s got great low end torque, it pulls cleanly and predictably all the way up
And it’s quick
But the thing I love most about this car, is the steering
This has to be some of the best steering in a modern sport sedan
It weights up so nicely, I get great information from the front end, it feels sharp and athletic
It’s really the best part of the car, it feels like a dancing partner you’ve been with for years
And then the gearbox is sharp and responsive in sport
You’ve got an LSD so the car will rotate really well and you get get sideway in sport + with traction and stability off
The M340i is certainly the benchmark for this segment and is a more complete car, but i can find and play at the limit of this car much better
This car is so rewarding to drive hard
3 – The new tech
Paolo will tell you himself since he has the old car, but the new infotainment screen makes the 2022 update feel so much more upmarket
The graphics are much more in line with a luxury car
You’ve got a super wide aspect ratio
You still have the awesome sound of nature and things I love
You’ve got one of the best driver assist suites out there
You’ve got ACP & AA, but weirdly they are still wired
Your 360 cameras are very good
I mean aside from the semi-digital cluster and the wired ACP there isn’t really anything this car is missing to me
4 – The interior design, build, and luxuries
The cabin here, aside from the rear seat legroom is so nice
Espceially with the new center screen it feels so expensive and impressive when you step inside
It’s almost identical to the pre-facelift but that means you get
Really impressive quilting on the seats
You get expensive looking and feeling aluminum brightwork
You’ve got the 3 pod Audi R8 looking center stack
You’ve got a pano roof
Heated and cooled seats
Heated steering wheel
Rest of the interior is largely the same as pre-facelift
Really nice interior design
Quilted leather is so nice
Lots of the silver is aluminum
Heated and cooled seats
Heated steering wheel
And you can get it in white leather which will get me every time…really well done cabin
5 – price
And this is a big one
We’re going to compare it to the segment leader BMW M340
To begin building your AWD 3.3 G70 you’re starting at $47k
To begin building a xDrive M340 you’re starting at $58,400
So that represents over 10k more to start to get the BMW…and to me the Genesis is 85-90% of the car the BMW is
AND while the BMW is quicker, you can get a Pedal Commander and extract a little more performance from the car if you need a little more pace – we’ve done that with Paolo’s G70 and seen real results
But if I’m going to the track to improve as a driver, I would give a real look to the Genesis…I just might upgrade the brakes
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Conclusion:
So that’s the best and the rest with the Genesis G70…at least in 3.3 AWD guise
It’s such a good sport sedan and when you consider how much money you’re saving over an M340 it really becomes an easy decision
I’m a big fan..and Paolo is too