Genesis GV70 review

Interestingly, although the GV70 is supposed to be a sibling of Genesis’ smallest saloon the G70, its interior design and layout is completely unique and it’s actually a far nicer place to be (if you avoid the swathes of red leather in our test car, that is).

The driving position is good with huge levels of adjustment, and the seats are gloriously soft but still supportive. The £1,470 Comfort Seat pack can add massage functions to the driver’s seat and enhanced side support at speed. Legroom in the rear isn’t the greatest behind a 6ft+ driver, mind.

Behind the leather-wrapped steering wheel there’s an 8.0-inch dial display as standard. Spec the £4,190 Innovation Pack, though, and that grows to an impressive 12.3-inch digital display with 3D-effect dials. A camera then tracks your gaze so that the information is easy to read no matter the angle you’re viewing from – spooky.

With that options pack you also get a head-up display, wireless phone charging and Hyundai’s exceptionally helpful ‘Blind-Spot View Monitor’ that brings up an image of your blind spot in place of either the speedo or rev counter when indicating.

You haven't mentioned the widescreen yet.

Sorry – that lovely narrow touchscreen is a 14.5-inch unit with high-definition graphics and good responses. It can also be controlled by a clickwheel mounted on the transmission tunnel, which is great for ease of use on the move and also completely necessary because the screen is mounted too far away for the driver to reach. Although who thought it would then be a good idea to go for a rotary gear selector that’s around an inch further back? We’re not exaggerating when we say you WILL flick the GV70 into neutral when trying to delve into the menus. An exceptionally poor piece of design/planning.

There’s Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, as well as a separate climate control panel in its own nicely designed section of the dash.  

How much space is there?

You get 542 litres of space in the boot with the rear seats in place. For context, the X3, Q5 and GLC all get 550 litres, while the F-Pace wins this particular battle with 650 litres.

There’s slightly less space in the Electrified GV70 however, at 503 litres with the seats in place. You do claim some of the space back via the 22-litre frunk however, handily big enough to store any dirty charging cables.