We'll be spending the next few weeks behind the wheel of the 2024 Genesis GV60, and we’ll need all of that time to analyze this newish all-electric pocket SUV from the Korean brand. Here's the first part of our long-term review.
See: 2024 Genesis GV60 Long-Term Review, Part 2: An Electric Road Trip Through Maine
With a name like Genesis, how can we resist the temptation to take a look at its... genesis? First of all, don't confuse this Genesis with the British prog-rock band that had its heyday in 70s. Nor with the NASA space probe launched in 2001 to explore the sun. Nor with several films, a professional wrestling show, a host of disparate companies, video games or a Christian fundamentalist movement.
Sweep all these confusingly homonymous entities aside; the subject of today’s lecture is Genesis Motors, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company founded in 2015.
The creation of a luxury brand by the mass-market auto company was a logical and predictable move given what had come before.
Honda started the ball rolling with Acura in 1986. Toyota and Nissan followed in 1989 with Lexus and Infiniti, respectively. Mazda almost followed with Amati in 1991, but didn’t.
One after another, Asian carmakers sought to prove that they had developed know-how allowing them to rival American and European manufacturers specializing in luxury vehicles.
Small steps
Hyundai first tested the waters in 2003 with the Genesis Concept. Internally, the debate was fierce. Should a Genesis be sold under the Hyundai banner or via an independent division? In the end, caution was the order of the day, with the launch of the Hyundai Genesis sedan in 2008.
But seven years later (at the end of 2015), Hyundai changed course and created a new luxury division, for the occasion producing a replacement for the EQ900 (its name in South Korea; it was the Equus in North America). That was the Genesis G90. Shortly afterwards, the G80 succeeded the Hyundai Genesis, followed by the unveiling of the G70 at the 2018 New York Auto Show.
One new brand, three sedans.
That was inevitably going to change, given the times. SUVs were in the cards. And sure enough, Genesis introduced the GV80 and GV70 in 2020. One letter for sedans, two for SUVs.
But also given the times, electrification was almost as inevitable. The brand took the shortest route there at first, taking existing models in the lineup to come up with the Electrified G80 and Electrified GV70.
It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to see what those models run on – just look at the names. But when it comes to a model created entirely new, from a dedicated platform (the e-GMP shared by the Hyundai Ioniq and Kia EV models), ironically, the name doesn’t reveal anything about its powertrain. You just have to know. Meet the GV60 small SUV, introduced in 2021.
I had the opportunity recently to spend five weeks with the all-electric 2024 Genesis GV60, including taking it on a 2,000-km road trip to Maine and back. Yes, 2,000 km in a BEV.
Remarkable looks
Both front and rear, the lights in the corners of the GV60 form slits that have become a signature of the brand. A purification that reminds me of the restraint with which some comic book authors draw their characters' eyes: two little black dots and that's it (Tintin comes to mind). Yet somehow, Tintin’s physiognomy never stops communicating different emotions, because these two black dots are intimately linked to the rest of the drawing. The same goes for the GV60.
What’s more, the GV60 dramatically changes its look depending on its colour. The hue of its finish either emphasizes or soothes the many details that run through the bodywork. In addition to the LED slots, there's the EV-like bulging metal nose, and the more-or-less false grille, diamond-shaped and with just enough holes to aerate the vehicle’s innards. The little triangle that crowns the grille either adds dynamism when the colour is pale, or goes unnoticed with a darker finish.
The same applies to the two stylized brackets flanking the grille. On a white background, they pop; on a darker one, they're barely discernible.
Personally, I admit I don't dislike contrasts. They give character to the body hull, which, incidentally, is interesting almost no matter where your gaze lands.
I'm thinking of the trim above the fenders and at the bottom of the sides, which joins the front spoiler to encircle the body without letting go. Or the receding roof, which quickly morphs into a sensual tailgate with a sporty spoiler. The flush handles amplify the vehicle's aerodynamics. Finally, another triangular fantasy, this one trimmed in chrome, attacks the rear quarter window.
And what to say about the wheels! The Advance version of the GV60 is fitted with 20-inch wheels, while the Performance version gets 21-inch wheels. In both cases, the designs comprise an impressive swirl of edges and geometric shapes.
All in all, a beautiful design. A credit to Luc Donckerwolke, a Belgian design wizard trained in the German school, like many of the designers whom the Hyundai-Kia-Genesis triumvirate lured into its camp by opening wide its very deep pockets.
