@movernie
In my opinion, no car is perfect! I think every car has its pros and cons and there are always room for improvements.
During this entire week, I got to test drive this 2026 Genesis G70 2.5L Turbo AWD. And here are things that I like and dislike about this sporty 4-door sedan.
Like (Pros):
– Luv the sporty, elegant and luxurious exterior look of this Genesis G70. It looks so damn good from all angles, whether it’s from the front, side or rear, it’s attractive.
– Luxurious interior look. Moment I opened the door, wow! The beige colour works very well with the black interior. The lines and patterns on the side panels and seats was the highlights.
– This G70 comes with 300 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque, that’s great output pumping from a 2.5L turbo gas engine. This excellent engine configuration gave the G70 a fast take-off acceleration. It also gives a steady and stable acceleration with good tire grips, and the all-wheel-drive (AWD) gave the driver and passengers a sense of being safe and exhilarating feeling!
– Great handling. Excellent turning radius with concise and accurate turns. I don’t like light steering wheel turning feel, so when I feel a little heavier turn from this G70 steering wheel, I was impressed and delighted.
– Low sporty driving experience. When I sat into this G70, I felt like I was getting into a sporty coupe coz of its relatively lower profile and the stance. This has 4 doors but drive and feels like a 2-door sports car. I know some may not like that. But to me, it’s so rare these days to have a brand which offers such joyful sports car experience, which is harder and harder to get these days.
– Good mix of touch screen features and buttons with the actual physical radio and ventilation buttons. Trust me, some cars require me to spend sometime to figure things out or where everything is located. For this G70, it was easy to use and find what I need right off the bat.
Dislike (Cons):
– Super low reverse light could be a safety hazard. I don’t know why our government doesn’t impose regulations on automakers to have guidelines or safety protocols when designing rear lights. This super low reverse light designs is always applying to many Kia, Hyundai and Genesis designs. They are notorious offenders of these low and hard-to-spot reverse lights. Super annoying. You should be making the drivers and pedestrians trailing behind us easy to spot that I am reversing, not making it more difficult for them to see.
– Super tight rear seats. Really not sure why this GV70 has such a tight rear space cabin. If you look outside the car, it has a long hood, it looks very lengthy in the front and rear, yet the cabin is tight. I am not even 6 foot tall and yet it feels cramped in the rear. Coupled with the arch of the middle floor (due to the suspension design), I am sure no one wants to sit in the middle.
– Fuel economy is bad! I don’t know why this G70 eats that much gas, after a few drives, my full tank goes to half and less. With the Iran-USA war, fuel prices goes up, bad gas consumption is not the most ideal.
– Some of the components in the interior looks cheap and outdated. I know in the section above, I mentioned how much I like the interior and it has some good quality material, but that’s mainly focused on the lines and style of the seats and side panel. For whatever reason, the touch screen on this G70 is small compared to many new vehicles that I have test drive so far. Moreover, some of the buttons and components near the ventilation and gearbox looks cheap. The grey plastic panels and buttons look outdated and plasticky, why not putting some chrome or metal panels instead?
– As much as I like a gearbox to switch gear, the reality for many new vehicles these days is to ditch the gearbox completely and replace it with buttons. So when I saw gearbox still exists on this G70, I thought it was a waste of space and outdated.
In particular, I don’t like the fact that the gearbox is only good for choosing to “Drive” or “Reverse”. Meanwhile, it doesn’t allow you to push to “Park”. Instead, there is an extra button to push “Park”, which I think it’s totally unnecessary and at times, I was nervous to see the gear is in P or D and I have to left it there and press P for parking separately. It’s a bit odd to me.
– The trunk is relatively small for my taste. If someone wants to go on a road trip, this trunk is a bit small for such lengthy sedan. But if you don’t plan to golf or put massive objects, you should be ok though.
Overall Summary:
These are my likes and dislikes when test driving this 2026 Genesis G70. If you are Genesis G70 owners, what do you like or dislike about your ride?
Hyundai decided to expand a new luxury division in Genesis for one reason, it’s to enter into the luxury brand, getting into the ring against the benchmarks such as BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Porsche, Lexus and others. They know it’s going to be a tough fight but they are willing to take on the challenge to provide products that they think stand a chance to get a piece of this competitive luxury cars pie.
If someone has already owned a BMW, Mercedes, Audi or Porsche or Lexus before, and they want something different or new that will excite them, Genesis is definitely worth the consideration as it offers a relatively cheaper MSRP pricing while offering so many standard options that would easily be optional in other well-established luxury brands.
I think there is a market for potential buyers at the entry level market who is willing to give Genesis a try for this entry level G70 and the entry level luxurious SUV called GV70. I think the price range around $60,000+ CDN – $85,000 CDN is a price range where people are willing to try Genesis.
What I think is the more expensive luxury price range that is over $100,000+ CDN, how is Genesis going to convince someone to not purchase a Porsche Cayenne, or BMW X5, or Audi Q5 or Mercedes GLE and pay $100,000 for a Genesis GV80 Coupe? That would be a major challenge, but hey, one step at a time right? Who would have thought people are buying Genesis when Hyundai first announced expanding this luxury division 10-15 years ago, anything is possible, never say never!
For more INFO about this 2026 Genesis G70, you can click here.
Special shoutout to Genesis Canada for providing us with a week of test driving this 2026 Genesis G70 2.5L Turbo AWD!