Well, it's a sad old day, but after six months, it's time to return our Genesis G70 Long-Termer.
So in this video, we're gonna share the good and the not so good of what this rear drive
twin turbo V6 is all about.
The Genesis G70 has been on sale in Australia for about 12 months, and for six of those
has been a member of the Carsales' long-term fleet. We've driven thousands of kilometres
in that time and even put the G70 up against some established company where it held itself
remarkably well. But living with the G70 has unearthed several traits, good and bad that
we didn't pick up on initially. So first, the good.
Now the obvious positive to emerge from the G70 is that of driving dynamics. I can't tell
you how nice it is to be driving something regularly that's A, a sedan, and B, a big
engine one at that. Performance from the 3.3 litre twin turbo V6 is simply effortless,
be it from trundling down to the shops or the occasional back road.
But I've equally been enamoured at the ride and refinement of the G70. It does a really
nice job of straddling performance and comfort duties, especially as a day-to-day vehicle.
So hats off to engineers there.
Officially, the G70's 3.3 litre twin turbo V6 makes 272 kilowatts and 530 Newton-metres,
good enough for a naught to 100 time of 4.7 seconds. But what the stat sheet doesn't speak
to is the car's middling acceleration. It is explosive out of the blocks and between
gears. The other surprising feature, relatively speaking, is fuel efficiency.
After 6,000 kilometres, the magic fuel consumption figure that we arrived at was an average of
9.1 litres per 100 Ks. Now granted that does include quite a lot of rural driving and quite
a lot of highway driving and less stop start sort of traffic, but it's well below the 10.2
kilometre average claim, and it also includes the occasional back road blast. So it's probably
reflective of how a lot of G70 owners will use their vehicles.
That brings us to the second positive, value. On first inspection, the V6-powered G70 is
more expensive than entry model offerings from Audi, BMW or Mercedes-Benz. But delve
deeper and the value equation shines for this segment.
The trinkets list on the G70 is quite commendable. Heated and ventilated seats, wireless phone
charging, a 15-speaker surround sound system, not to mention countless other safety and
technological pieces scattered throughout the cabin. At $80,000 it's not exactly what
you'd call cheap, but compared to what's out there in this part of the luxury segment,
it does represent relative value. It's $20,000 cheaper than the equivalent Mercedes AMG C43,
the BMW 340i or the Audi S4.
The third highlight is after sales value. With a five-year warranty, free servicing
and roadside assist for the first five years of ownership, the G70 leaves competitors in
its dust.
The last positive that I'd like to bring to the table here is a slightly subjective one,
road presence. I've gotta tell you, after six months at the wheel of the G70, I haven't
been in anything else in this segment that turns heads quite like this. That may be because
it's relatively foreign on our roads, but it could also be because it looks good.
Unfortunately, it's not all positive news for the G70. Our cons list starts with what's
inside.
The overarching disappointment with the G70 is interior space, particularly for the rear
seat. There's limited toe room, limited headroom and to a lesser degree, limited knee room.
I've got the seat in front set to my height, so 5'9, I've still got a few spare inches
free in the back seat. There's also allocation for ISOFIX child attachment points in the
rear seat, as you can see, I got one handy at the moment, but again, things aren't probably
as good as they could be. If you're sitting in this seat, you can expect a few toddler
kicks in the back.
Things aren't any better in the cargo area with a small 330-litre boot accessed by an
even smaller opening. However, there is a space-saver tyre underneath. While we're inside
the cabin, the G70 centre fascia and instrument cluster while legible and easy to use, are
already showing their age against European rivals. Some of the interior finishes feel
a little cheap too. But with that said, there were no squeaks, rattles or vibrations to
emerge through our six-month loan. And the materials have worn well in the face of constant
use.
Dynamically, there are very few surprises. Being a sports sedan, the ride has a firm
edge and the fuel bill will spike if you make the most of the V6 engine. Otherwise, the
wind screen is a little narrow and from the driver's seat, the biggest complaint is sound
or lack thereof.
Now the other complaints here really center on the unknowns, like how the G70 will depreciate
over time or how it will stand up in terms of durability. But I've gotta say, after six
months and 6,000 kilometres behind the wheel, the worst thing that I've seen technically
is the tyre pressure monitoring system throwing up a couple of false alarms. But in every
other sense, the G70 has been a real eye opener. As the first brand new Genesis model in Australia,
this one leaves a positive impression.