Genesis G70 joins battle of the brands
All-new mid-size luxury sedan opens up opportunity for Hyundai, if it can leverage buyers out of C-Class, 3 SeriesHyundai has finally unveiled its new Genesis G70 – a car that promises to ramp up recognition of its luxury sub-brand in Australia.
Smaller than the original Genesis sedan, which will be rebadged as the G80 for the official launch of Genesis in Australia as a prestige brand, the G70 will feature powertrain variants to shadow BMW's rival 3 Series range, a turbocharged petrol four-cylinder model, a four-cylinder turbo-diesel and a twin-turbo petrol V6.
However, Hyundai Australia has confirmed that the diesel won't be sold here.
The BMW is a clear benchmark for the G70, whereas Kia seems to be targeting disenfranchised rear-wheel drive Holden Commodore buyers in Australia with its new Stinger sedan, which shares the same basic platform.
According to Bill Thomas, General Manager for External Affairs at Hyundai Australia, the G70 shares architecture with the Stinger, which has been attracting a lot of attention in the local market, but the G70 is aimed at a different buyer type.
It's a sedan, whereas the Stinger is a liftback, and the G70 is smaller and lighter overall, also riding on a shorter wheelbase and narrower track.
“We are going to be very careful about referencing Stinger, just as Kia will be careful when referencing our car,” Thomas told motoring.com.au last week. The G70 measures 4.7m long, 1.85m wide, and the wheelbase is 2.835m.
Despite the prestige aspirations for the new car, however, it won't be short of old-fashioned performance, with the 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 said to be good for a 4.7-second 0-100km/h time.
Engine output for the V6 is 272kW and 510Nm, while the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four is rated at 185kW and 353Nm, and the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel cranks out 149kW and 441Nm.
All three engines can be specified with all-wheel drive in overseas markets, although the all-paw variants won't make it to Australia, because they haven't been engineered for right-hand drive. The G70 in Australia will be rear-wheel drive only.
Some of the technical gadgets on board select variants of the G70 include launch control, a rack-mounted electric motor for the power steering, multi-link independent rear suspension, a mechanical limited-slip differential and dynamic torque vectoring.
The G70 will boast a slew of high-tech comfort, convenience and safety features, according to Hyundai. These will comprise nine airbags, an 'active hood function' and advanced voice recognition technology.
An 8.0-inch touch-screen will provide the interface for infotainment systems like MirrorLink, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. According to the manufacturer, the G70 will be available with a 15-speaker Lexicon surround-sound system also.
Hyundai is aiming for optimal crash safety protection scores around the world, which should mean the G70 will get over the line for a five-star ANCAP rating.
To this end, the G70 will come with driver-assist technology such as Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA), Highway Driving Assist (HDA), Blind spot Collision Warning (BCW) and Driver Awareness Warning (DAW), all part of what Hyundai refers to as ‘Genesis Active Safety Control’.
Hyundai has named the colours and trims that will be available for the G70 as Platinum Silver, Carbon Metal, Marble White, Titanium Black, Racing Gray, Graceful Gray, Lapis Blue, Royal Blue, Blazing Red and Umber Brown.
Interior colours will comprise Obsidian Black, Sandstorm Grey, Velvet Burgundy, Tobacco Brown and Vanilla Beige, with Sports Grey and Sports Red additionally available or 3.3T Sport and the high-grade 2.0T models.
Full specification for Australia is yet to be determined, but pricing is expected to start somewhere between $50,000 and $55,000, and the local launch will take place during the first quarter of 2018.
The G70 will be the start of something big for the Genesis brand, with GV80 and GV70 SUVs to follow... and there's word of an even smaller SUV in the works.
As the names suggest, the larger (X5/GLE-sized) GV80 is based on the same platform as the existing G80 passenger car, and the smaller (X3/GLC-sized) GV70 will be based on the G70.
Hyundai anticipates that all six model lines will be rolled out by 2021, although the G90 flagship will remain off the agenda in Australia, being left-hand drive only.
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