Genesis G70 Sport 2017 Review

The design of the Genesis G70 features different details and cues which could have come from a couple of different European brands – but it's still identifiably a Hyundai. Some won't take to the looks, but those who do will see no problem forking over at least $50,000 to buy the G70 when it arrives in Australia from early next year.

Of course, the G70's looks are merely the wrapping for a package which will be pretty hard to pass up. For instance, among the G70's 'easter eggs' are its five-year warranty, five years of free servicing, plus advanced connectivity and driver-assist technology, and – just possibly – locally-tuned suspension which might deliver a better ride/handling compromise than the G70's obvious competitors.

For the global launch of the G70, Hyundai's drive program was unfortunately hampered by a bad case of traffic congestion on the roads out of Seoul, Korea. And the cars tested were not necessarily representative of the vehicles which will be sold in Australia. Albert Bierman, Hyundai’s Executive VP of performance development and high-performance vehicles, did offer an explanation, citing suspension tuned for Korean roads and local driver preference was the limiting factor for each car's body control.

In addition, we were driving the twin-turbo V6-engined G70 Sport with all-wheel drive. While Australian consumers will be offered the opportunity to buy a G70 Sport, local variants will be rear-wheel drive only. The all-paw models have not been engineered for right-hand drive markets.

Never mind though, motoring.com.au has driven a rear-drive G70 Sport – a preproduction model – around the Inje Speedium, a Korean racetrack. And it has to be said, the rear-drive G70 Sport turns in faster and is a little more exploitable in corners. It's arguably the drivetrain configuration Aussies want for 'their' G70.

Refined but unassuming V6 power
The responsive engine, which will also be available in the Kia Stinger, has already been found wanting for its sheer vulgarity and pulse-pounding timbre. In the G70 the V6 is refined, but does sound like any other V6 until you change to ‘Sport’ mode, when the Active Sound Design lends it a more muscular note. Still, with an aftermarket exhaust in the works for the Stinger, one wonders whether this system won't attract G70 buyers also, if it's compatible.

Torque is issued to the drive wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission which is smooth and responsive. The transmission comes with shift paddles, but there's no sequential shifting facility at the lever. In this respect it's more like a Mercedes-Benz setup than BMW. In ‘Sport’ mode, using the shift paddles will keep it in manual mode, but not full manual; it will automatically change up at the redline and down when the engine speed falls too low. Hyundai does insist that the transmission will hold gears manually selected for as long as the vehicle is being flung into corners, braked hard or taken up to the redline. Once it extrapolates the driver is cruising along, it changes back to full automatic (‘Drive’) mode.

Over the course of the drive program we saw fuel consumption figures ranging from 10.4L/100km in slow but flowing traffic to 11.3L/100km in much heavier – bumper-to-bumper – congestion. This being the all-wheel drive model, the Aussie rear-wheel drive G70 should be a little more economical in the real world.

Hyundai's various drive modes for the G70 include an ‘Eco’ mode which really dampens engine performance; it might be something you would find handy in very heavy traffic, such as that encountered in Seoul, but most of the time drivers will prefer any of the other four driving modes – ‘Smart’, ‘Sport’, ‘Comfort’ and ‘Custom’. The first is an adaptive automatic mode which adjusts powertrain settings on the fly, and ‘Custom’ is a mode allowing you to set up the powertrain (and the electronic dampers in the V6 model) to suit your own preferences.

Suspension recalibration for Oz
On the road, the 'lack of body control' to which Mr Bierman referred was evident in the G70's softer ride and accentuated roll and pitch. The AWD model produced good front-end grip and no discernible lift-off oversteer, either on the track or the road. But the rear-wheel drive model we will see in Australia should be better to drive. It will have spring and damper settings specifically chosen for our roads, so it's likely to ride a little firmer. After driving the all-wheel drive model with Korean market settings, it’s reasonable to assume the Aussie version will be more capable, dynamically.

The steering of the car tested was well weighted but felt anaemic. However the basics were there, with precise steering and direct ratio. Hyundai will specify Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres measuring 225/35 ZR19 front and rear. On Korea's very well maintained arterials and freeways, the tyres were quiet and complemented the car's native ride quality. Four-cylinder variants will make do with Continental Sport Contact 5 tyres when they go on sale in Australia.

On the track, the RWD G70 Sport turned in tighter and certainly felt more agile, but naturally it was also more susceptible to oversteer – and the chassis engineer made it quite clear he did not want me to switch off the stability control. When the rear-wheel drive's tail broke loose on the race track, the stability control pulled everything back into line, but without a lot of finesse. However, I came away from this experience thinking this is the basis for a very good driver's car. Kill the stability control on the track and there's some serious drifting potential there, not that drifters are among Hyundai's target audience.

Nice presentation, but a little tight
Buyers for whom the G70 is on the radar will appreciate the driving position, which benefited from properly located controls and the right distance to pedals and wheel – with plenty of scope for adjustment. I did find that with the steering rake retracted enough to suit me, climbing in and out of the G70 was a little squeezy. Curiously, the driver's mirror in the left-hook test vehicle was short of adjustment to eliminate the blind spot. Hopefully a problem we won’t encounter in right-hand drive Australian vehicles.

Seats were well-shaped, but a little flat and firm in the cushioning. That said, they’re on par or slightly better than entry-level pews for the BMW 3 Series. Ahead of the driver was the very sensible instrument binnacle, which was easy to read and, like German rivals, transitions to different views for different driving modes – red back lighting for ‘Sport’, as one example.

The infotainment screen was compact but clear to read. Controls in the centre fascia for audio and climate control were easy to use, and anyone stepping out of a mainstream German rival (or Jaguar XE/Volvo S60) will have no difficulty adjusting. To be frank, while the G70's instrumentation and dash design is much more to my liking than that of the Lexus IS or the Infiniti Q50, some of the HVAC and audio switchgear are exclusively Genesis-look fixtures and some appear to have been lifted straight from Hyundai's parts bin for lower-priced cars. Overall, however, the G70's appearance was tidy and stylish in a respectably restrained presentation.

Rear seat accommodation was light on for adult headroom and wiggle room for toes under the seat. In this regard the G70 falls well short of the spaciousness available in the 3 Series. Like 3 Series, the G70 has its battery under the boot floor, which leaves no room for a spare tyre there. The boot itself is nicely finished and relatively large, but it is also shallow, reflecting the G70's rear-drive design. That's not as much of an issue for the Genesis, since the car the G70 is benchmarked against in its market segment is similarly packaged.

As it stands then, the G70 comes up trumps on a number of different criteria and is a genuinely credible alternative to the direct competitors priced much closer to the luxury car tax threshold than is expected for the G70. Pundits are already forecasting the G70 (and the Genesis brand more generally) will fail to engage with the buying public in much the same way at least one other Asian brand has. We're not that pessimistic; let's see how sales and resale turn out for this first chapter of Hyundai's prestige brand strategy.

2018 Genesis G70 Sport pricing and specifications:
Price: TBA (anticipated to start from between $50,000 and $55,000)
Engine: 3.3-litre V6 twin-turbo petrol
Output: 272kW/510Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.4L/100km (per Korean standard)
CO2: TBA
Safety Rating: TBA

Related reading:
>> Genesis G70 joins battle of the brands
>> Genesis G70 faster, lighter than Kia Stinger GT