Talk about a baptism of fire.
No sooner did the Genesis GV60 Pure arrive at my front door than it was being immediately used and abused. Two visits to the NEC in Birmingham up the M40 in the space of four days for corporate events, then the May bank holiday weekend saw two trips around the M25.
In just the first ten days of the keys being with me, I’d already covered 800 miles. I realise that’s not that much for some people, but it felt plenty enough to start getting used to the Genesis hatchback. And much of the latter half of that was in the mini heatwave of late May.
At least that mileage, and the ambient temperature, gave the GV60’s electronic a chance to settle. Interestingly with so much of that initial mileage being on the motorway, a full charge was only showing as offering 280 miles or so.
And then, just as I was thinking that felt a bit low and that I need to check the official combined figure (348 miles, since you ask), the warm weather arrived and I was doing some more urban, lower speed mileage and the next time I max charged it had leapt up to a more respectable 324 miles. My average efficiency crept up as well to 3.5mls/kWh. I’m hoping that continues its upward trajectory as, given the GV60’s slippery shape, I’d kind of expected it to be a little closer to 4mls/kWh or above. Perhaps I’m expecting a little much from it there, especially as I’ve been using the air conditioning a lot in the heatwave.
I have to admit to having had a bit of a soft spot for the GV60 ever since it first arrived in 2022. Not entirely dissimilar to Polestar, it feels like a slightly left field, discerning choice for those who don’t want to follow the crowd. Yes, you could go for its sister cars, a Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Kia EV6, both of which are great cars, but you’ll also see several others of those in every car park. The GV60, not so much.
Then there’s also the interior quality. I’m sure I haven’t found every nook and cranny of the infotainment and on-board system as yet, but I’ve had a good electronic rummage around and haven’t not been able to find anything that I wasn’t looking for. So far, so good. The wireless Apple CarPlay has also been, touch wood, pretty faultless too, so long may that continue.
At first glance, it’s a little confusing that the infotainment system can be operated via a BMW-style iDrive rotary controller as well as being a touchscreen, but actually it just works. Also, it helpfully prevents you from covering the screen in fingertip smudges as well – another personal bugbear.
There are some nice touches around the harder items too. I’m particularly fond of the drawer-like glove box and also the chunky thick-rimmed steering wheel. I’ve yet to properly drive the GV60 is anger down any twisty country roads, but there’s no doubt that you feel connected to the road and confident in being able to hustle it with a good degree of verve.
My 13yr old son was pretty awe-struck by the rotating crystal sphere gear selector and, while I must admit to also liking it, I do worry about its longevity for secondhand owners in the future. And, being the crushing bore that I am, nice though these emotional additions are, they do all add weight which in turn reduces efficiency – things that most car engineers are constantly concerned about. I know I know, I’m hilarious at parties.
The Genesis isn’t perfect though. While I love the flush door handles, they’re not hollow grip ones like on the Jaguar I-Pace and instead are Aston-like levers. Although they do have finger indents on the inside, more than once I’ve found my fingers slipping off them, especially if you’ve got your hands full with other items.
Other niggles? Well the lack of a rear wiper is a constant annoyance for me personally as I always back into my home parking space, which makes it difficult in the wet. In Genesis’ defence, the rear mirror can double as a rear camera at the flick of a switch, but it remains frustrating. There’s a little irony of course in the fact that Hyundai did a reverse ferret on the rear wiper with the Ioniq 5, fitting one with its midlife refresh after criticism.
The other gripe is a self-criticism more than anything and one I only discovered by mistake when accelerating hard to join a motorway. Having been rather over-zealous with my right foot (honest, officer), my speed briefly went above 70mph as I joined the motorway at which point the seat bolsters expanded and gripped me tight enough to make me reconsider my lunch choice. They thankfully returned to normal when my speed dropped back to down to normal motorway speeds, but it was a shock to the system and not entirely pleasant. I need to investigate how to switch that off.
Overall though, it’s been a great start with the GV60 and I’m looking forward to the next three months of Genesis-motoring.