2018 GENESIS G70 SMOOTHLY STRIKES ELEGANT BALANCE
Part luxury and seductively sporty, this powerful all-new sedan is a driver’s car
Typically, a mid-size luxury sedan is not the sort of ride to makes one’s pulse quicken, yet the all-new Genesis G70 certainly does. On the road, it proved to be elegantly sophisticated in its comportment, yet it was also a match for the Inje Speedium raceway outside Seoul, South Korea, a technical track certified for all FIA racing except F1. Few rides, with the notable exceptions of BMW’s M and Mercedes’ AMG divisions, are as well balanced and engaging.
While the Genesis nameplate has been around Hyundai since 2008, it has been a stand-alone brand for just two years. In that time, the company has launched the G90, G80 and G80 Sport, and in the coming years, it plans a new coupe and two SUVs. The product thus far has been a tad too formal for its own good. But the seductive G70 has undeniable curb appeal and the wherewithal to back up its sharp looks. It is part luxury car and all legitimate sports sedan.
The G70 starts with a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to an eight-speed automatic that drives all four wheels. It puts a useful 249 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque at a low 1,350 r.p.m. at the driver’s disposal. Next up is the G70 Sport. With the same 2.0-L turbo-four, it drives the rear wheels, has a limited-slip differential and a six-speed manual transmission — yes, a luxury car with a DIY gear box — and an extra three horsepower, thanks to its dual exhaust system.
The models tested — a mix of G70 and G70 Sport — all featured the up-level 3.3-L twin-turbo V-6. It makes a healthy 365 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque anywhere between 1,300 and 4,500 r.p.m. That’s enough pony power to push the V-6-powered G70 Sport from rest to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds.
Again, the power is relayed to the road through an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and all four wheels. The transmission is a slick affair that has the knack of being in the right gear at the right time.
The all-wheel-drive system is rear-biased, but can send up to 40 per cent of the power forward when needed, giving the G70 a much sportier feel when pushed. The track session proved the system to be both seamless and very good at digging the G70 out of a corner without wheelspin. The G70 Sport tested also had powerful Brembo brakes, along with optional Michelin Pilot Sport tires, measuring P225/40R19 up front and P255/35R19 out back. That lot is the recipe for a driver’s car!
Everything can be tailored to suit through the G70’s Drive Mode selector. It has five settings: Eco, Comfort, Smart, Sport and Individual. Each alters the throttle sensitivity, shift pattern, adaptive suspension, steering and all-wheel-drive power split. Forget Eco, as it’s too soft. Comfort works well, but Smart is the best overall choice, as it picks the right mix of settings for the situation.
However, arriving at Inje Speedium begged for Sport mode — it also has launch control. Everything is set to hyper, the damping is firmer, the all-wheel drive sends less power forward and the steering has more heft to it. In this mode, the G70 Sport dived into an off-camber decreasing-radius corner, picked off the apex with precision and then hauled out of it with the front wheels pulling hard to prevent too much oversteer.
This thing is a legitimate sports sedan and will wag its tail, if provoked. What went unspoken was the secret mode. Select Sport mode and turn off stability control, and you have, for want of a better description, drift mode.
One of the treats was a lap in a pre-production version of the G70 Dynamic. It uses the twinturbo V-6 and eight-speed manumatic, but drives just its rear wheels. It has a noticeably firmer suspension and a more immediate response to all inputs. As a result, it felt — dare I say — almost BMW M-like in the way it drove. Sadly, the fact that rear-drive cars don’t sell well in Canada means it’s not coming. However, the Dynamic’s suspension/steering setup in the AWD Sport would be a delightful combination.
So, that’s the sporty side of the G70. The luxury side is a match, and then some. The materials, including real aluminum interior door handles, are first class, the design is intuitive with a free-standing touch screen sitting above the cascading controls beneath. In the G70 Sport tested, the heated and cooled, quilted Nappa leather seats featured contrasting red stitching, which added some visual zing.
Naturally, the tester had a full-on infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, along with a 15-speaker Lexicon surround-sound system.
There is a paucity of engaging and luxurious yet affordable sports sedans, and the upcoming G70 swells the ranks with authority. It has sharp styling — the detail in the headlights alone speaks to its elegance — yet it is fast and comfortable, and it hunkers down when a racetrack beckons. Few cars are as well balanced and meet such divergent demands quite as well.
The G70’s final specifications and pricing will be announced closer to its launch in the second quarter of 2018.