Test Drive Gallery: 2022 Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige

2022 Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige

Miles driven: 433

Fuel used: 27.1 gallons

CG Report Card

Room and Comfort	B
Power and Performance	A-
Fit and Finish	A
Fuel Economy	C
Value	A-

Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup.

Big & Tall Comfort

Big Guy	A
Tall Guy	A

Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. "Big" rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, "Tall" rating based on 6'6"-tall male tester.

Drivetrain
Engine Specs	375-hp 3.5L
Engine Type	Twin-turbo V6
Transmission	8-speed automatic
Drive Wheels	All-wheel drive

Real-world fuel economy: 16.0 mpg

Driving mix: 70% city, 30% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 19/25/21 (mpg city/highway/combined)

Fuel type: Premium gas

Base price: $52,600 (not including $1045 destination charge)

Options on test vehicle: Melbourne Gray satin-finish paint ($1500), Sport Advanced Package ($5000), Advanced Package ($4900)

Price as tested: $65,045

Quick Hits

The great: Posh, comfortable cabin; quietness; long list of available comfort and convenience features

The good: Confident, distinctive styling; competitive-for-the-class pricing; strong acceleration from twin-turbo V6 engine

The not so good: Our mediocre observed fuel economy trailed EPA estimates; some control-interface quirks

More Genesis GV70 price and availability information

CG Says:

With the introduction of the new-for-2022 GV70, fledgling luxury brand Genesis finally has an entry in the real heart of the premium-vehicle marketplace. The compact crossover SUV category is one of the hottest, most competitive segments, and the GV70 gives Genesis (the luxury division of South Korean automaker Hyundai) a particularly compelling entry. So compelling, in fact, that we at Consumer Guide named it a Best Buy in its first year on the market.

We previously tested the GV70 with its base engine, a turbocharged 2.5-liter 4-cylinder that makes 300 horsepower, in upper-line Advanced trim (you can check out our review of that vehicle here for more details). This time, we tested the top trim level in the GV70 lineup: the 3.5T Sport Prestige model, which, as its name suggests, is equipped with a 3.5-liter engine—a twin-turbocharged V6 that puts out 375 horsepower.

As expected, the 3.5T is positioned as a higher-line model—its “base” Sport trim comes standard with most of the features of the 2.5T’s step-up Select trim level, including 19-inch alloy wheels, heated and ventilated front seats, driver’s seat memory settings, a power tilt/telescopic steering wheel, and a panoramic roof. The 3.5 T models also wear more aggressively styled front and rear fasciae (highlighted by larger air intakes up front and plus-sized circular exhaust tips out back) to help convey the higher performance potential of their brawnier powerplant.

Since it’s based on the platform of Genesis’s impressive G70 compact sport sedan, the GV70 has an agile, athletic feel from behind the wheel, and the gutsy 3.5 engine makes it a genuinely powerful performer, with 0-60-mph acceleration times in the low 5-second range. We’ve tested this engine in a few Genesis vehicles, including the GV80 midsize SUV and the G80 large sedan, and we’ve been consistently impressed with its acceleration and disappointed by its subpar fuel economy. In fact, we actually fared slightly worse economy-wise during our cold-weather test of this GV70 than we did with our summer test of the GV80—16.0 mpg, compared to 16.8 mpg in the GV80 in a similar driving mix. Also, that number is well off the GV70 3.5T’s EPA estimates of 19 mpg city/25 highway/21 combined.

Genesis handles the GV70’s trim levels like option packages: The Sport Advanced Package adds a 16-speaker Lexicon premium audio system, Genesis Digital Key smartphone functionality (only on Android devices for now), heated steering wheel, Remote Smart Parking Assist, Surround-View Monitor/Blind-Spot View Monitor, front parking-distance warning sensors, and rear parking collision-avoidance assist. Also included are interior-trim upgrades such as Nappa leather upholstery, leatherette instrument-panel and door-panel trim, and a suede headliner.

The Sport Prestige Package takes things up another notch via 21-inch sport alloy wheels, an electronic limited-slip differential, a 12.3-inch 3D digital gauge cluster with a head-up display, three-zone climate control, heated rear seats, carbon-fiber interior trim, manual rear side sunshades, and suede inserts on the Nappa-leather seats. Factor in the GV70’s confident, expressive styling, and it all adds up to a truly dazzling, luxurious look and feel inside and out. At $65,045, the bottom-line price of our test vehicle might not be a bargain, but it still stacks up very well against similar European-brand rivals—most of which don’t offer this level of horsepower for the money.

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