Living with the Genesis GV60 Sport Plus

I expected big things from the Genesis GV60 after previously living with an electrified GV70 for a week

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Car Reviewed: Genesis GV60 Sport Plus BEV

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Rather than faff around town for the next seven days, I threw my bags into the slightly small 432-litre boot and took the GV60 153 miles away from home to Kinloss RAF base in the Scottish Highlands to watch some top-notch supercars crack 200mph on an abandoned runway.

Upon my return, after a few days of being on the road and exhausted from the weekend’s events, I sat down with a pint and reflected on how well the Genesis cars were thought out.

The brand has tried to please almost every type of driver with the range-topping GV60. The three driver modes- Eco, Comfort and Sport, provide everything from range anxiety relief (almost) to a downright frightening hair-on-fire ordeal. Around the Highlands, Eco returned 3.4mi/kWh on our longest journey, which in plain English means 114Mpge. This is quite a bit off the 4.0mi/kWh that Genesis claims, but it was only 7°C outside.

Comfort delivered 3.2mi/kWh, or 107Mpge, and a blast in Sport brought this down to around 2.0mi/kWh, or 67Mpge; we stopped to charge three times throughout the 321-mile trip.

It’s so unfortunate that there’s a massive ‘boost’ hyperdrive button on the steering wheel; it’s like having a big red “Don’t press” button staring into your soul. Pressing said naughty button gives you 10sec of 483bhp — the dizzying instant torque makes you feel like you’re driving one of those cartoon cars that sprout jet engines and machine guns. You don’t get to live out the full 10 seconds, as by that point, you’ll be well into license-losing territory.

Switch to comfort or eco and everything becomes refined and couthy. The suspension soaks up most bumps nicely, although it’s somewhat harsher around town and can sometimes crash over larger road ruts.

The boot’s large enough for everyday use, passengers in the rear have ample head and leg room, and there’s more than enough storage in the front. An onboard air purifier keeps the cabin air clean, and an overabundance of cameras and sensors makes parking a doddle.

For those transitioning from an ICE vehicle, Genesis has included a nifty ‘rev’ feature. Enable it and the car feeds a V8 soundtrack into the cabin. Gimmicky? Maybe just a little. Sound enhancement has been around for years but what makes this special is that the car almost gains an eight-speed paddle shift transmission. Through some clever sorcery, you use the right paddle to change up a gear and the left paddle to change down. Refuse to change up and you’ll redline the imaginary engine and oddly still feel mechanically sympathetic. It’s good fun and you could probably trick some of your passengers into believing a fruitful engine resides underneath. Still, you’ll soon forget about it, as the mode can only be enabled via some annoyingly fiddly menu.

It’s packed with tech and you’re right to ask the question: “Surely this affects the range?”. Of course, it does. We used most of the tech during the week and there’s an energy information screen that breaks this down showing how much is used for driving, climate control, electronics and battery care. Returning from our journey, it showed that 92% of the car’s energy went to driving, 5% to climate and 3% to feed the electronics.

Overall, the GV60 is an excellent choice for those breaking into the luxury EV market, and like the Genesis GV70, I missed it after it was picked up. Both cars will empty your wallet of nearly the same amount upon purchase, but the GV70 would still be my pick. There’s no standout reason for this — it just gave me more tingly feelings whenever I saw it parked on the driveway and I made more squeaking noises when driving it.

If you plan on taking it on a Highland trip — plan out your journey. The lack of rapid chargers, or the mass of non-functioning chargers, can flip a good car experience on its head. Of course, this is through no fault of the Genesis GV60.

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