2023 Genesis GV70 Electric First Drive: Perfecting the Recipe

Contrary to what TV and movies would have you believe, chefs almost never throw together the perfect new recipe on the first try. There's always some tinkering with ingredients and quantities before they're satisfied. It's often the case with engineering solutions, as well. Case in point, this isn't the first time Genesis has turned a gas-powered vehicle into an EV, but with the 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70, it's finally nailed the recipe.

If you've read our reviews of the Electrified G80 sedan, you'll know what we're getting at. That car feels like a compromise. On the one hand, it drives noticeably better than the gas version, but on the other, it gives up significant passenger space to the battery. You sit awkwardly high in the front seat with your legs straight out, while those in the back seat have to slouch to keep their heads off the ceiling. Given that, you can imagine our skepticism when Genesis announced it had applied the same formula to our former SUV of the Year, the GV70.

We had hope, though. The GV70 is a much taller vehicle inside and out than the G80. Maybe, just maybe, there'd be enough room for a battery to be stuffed underneath without the same loss in passenger space. Fingers crossed, we climbed in.

Turns out no good luck charms were needed. We were right, the taller GV70 lends itself far better to electrification than the lower, sleeker G80. The floor is slightly higher, but without parking a gas-powered GV70 next to an electric one and jumping back and forth, you'd never notice. Genesis reps say the seating position is the same in both cars, the seats just aren't quite as high off the floor in the EV. Because the distance between the floor and the dashboard is greater on the GV70 SUV than the G80 sedan, you don't notice your feet resting slightly higher in the electric version and it doesn't feel like the dashboard is in your lap. In all, the GV70 EV gives up less than a cubic foot of passenger space to the gas-powered models and even less cargo space.

Unfortunately, this still doesn't mean Genesis has figured out how to do a frunk yet. Like its other electric models, the GV70 EV does not have a front trunk, something Tesla has had more than a decade. A whole bunch of electrical and mechanical components reside where the gas engine options do in conventional models, though there is a tiny compartment on the top that holds the tire inflator and has enough spare room for your wallet. Storage space below the rear cargo floor is almost as small, but at least there's a dedicated spot for the extendable cargo cover when not installed behind the seats. More important, there's no big hump in the floor like the electric G80.

Preserving passenger and cargo space was the final tweak. With the seating sorted, Genesis has perfected the gas-to-electric drivetrain swap recipe. There's no real indication from inside this is the electric GV70 short of some new gauges in the digital instrument cluster, and not much more on the outside. The average person may or may not notice the grille is different, and only hardcore fans of the brand will know that the lower front fascia and lower rear fascia have changed. It doesn't say "EV" or "electric" or even "Electrified" anywhere on the car. The charging port is hidden like a secret door in the reverse pattern grille and there's no special green or blue trim to signify it's electric. Even the exclusive wheels don't look especially aerodynamic like most EVs'.

The only tells pop up when you actually start driving. There's no mistaking the instant and seemingly unending pull of an electric motor, nor is there any missing the complete lack of engine noise. The moment you step on the accelerator pedal, you know this is an EV through and through. You only notice it, though, in a straight line.

And none of the gas-powered GV70's delightful driving dynamics have been lost in the conversion. If anything, the lower center of gravity afforded by the battery pack under the floor makes the car feel even more planted in a corner. The steering is still nicely weighted and shockingly full of feedback. The brake pedal itself feels artificial but the relationship between how much you're pushing it and how much braking force you're getting is perfect. The body control is fantastic and the car leans as confidently as ever into corners. It remains far and away the most engaging SUV in its class (competitor's high-performance models notwithstanding).

What's more, it's quicker. The dual electric motors pack a combined 429 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, significantly more than a V-6 GV70, especially on the torque side. When you step on it, this thing moves, and if it's still not moving quick enough for you, there's a subtle Boost button on the bottom spoke of the steering wheel that adds 54 horsepower for 10 seconds. Because of the way electric motors work, you'll feel Boost mode more the slower you're going when you floor it, but even at highway speeds there's an initial kick in the pants before the effect tapers.

If you really need your two-row luxury SUV to be even sportier, there's of course a Sport mode, but we don't recommend it. As per usual, it sharpens accelerator response, makes the steering a little heavier, and firms up the electronically controlled dampers. Thing is, you don't need any of that. The car's already quick, making the steering heavier doesn't make it better, and making the suspension firmer just hurts the ride quality. The electric GV70 is so good out of the box, it doesn't need a Sport mode.

The part about the ride quality is really worth belaboring because it's excellent. In any vehicle with sporting pretensions, there's a fine line between good handling and bad ride quality. The GV70 EV walks it perfectly. Badly patched potholes and frost heaves are neatly absorbed with only a little bump coming through to the cabin, and yet the SUV still corners with the best of its class. It's an excellent balance and making the shocks stiffer only detracts from it.

Good as the recipe is, there's still room for improvement. The biggest knock against the GV70 EV is its paltry 236-mile range. While more and more consumers are coming around to the fact this is plenty of range for the average person's driving, and the proliferation of public chargers is alleviating range anxiety, it doesn't change the fact that the significantly cheaper Tesla Model Y came out three years ago with 316 miles of range. Yes, the GV70's cabin is way nicer and it's better to drive, but that may not be enough for some buyers. We think you should be honest with yourself about how far you really drive in a given day or even week and think about how much range you actually need to maintain your current driving lifestyle.

Thankfully, the range is partially compensated for by one of the fastest charging speeds on the market. Like other Genesis and Hyundai models it shares batteries and motors with, the electric GV70 can charge at 240 kW on a public fast charger and go from 10 percent battery to 80 percent in just 18 minutes. No SUV in its class, not even the Model Y, charges that fast.

There's also the matter of driver aids. The GV70 is loaded with them, but they're not as polished as the best systems on the market. Highway Driving Assist II adds semi-automatic driver-initiated lane changes to its existing lane-centering and adaptive cruise control functions, but it's a work in progress. We had consistent issues getting it to work properly, with the system often yelling at us to keep our hands on the wheel (they already were) before it would initiate a requested lane change or canceling the request altogether because we held on too tightly and it registered that as a countermand. Drivers of other electric GV70s at the launch event had better luck, but it shouldn't come down to luck. Navigate on Autopilot has been doing lane changes in Teslas since 2019 and now does them fully automatically, as do GM models with the latest version of Super Cruise.

On a related note, we also have mixed feelings about the new head-up display. Generally, we like them and this one works well, but the near constant reflection of the HUD housing on the windshield is distracting.

At $66,975 to start and $73,756 for the top trim, the GV70 EV falls right in the middle of the class. As mentioned, it's roughly $10,000 more than a Tesla Model Y, but substantially nicer. It's also about $4,000 cheaper than an Audi e-tron SUV, which is also very nice but has even less range and charges significantly slower. The new Lexus RZ is about $6,000 cheaper but has even less range than the Audi and charges just as slowly. Mercedes-EQ hasn't released the price of the upcoming EQE SUV yet, but we're betting it'll be the most expensive of the bunch and have a range comparable to the Model Y's. The Mercedes is also likely to be quieter inside, as that's a stated brand value; the electric GV70's interior noise is average for the class.

In the early days of mass-market EVs, buyers wanted their car to stand out, to scream "I'm green!" Today, the market has changed. Buyers want the same vehicles they already like but with an electric powertrain. The electric GV70 gives them exactly that. It's as stylish, luxurious, and fun to drive as the gas-powered version we named our 2022 SUV of the Year, just electric. What's more, it does it without the interior space compromise typical to vehicles converted from combustion to electric power. It may not be to everyone's taste, but we can't ask for a much better meal than that.