It’s fast, luxurious and dynamically capable, but the Genesis GV60’s attributes just don’t quite mesh - genesis_eu_pr
, yet has a comparatively long 2900mm wheelbase. These don’t correlate to any rivals, but do seem to liberate plenty of space inside the cabin – something that’s accentuated by the flat floor and good forward visibility.
In the case of our specific test car, the GV60 felt very opulent, pairing matt white exterior paint with an elegant off-white interior full of quilted Nappa leather, soft-touch faux suede and that reflective fabric cyclists wear at night. The cabin itself is also full of quirky details – some of them clever, such as the draw-like glovebox, some of them not, such as the rotating spherical gear selector.
The steering is lifeless yet is at least consistent, but the same can’t really be said for the throttle and brake pedal calibration. Put your foot down and its acceleration is unrelenting, but come off the throttle quickly and the drawdown of volts to the wheels doesn’t always correlate, giving it a sort of runaway train feeling. The brakes are powerful enough, but there’s next to no feel, which can also be a little uncomfortable when trying to wipe off speed in a two-ton-plus car.
It’s not just the pedals that feel a bit muddled, but the actual power delivery, too. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency as to which motor will provide drive mid-corner, making it difficult to anticipate where the power’s going to come from. This, as well as many other elements of the driving experience, make the GV60’s character feel undefined, like engineers weren’t quite sure what car this was meant to be and therefore didn’t know which direction to take in its set-up.
It’s by no means a bad car, in fact the GV60 is the best Genesis on sale in the UK – it’s just not resolved. This might be something that’s better with the entry-level models which focus more on comfort and less on dynamic capability, but as a high-riding, high-performance crossover the Sport Plus doesn’t make a very solid case for itself.