2.5T – SRMotorCars.com – The Auto Maintenance and Repair Expert

Test Drive: 2022 Genesis GV70 2.5T Advanced

2022 Genesis GV70 2.5T AWD Advanced in Cardiff Green (A $500 option)

2022 Genesis GV70 2.5T AWD Advanced

Miles driven: 447

Fuel used: 21.5 gallons

CG Report Card


Room and Comfort	B
Power and Performance	B
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	300-hp 2.5L
Engine Type	Turbo 4-cylinder
Transmission	8-speed automatic
Drive Wheels	All-wheel drive

Real-world fuel economy: 20.8 mpg

Driving mix: 65% city, 35% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 22/28/24 (mpg city, highway, combined)

Fuel type: Premium gas recommended

Base price: $41,000 (not including $1045 destination charge)

Options on test vehicle: Cardiff Green paint ($500), Select Package ($4000), Advanced Package ($4150)

Price as tested: $50,695

Quick Hits

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

The good: Respectable acceleration from 4-cylinder engine; confident, distinctive styling; competitive pricing

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

More Genesis GV70 price and availability information

John Biel

Perhaps Genesis mislabeled its brand-new premium-compact SUV by calling it the GV70. It is derived from the platform of the G70 sedan and styled in the same vein. But the available engines, rotary-dial gear selector, and console dial for the infotainment system are straight out of the midsize G80 sedan and GV80 sport-utility. Maybe the newcomer ought to really be called the GV75.

Of course, there are numbers that truly are more important to shoppers and we’ll get to them by and by. What really counts is that with the GV70 Genesis has created an excellent, value-packed entry in this busy market segment.

The Genesis GV70 launches for 2022 as the second crossover SUV in the growing Genesis-brand product lineup; in size and price, it slots in below the midsize Genesis GV80, which debuted for 2021.

Riding a wheelbase of 113.2 inches and ranging 185.6 inches from bumper to bumper, the 5-passenger GV70 is, respectively, 3.1 and 9.1 inches shorter in those categories than the GV80 that’s set up to carry seven in some models. Where the G70 premium-compact sedan offers the choice of a 2.0-liter turbocharged four or a 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6, the GV70 engines are a similarly aspirated 2.5-liter four and 3.5-liter V6.

All-wheel drive is standard in every GV70. Prices (with delivery) begin at $42,045 for the base 4-cylinder version and rise to $63,545 for the V6 Sport Prestige. Consumer Guide sampled a 2.5-equipped Advanced—it sits second from the top of four 4-cylinder models—with a starting price of $50,195. Only a spray of Cardiff Green paint nudged the final tab to $50,695.

Test Drive Gallery: 2021 Lincoln Corsair Reserve

The GV70’s interior is dazzling in terms of both design and materials. The infotainment system can be controlled via a center-console dial (which is unfortunately easy to grab when you intend to use the rotary-dial gear selector mounted just aft of it) or the extra-wide, 14.5-inch high-definition touchscreen.

Typically for a Genesis, trim levels are treated as packages added to the core model. To get two steps up from the base vehicle, CG’s tester first had to absorb Select equipment (19-inch alloy wheels, panoramic sunroof, 16-speaker Lexicon premium audio, ventilated front seats, and brushed-aluminum interior accents). Then came the Advanced package with leather upholstery, heated steering wheel, interior trim with a “Waveline” pattern, surround-view monitor, blind-spot view monitor, front parking-distance warning, rear parking-collision avoidance, Remote Smart Parking Assist (to jockey the vehicle in and out of tight spaces while the driver stands outside), and advanced rear-occupant alert.

Test Drive: 2022 Genesis G70 3.3T Sport Advanced

There’s ample space in the GV70’s front seats, but the rear-seat legroom and headroom can be tight for adults.

All that is the frosting on the cake. It builds on GV70 basics like LED headlights and taillights, heated exterior mirrors, heated front seats with power adjustment, dual-zone automatic climate control, front and rear 12-volt power outlets, and hands-free liftgate. Tech items include an infotainment system with 14.5-inch screen, navigation, satellite and HD radio, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto compatibility; dual front and rear USB ports; wireless device charging; and fingerprint recognition for one-touch starting. Safety and driving assists consist of adaptive cruise control, forward collision avoidance with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane-keeping and following assist, rear parking-distance warning, and blind-spot and rear cross-traffic monitoring.

First Spin: 2022 Lexus NX

The GV70’s cargo volume is a bit better than most premium compact SUV rivals–there’s 28.9 cubic feet behind the second-row seats, which grows to 56.8 cubic feet when the second-row seat backs are folded.

The Advanced’s luxury additions fill out a cabin that’s pretty lush for the price, with lots of soft-touch material—even far down on the doors past the point at which lots of other manufacturers default to plastic. Knurled surfaces adorn the ends of the wiper and light-control stalks, steering-wheel thumb buttons, and the transmission selector dial. Metal accents brighten the doors, dash, console, and steering wheel. The big infotainment display atop the instrument panel is vibrant, easily legible, and can show two things at once (for instance radio settings and navigation map). Fortunately, it is a touchscreen, which means you don’t have to use the remote console controller—and this one reminds us a little of the Lexus Remote Touch get-up that we’ve never particularly liked. By the way, it’s uncanny how easy it is to reach this round controller when you really want the trans selector. Easy-working temperature dials mix with numerous buttons for climate control.

Quick Spin: 2021 Genesis GV80 3.5T Advanced

A 300-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter 4-cylinder is GV70’s base engine; a 375-hp turbo 3.5-liter V6 is also available. Choosing the Select package upgrades the standard 18-inch wheels to 19-inch alloys.

Comfortable seats welcome four adults. The front row is roomy; the second row slightly less so—but it would be wrong to call it cramped. Headroom is quite good, too, and driver sightlines are fairly unobstructed. Personal-item storage is accomplished in a large glove box, decent covered console bin, door pockets with bottle holders, and net pouches behind the front seats. Exposed cup holders are found in the console and the pull-down center armrest in the rear seat.

Overall cargo space is good, even if the rakish rear shape might stand in the way of certain loading options. The cargo bay holds at least 28.9 cubic feet of stuff. Drop the 60/40-split rear seats, which fold absolutely flush with the load floor, and a further 28 cubic feet open up.

Quick Spin: 2021 Volvo XC60 Recharge

The GV70’s attractively athletic body shape is highlighted by nicely executed styling details, such as the Genesis brand’s signature shield-shaped grille and slim “Quad Lamp” LED headlights and taillights.

The 2.5 engine, rated at 300 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque, is attached to an 8-speed automatic transmission. This powerteam is an eminently competent pairing for moderately lively performance that gets a little zestier (and a touch louder) in “Sport” mode, with its quicker throttle response and more patient upshifts. Still, you can happily cruise all day in subtler “Comfort” mode. “Eco” and “Custom” settings are available as well. We wish the GV70 was a little stingier with gas—premium, wouldn’t you know. EPA ratings are 22 mpg in city driving, 28 on the highway, and 24 combined. When this driver put 81.5 miles on the test vehicle—with 69 percent city-style operation—it returned just 20.3 mpg.

With a suspension that’s a retuned version of the G70’s front struts and multilink rear, ride quality is luxury-brand good, with fine bump absorption and isolation from road noise. Steering is nicely weighted and responsive in the Comfort setting. Maybe the more resistant Sport-mode steering is a help on twisty roads where you wouldn’t want to overdo inputs, but in lazier urban-expressway driving it just feels heavy. Brakes are easy to modulate and predictably reliable.

The inaugural GV70 finds its strength in numbers—the number of things it does right. That would be true no matter what number Genesis assigned to it.

First Spin: 2022 Infiniti QX55

The new-for-2022 Genesis GV70 might be the Genesis brand’s most impressive vehicle so far; it delivers an athletic driving character, attractive styling inside and out, and a high level of luxury and available technology features, all at prices that handily undercut its primary European luxury-brand rivals.

Listen to the Car Stuff Podcast

Genesis GV70 2.5T Advanced Gallery

Click below for enlarged images.

Genesis GV70 2.5T Advanced

Meet the 2022 Consumer Guide Best Buys

Genesis GV70 2.5T Advanced

Car Stuff Podcast

Written by: The Daily Drive staff on December 22, 2021.

For GREAT deals on a new or used Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or RAM check out Monrovia CDJR TODAY!

Test Drive: 2021 Genesis G80 2.5T Standard

2021 Genesis G80 2.5T Standard in Uyuni White (a $400 option)

2021 Genesis G80 2.5T Standard RWD

Class: Premium Large Car

Miles driven: 389

Fuel used: 16.3 gallons

CG Report Card


Room and Comfort	A-
Power and Performance	C+
Fit and Finish	B
Fuel Economy	B
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	B
Tall Guy	B+

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	300-hp 2.5L
Engine Type	Turbo 4-cylinder
Transmission	8-speed automatic
Drive Wheels	Rear-wheel drive

Real-world fuel economy: 23.9 mpg

Driving mix: 55% city, 45% highway

EPA-estimated fuel economy: 23/32/26 (city, highway, combined)

Fuel type: Premium gas required

Base price: $47,700 (not including $1025 destination charge)

Options on test vehicle: Uyuni White paint ($400)

Price as tested: $49,125

Quick Hits

The great: Value pricing for a luxury-brand large car; quietness

The good: Respectable fuel economy; distinctive styling; comfortable cabin

The not so good: Ride composure isn’t quite as refined as class leaders’; transmission is sometimes slow to upshift; budget pricing means foregoing some fairly common luxury-class features

More Genesis price and availability information

John Biel

Much has happened in the luxury-sedan space just since Hyundai’s stand-alone Genesis brand first wedged its way in for the 2017 model year. It is marking 2021 as a year to begin catching up to the latest trends, and it is starting with the premium-midsize G80.

Among the things lately stirring the premium-midsize pot that an all-new G80 addresses are a taste for remotely controlled big-screen infotainment and a switch to smaller turbocharged engines. Indeed, both powerplants found in the ’21 G80s are newcomers: a 2.5-liter turbo 4-cylinder (in place of the former entry-level 3.8 V6) and a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 (in lieu of an erstwhile 5.0-liter V8).

The assertive, shield-shaped grille is clearly the focal point of the 2021 Genesis G80’s styling, but rest of the car has a bold, confident look as well. The sloping roofline and dual headlight/taillight treatment are among the highlights.

What isn’t changing is the brand’s quest to deliver a luxury experience for lots less than you’d pay for, say, an Audi, BMW, or Mercedes-Benz. Consumer Guide tested the absolute starting point of the new G80, the 2.5T Standard with rear-wheel drive, a car priced at $48,725 with delivery. (Only an application of Uyuni White paint boosted the full tab for the test car by another $400.) The 2.5T also comes in Advanced and Prestige trims, while the V6 is dressed in Standard or Prestige garb. All are available with all-wheel drive, which costs an additional $3150, so starting prices reach to $69,275 at the top end.

Quick Spin: 2020 Genesis G70 3.3T Sport

Even in base trim with leatherette upholstery, the G80’s interior ambiance is classy. HVAC vents are integrated into the mid-dash trim, and the climate controls use a touchscreen input system in addition to physical buttons and knobs.

A lighter body (thanks to added use of aluminum) is fronted by a bigger version of Genesis’ shieldlike grille, now pointed at the bottom. The visual effect of new twin-strip headlights continues as simulated vents in the front fenders behind the wheel openings, and then is reprised in back by the taillights. Overall height has been reduced from the previous G80; the profile is low and flowing.

Test Drive: 2020 Genesis G90 3.3T Premium

The extra-wide infotainment screen is a plus. None of our testers were particularly enamored with the circular infotainment control system (which is located just in front of the rotary-dial gear selector).

The 4-cylinder engine that CG sampled generates 300 horsepower at 5800 rpm and 311 lb-ft of torque that holds up from 1650 to 4000 rpm. Paired with an 8-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission, it’s a powerteam that provides better-than-adequate acceleration with decent fuel economy. Selectable drive modes—Comfort, Smart, Eco, Sport, and Custom—adjust transmission mapping and throttle responsiveness. We certainly felt crisper shifts in Sport in brisker driving. However, when puttering around town in that mode the car often was at speeds that had the trans wavering on shift points, sounding for all the world like it wanted to upshift, but then doing so in a slow, slurring action. This driver put 121.6 miles on the test car, 57 percent of that in city-type operation, and averaged 24.6 mpg. That’s about in line with the EPA estimates of 23 mpg in the city, 32 on the highway, and 26 combined.

Test Drive: 2020 Cadillac CT5-V

There’s fine room in the G80’s front seats, and good space for average-sized adults in the rear seats.

If anything reminds you that Genesis is still a striver in a class dominated by established heritage brands it is the refinement of its fully independent multilink suspension. There’s nothing particularly objectionable about the G80’s ride quality in its base state but it isn’t as supple as that of its august peers. (Note that cars with the 375-horsepower V6 come with standard adaptive dampers.) Steering is precise if a little numb, and braking is good.

Quick Spin: 2020 Lexus ES 300h Ultra Luxury

There’s 13.1 cubic feet of cargo space in the G80’s trunk–a middling number for the premium large car class, and the rear seatbacks don’t fold.

If anything tells you that Genesis has indeed gone to school on the masters it is the exceedingly quiet cabin with a luxury look and feel. At the extreme base level of the car we tested there were some signs of cost cutting (no moonroof; no power-closing trunklid; seats, dash topper, and door inserts covered in leatherette). However, the Vanilla Beige seats were attractively detailed, the driver was confronted by a distinctively styled leather-wrapped steering wheel, and console devices like the rotary transmission selector and circular infotainment controller had knurled surfaces for added visual and tactile interest.

The centerpiece of the infotainment system is the 14.5-inch touchscreen that sits atop of the dashboard. It has a jumble of information on it, but if you study it, it soon begins to make sense for audio tuning, inputs, and the like. (One of the functions that can be accessed is a supposedly calming “Sounds of Nature” program, which includes soothing ambient sounds such as Lively Forest, Warm Fireplace, and Calm Sea Waves.) Why cars with touchscreens need remote central controllers and cars with central controllers need touchscreens is beyond us, but the G80 has both—plus steering-wheel buttons and voice command—so however you prefer to interact with your infotainment cluster that capability exists in this Genesis.

Other standard equipment on the G80 Standard includes heated 12-way power adjustable front seats, front passenger-seat “walk in” (it automatically slides the seat back when the door is opened, then returns it to its prior position when the door closes), piano-black interior trim, ambient lighting, satellite radio, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone compatibility. The dual-zone climate system has big external dials to make quick, direct temperature settings, but the rest of the controls are on a touchpad that looks great but can be hard to read in certain light conditions. Among exterior features are 19-inch alloy wheels, full LED lighting, high-beam assist, and power-folding mirrors with puddle lamps that project the Genesis logo.

Test Drive: 2021 Acura TLX

As its name suffix suggests, the G80 2.5T is powered by a 2.5-liter engine–a turbocharged 4-cylinder that puts out 300 horsepower. The 18-inch wheels on our test vehicle are standard equipment; 19s are available in option packages.

Passengers will find abundant head- and legroom in both rows with good seat comfort. Three svelte adults might share the rear seat, though the middle occupant would have to be shortest one of the bunch and be comfortable straddling a floor tunnel. Plenty of glass area opens up vistas for driver vision.

Personal-item storage for front-row occupants is handled by a good-sized glove box, modest split-door console box with a 12-volt input and adjustable suspended tray inside, covered bin with USB inputs at the front of the console, twin covered cup holders, and long front-door pockets. Rear-seat storage comes down to cup holders and a cubby (both covered) in the pull-down center armrest, hard-sided pouches on the backs of the front seats, and smaller door pockets.

The trunk has 13 cubic feet of space on a flat floor, though it narrows considerably between the wheel houses. Net pouches on the sides hold incidentals. The gooseneck hinges are covered. Rear seats do not fold, but a central pass-through accommodates long objects.

It’s useful, it’s fairly plush, and it’s affordable. The G80 is a pleasant luxury-market surprise.

Quick Spin: 2020 Lexus LS 500h

With its redesign for 2021, the Genesis G80 gets bolder styling, new powertrains, and a host of new technology features. In base trim, it delivers true luxury-car attitude (if not all the luxury-level features) at a more accessible price.

Follow John on Twitter

Listen to the very entertaining Consumer Guide Car Stuff Podcast

2021 Genesis G80 2.5T Standard Gallery

(Click below for enlarged images)

Meet the 2021 Consumer Guide Best Buys

2021 Genesis G80 2.5T

Written by: The Daily Drive staff on January 18, 2021.

For GREAT deals on a new or used Chevrolet check out Morgan Chevrolet TODAY!