The G70 Shooting Brake’s ride is a little firmer, tauter and noisier than that of the saloon; it’s got BMW-M-Sport-level connected feel, but also really well-tied down body control and nicely balanced grip levels. It never crashes or bristles over lumps and bumps, but has closely checked, nicely clipped body movements. The 19in wheels and performance tyres of Sport Line cars make for some surface roar, particularly when you use the sportier driving modes, but good touring comfort levels can be returned to the car by a simple tweak of a knob on the centre console.
Steering feel ebbs and flows from good to numb and heavy, but it’s never a serious bugbear and doesn’t prevent you from enjoying the car’s handling. Cornering poise is certainly good enough to entice you to dial back the stability controls on a winding road, and explore how keenly this car can use that slippy diff to tighten its line under power. As it turns out, it’ll do that encouragingly well.
This is a chassis that deserves better and more enticing powertrains. The car comes with a choice of four-cylinder turbocharged petrol and diesels; but the V6 turbo that might have gone in, from the Kia Stinger GTS, now feels like a major miss. The four-pots are certainly refined, with very respectable performance and drivability, but neither has much character or seems to relish being worked hard.
The 2.2-litre diesel in particular makes plenty of torque, and it’s pleasingly hushed at a relaxed cruise, with mixed-use, real-world fuel economy in the low 40s for mpg. But it becomes loud and a little coarse above 3500rpm, and isn’t the kind of diesel that likes to spin beyond 4000- at all.
Keyword: Genesis G70 Shooting Brake Review (2021)