Range Finder: 2023 Genesis GV60

It’s also very powerful
Range doesn’t match the price
Charging is faster, but not as quick as you might expect
It really is a delight inside

As this is a Range Finder and typically replete with numbers, ratings, and calculations, it might seem odd to start off with ruminations on the Genesis’ styling. But the GV60 is so exquisitely shaped that its silhouette is both its best feature and best in class. The sport-brute segment has, ever since BMW introduced the concept with the 2008 X6, been trying to marry the boxy butchiness of the SUV with the fast-backed roofline of a sports car. Most have been downright ugly; the best are merely awkward.

Not the GV60. From every angle, the thing looks genuinely attractive. From front fender flare to rear C-pillar, it’s perfectly shaped. There’s not a darned thing I’d change of the Genesis’ exterior. It even manages to look good in white, which, if you’re driven as many whitewashed automobiles as I have, is tremendous compliment indeed. It’s a looker.

It’s also very powerful

While Genesis is offering a lower-cost — $71,000 — Advanced model of the GV80 with the same 314 hp available from the Hyundai Ioniq5, the real excitement is the $79,000 Performance model. Its two motors — all GV80s, even the base model, boast all-wheel-drive — manage a seriously impressive 429 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque total. But, wait, as Ron Popeil used to say, there’s more! Push a little “Boost” button on the steering wheel and, for ten seconds, an extra 54 horsepower and 70 pound-feet of torque is made available, for 483 hp and 516 torques, in all.

Now, to be sure, this idea of a ten-second boost would seem even more infantile than just the regular burst of excess horsepower. And, if you’re already in Sport mode, it’s pretty much pointless, because you can hardly feel the difference. But hit the button when you’re passing a truck in Eco mode and, because the power has been stifled in the pursuit of range, it’s absolutely hilarious. Temporary gratification, thy name is Genesis.

2023 Genesis GV60 Photo by David Booth

The reason that Genesis won’t let you have all the power all the time is because it hasn’t found a way to cool the motors and all its sundry electrical bits. On the other hand, I hit the boost button about five times in two minutes and got the same high-amperage jolt every time. There are things to complain about with the Genesis’ powertrain — wait just one more line — but performance isn’t one of ‘em.

Range doesn’t match the price

The GV80 is built on the same e-GMP platform as the Ioniq5 and the upcoming Ioniq6. That means it’s fuelled by the same battery, with 77.4 kilowatt-hours of usable lithium-ions. The range the GV60 managed to eke out of those 77.4 kWh was bang on 302 kilometres. Again, as always, Range Finder performs all of its range tests on Ontario’s hilly — and, oft times, windy — Highway 407, while cruising at a computer-controlled 125 km/h. If you’re looking for the reason our numbers don’t match Genesis official range figures — 378 kilometres — look no further.

Do the calculus and that works out to 25.6 kWh/100 km of energy consumption. That makes the GV almost identical in its efficiency to the BMW iX M60 — 25.4 kWh/100 km — that I tested last week. Now, apart from the fact that the BMW is heavier and more powerful and probably should be less efficient, the fact remains that, with almost identical energy-consumption rates, the only reason the big BMW can boast its 114-klicks greater range is because it’s got a bigger 105.2-kWh battery.

Charging is faster, but not as quick as you might expect

Genesis’ battery uses the same high-tech 800V architecture as the Ioniq5, the promised benefit being fast-charging. Indeed, all those vehicles currently running 800V batteries — Porsche’s Taycan uses similarly high-voltage systems — bandy about the possibility of 350-kilowatt charging capacity. And the Genesis does indeed sound quick, needing only 18 minutes, according to manufacturer, for a 10- to 80-per-cent charge.

Delve deeper into the numbers, however, and things are not as fast as you might think. For one thing, though GV80s may someday charge at that promised 350 kW, the current maximum, at least according to InsideEVs, is 224 kW. And that’s at its peak, which, when you delve a little further into its average charging rate, it can’t hold that long. That 18-minute recharge works out to an average charge rate of around 180 kW. That’s actually pretty good, but not nearly the 350 kW Genesis mentions in its advertising.

2023 Genesis GV60 Photo by David Booth

So, assuming you have access to a fully-functioning high-speed charger on the highway and you left home with a full charge, you’d be able to drive roughly 260 klicks. If you were on your way to Montreal from Toronto (a trip I make often) you’d then have to stop for those 18 minutes to get enough juice to go another 210 klicks — 70 per cent of the 302-klick max range — and also need another top-up somewhere along way. Compare that with the BMW iX M60 again — which has a 414-kilometre range and roughly similar charging rates — and you’d find that the same trip could be made with just the final top-up, cutting out one complete charge.

And finally, those speedy charge times require access to the latest in high-speed chargers. Unfortunately, 350 kW chargers are as rare as hen’s teeth. On the three 125-kW chargers I ‘filled’ up on in my two weeks of GV80-ing, the Genesis’s average take rate was 55 to 60 kW up to the 80 per cent mark, and then 30 kW thereafter.

It really is a delight inside

Being based on a ‘lesser’ car can sometimes mean inheriting similarly lesser technology. In the case of the Genesis, however, said inheritance includes an excellent infotainment system, as well as the best EV range infographic in the business. It looks no less inviting for now finding itself in a luxury segment cabin as it did in the Ioniq5.

Meanwhile, the cabin’s leather and metal finishes are exquisite, the seats comfortable, and the accommodations more than passably roomy. There is, however, a loss in trunk space, as the GV is actually shorter than the Ioniq5.

2023 Genesis GV60 Photo by David Booth

There’s plenty of high-techery as well, including a camera in the driver’s-side B-pillar that uses facial recognition to unlock the door; and fingerprint recognition to start the motor. Theoretically then, you could leave the key at home and still be able to start and operate the GV. I did not try this feature. You’re more than welcome to trust technology to such a degree. I do not.

Nonetheless, that wasn’t the GV’s most distinctive — or crowd-pleasing — feature. That honour fell to the gearshift lever, which initially looks like a small crystal ball or some futuristic, magical orb that got lost on the way to a Star Trek set. Certainly, Genesis has gone where no one dared before, because, when you hit the starter button, said orb flips over to become a rotary gearshift knob.

According to Clayton Seams, who first tested the GV60 for Driving, it’s to alert the driver whether the powertrain is actually switched on or the GV is “just in accessory mode.” Whatever Genesis’ reasoning, none of my passengers were able to stifle their wonderment. It’s trés cool.

As is the rest of the car. Indeed, the GV60 is a very appealing electric vehicle, reasonably priced considering its performance, as sexy as anything even remotely SUVish, and comfortable in its seating. It’s just not a long-distance road-warrior. For that it needs a bigger — make that “much bigger” — battery.

Keyword: Range Finder: 2023 Genesis GV60

It’s also very powerful

Range doesn’t match the price

Charging is faster, but not as quick as you might expect

It really is a delight inside

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