Thoughts About My 2021 Genesis G70
My G70
It’s the Elite trim (Uyuni White) with Caramel Brown leather seating, 2.0T inline-four engine with 252 hp @ 6,200 and 260 lb-ft @ 1,400.
The four-cylinder has plenty of power and low-end torque. The more powerful V6 may be more fun, but I value fuel economy. Until electric cars are ubiquitous, I believe we must be more environmentally conscious. Besides, this car is also fun to drive and very zippy.
The fit and finish is excellent. This car feels luxurious, even without the optional Nappa leather.
The design borrows elements from Hyundai cars to save money. This is not a downside, in my opinion. The most obvious example is the infotainment system, which I found to be very easy and pleasant to use. I despise cars that use oddball features like a touchpad, or rotary knob, for navigating menus.
I don’t need anything fancy. Most of the time, I just set it and forget it. I adjust infotainment maybe once in a blue moon.
Genesis is a relatively new luxury marque. As such, it doesn’t have the same cachet as, say, BMW, Audi, or Mercedes-Benz. But I see a lot of BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles on the road, so to me, they’re quite pedestrian.
Genesis stands out for its rarity.
What I like about the G70
Design
I love the headlamps and jewel-like grille. The “boomerang” vents are a nice accent.
Value
I saved many thousands of dollars over similarly-equipped German equivalents (BMW 330i, Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C-Class). There’s also the very, very generous 5 years or 100,000 km complimentary scheduled maintenance and warranty.
Reliability
Genesis is rated very high in reliability, easily Top 5.
Criticisms
Some people say the infotainment screen is too small. It doesn’t bother me. The system is very easy to use and that’s really the only thing that matters.
Rear seat room is cramp and the trunk is a bit on the small side.
Fuel economy for the four-cylinder is a bit on the high side, especially compared to the best-in-class BMW 3 Series.
The 2022 Refresh
The new G70 coming next year will have a major facelift. New quad headlamps. New crest grille. Gone is the “boomerang” vent on the sides, replaced by a little squarish vent at the bottom of the fenders. And on the trunk lid, they’ve added a “GENESIS” script.
I have to be honest, I don’t like the new aesthetics. The original headlamps look nicer, in my opinion.
The new crest grille reminds me of a sewer grate. I love the jewel-like grille on the original G70 which looks far more elegant.
The new tiny vents look cheap.
And I question the aesthetic value of the “GENESIS” script. BMW doesn’t use such script. Neither do Audi and Mercedes-Benz. (Porsche does, though.)
The interior has a larger infotainment screen and a fully digital instrument cluster. I find the large infotainment screen rather overwhelming, visually speaking. But this is not uncommon. I’ve seen honking big infotainment screens in exotic cars. Not a fan.
The digital instrument cluster is cool, especially with its 3D imagery. But I prefer having physical analogue gauges as a fallback. Digital screens can die. Not good for an instrument cluster.
About the only thing I do like in the refresh are the blind-spot cameras whose images show up in the instrument cluster.
