Test Drive: The 2019 Genesis G70

Genesis may be fairly new as a stand-alone brand, but the G70 arrives fully baked, a contender that cedes no ground to the established players. Drivers looking for a compact luxury sports sedan rarely have had such a broad variety to choose among when seeking a dancing partner for back-road adventures. The G70, the third nameplate from Hyundai’s saucy upstart luxury brand and the first to be wholly developed from the outset to wear its winged badge.

The G70 joins the mid-size G80 and large G90 sedans, but unlike those models its roots can’t be traced directly to Hyundai-badged predecessors. Using a shortened version of the same rear-drive platform that underpins the Kia Stinger, it was designed and developed as a Genesis from day one. Lighter and nimbler than the Kia, it’s also more handsomely designed and better executed throughout. Its solid chassis, refined demeanor, and vice-free behavior when pressed hard all measure up to the high standards that prevail in this class.

The car is a little lower and wider than most, and it looks great without being a stunning departure from sports-sedan norms. This is the first stage of a Genesis design language evolving under chief Luc Donckerwolke, which will be more fully expressed in future models, and it puts primary importance on proportion and stance. The overall impression was of high-quality materials deployed liberally in a driver-centric cockpit.

The steering calibration on the production models now has the firm on-center feel which was lacking in the prototype, and the wheel delivers proportional responses and a good sense of load building in turns. The electrically assisted steering features a rack-mounted motor, which in our experience gives better feel than when located on the steering column. Sadly, like most of its competitors, the G70 lacks any real through-the-wheel feedback about road texture or even bumps. That said, the 2.0-liter Sport model, which we “autocrossed” on the facility’s go-kart track and drove much more on the open road, has a crisper, sportier steering feel, aided by the reduction of weight over the front axle.

The base turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four produces 252 horsepower when paired with Hyundai’s own eight-speed automatic transmission, which sends a stout 260 lb-ft of torque to either the rear or all four wheels. Opt for the Sport model with the 2.0-liter and you get a limited-slip differential and upgraded brakes; a six-speed manual transmission is optional on this trim level and brings with it a 3-hp bump for a total of 255 horses. It had been indicated to us earlier that the manual would be a first-year-only offering, but Genesis brand chief Manfred Fitzgerald says that’s now not the case and that it will stay in the lineup as long as there’s sufficient demand for it. Something on the order of 5 percent of overall G70 sales is projected, and Fitzgerald says he “would hope 5 to 10 percent of 2.0-liter customers” will choose the stick.

There are two special launch editions. One is designated Design and executed with Black Forest Green paint (a very grayish green) over a beige interior, while the sportier one is dubbed Dynamic and has a red exterior and black quilted-leather upholstery highlighted with red seams. The latter appeals to the track-day driver by starting with the Sport package specification and adds more cooling capacity, specific suspension tuning, performance brake pads, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires on 19-inch wheels, and your choice of rear- or all-wheel drive. Both launch-edition cars are V-6 models.

Genesis, of course, has no heritage. G70 owners won’t be able to brag about how many times the maker has won Le Mans as do those with Jaguars, or how it invented the car as do Mercedes-Benz owners, or how it originated the whole compact-sports-sedan segment like folks with a BMW. Genesis may resonate, though, for those convinced that the history of achievements now attributed to “old white men” are not the whole story, who embrace diversity as a strength and not as something to fear. For them, the G70 could be the start of a new tradition of driver’s cars that can trace their origins to Korea.

The Genesis G70 should be on sale starting in August, and while Genesis has not finalized prices, it says we can expect the G70 to range from about $35,000 for a rear-drive 2.0T to $50,000 for the top-tier V-6 with all-wheel drive.