2023 Genesis G70 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Mechanically, the G70 is the same car that launched for the 2019 model year. But the smallest sedan from Genesis got a complete exterior restyling for 2022, featuring the same design language as the larger G80 and G90 sedans, as well as the GV70 and GV80 crossover SUVs.

While the G70 wasn’t designed with the current Genesis look in mind, like those other models, it wears the new styling well. The pre-facelift G70 was a handsome car, but the current version is much more distinctive. Its four headlight segments and large, shield-like grille give the G70 a face unlike any other small luxury sedan. The standard 18-inch wheels and 19-inch wheels for four-cylinder and six-cylinder models, respectively, also fill the wheel wells nicely, but still allow for a reasonable amount of tire sidewall to preserve ride quality.

The interior design has a hint of BMW in the shape of the dashboard and positioning of the central touchscreen, but with a more daring approach to colours and materials than we generally see from the Bavarian automaker. With its red leather upholstery with quilted panels, and minimum of gloss black plastic, our G70 Sport test car definitely felt special. However, a closer look will remind you that the G70 is positioned near the bottom of the Genesis lineup. Much of the trim that looks like metal—including some retro engine-turned pieces—is actually plastic. An auto-dimming rearview mirror is standard, at least.

Making your G70 look this nice on the inside also requires going up the trim ladder. Leatherette seating is standard, with leather seats and Nappa leather available on higher trims. Our test car had the Nappa hides, as well as Brembo brakes and ventilated front seats (heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, and a power sunroof are standard in Canada).

The standard turbo-four in the Genesis G70 2.0T produces power specs of 252 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque, while the 3.3T’s twin-turbo 3.3-litre V6 is good for 365 hp and 376 lb-ft of torque. Both engines require premium fuel to make maximum power, which is typical with turbocharging.

An eight-speed automatic transmission is standard across the board. Genesis previously offered a six-speed manual, but it was dropped due to low sales. The 8-speed automatic does get paddle shifters, at least, and we found it cracked off shifts pretty quickly, albeit with some roughness.

While Genesis doesn’t offer an equivalent to the BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, Lexus F, or Cadillac V-Series performance models, the V6 G70 is impressively quick.

Even without using launch control, our 3.3T test car felt seriously quick. We surfed away from stops on a wave of torque, but the engine also happily zinged up to 6,000 rpm with ease. The V6 engine, which is shared with other Genesis models as well as the Kia Stinger, doesn’t have any exotic engineering to nerd out over, or a characterful exhaust note, but it still checks all of the boxes for a sport sedan power plant.

Like most new cars, the G70 gets a selection of drive modes—in this case Comfort, Eco, Sport, Sport+—but unlike many other cars those modes actually make a difference. Switching from the default Comfort mode to Sport noticeably quickens shifts, allows the transmission to hold higher revs, and nicely tightens up the steering without making it feel artificially heavy. Sport+ turns off the traction control, which made for a lively experience.

Our test car showed a surprising willingness to rotate in corners, turning in more willingly than we’d expected, and acting more like a RWD car. The suspension kept body roll in check, although its firmness did mean the G70 could be easily upset by mid-corner bumps. Nonetheless, this is a seriously fun car. The G70 actually shares a basic platform with the Kia Stinger, but with a shorter 2,835 millimetre wheelbase that makes this more upscale model more nimble.

As with competitor sedans, this sporty character does come at the expense of ride comfort. The ride was noticeably harsher than average, but not too bad by sport-sedan standards. And interior noise levels were also low enough to justify the G70’s luxury billing.

The G70 offers a decent amount of passenger space for this market segment, but doesn’t hold a decisive advantage over rivals. Front headroom is near the top of the competitive set, but behind the Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Front legroom is closer to average, while both headroom and legroom for rear-seat passengers are a bit less generous than competitor sedans. It’s worth noting that none of the sedans in this segment offer particularly spacious back seats, though.

A hands-free trunk lid and 60/40 split-folding rear seat are standard, but the G70’s 297 litres of trunk space puts it at the bottom of its competitive set. That’s with the rear seats up; Genesis doesn’t list a cargo-space figure with the seats folded.

Up front, Genesis found a surprising amount of room for storage without cutting into passenger space. A large phone tray (with available wireless charging) is located ahead of the stubby shifter. It’s big enough to hold most phones, and frees up the cupholders and centre console storage bin for their intended uses.

The thing that impressed us most about the G70’s interior, however, was its ergonomic design. Everything was refreshingly easy to use, from the climate controls to the large shortcut buttons for the touchscreen. All of these controls were large and legible. The centre stack that houses them is also positioned close to the driver for ease of reach, but still accessible to the front passenger.

The standard infotainment system is based around a 10.25-inch touchscreen borrowed from Genesis sibling brands Hyundai and Kia. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard, but the wireless versions available on some competitor vehicles aren’t available. Bluetooth connectivity and SiriusXM satellite radio are standard as well, while a head-up display is optional.

While it is the same interface you get in a Hyundai Sonata or Kia K5, the touchscreen is still one of the better ones available. It’s easy to use, with most functions requiring just a couple of pokes of the screen, and the carryover graphics have sufficient quality for a luxury car. Recycling an infotainment system from mainstream brands also provides some much-needed simplicity. We’re glad Genesis didn’t try for an equivalent to the sometimes-confusing BMW iDrive or Mercedes-Benz MBUX controllers.

The G70 does lack some tech features that are becoming more common across the industry, though. Instead of a fully digital instrument cluster, it gets an analog speedometer with an 8-inch LCD display next to it. This doesn’t leave much room to display important notifications, like those for the status of the G70’s driver aids. It also lacks the classic look of fully analog instrumentation.

And while the G70’s touchscreen interface is more streamlined than those of the German luxury brands, it also lacks the sophisticated voice recognition you get in an Audi, BMW, or Mercedes these days. The Genesis standard system can’t interpret colloquial speech as well as its rivals.

A 15-speaker Lexicon audio system with surround sound is available, but the standard system only gets six speakers, which seems a little underwhelming for a luxury car.

Genesis is more generous with driver-assist tech than most luxury brands. Standard features include forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, a driver-attention monitor, automatic high beams, rear-seat reminder, and safe-exit assist.

Also standard is Highway Driving Assist, which combines adaptive cruise control with automated lane centring. As the name suggests, this system is designed only for use on highways, and it requires you to keep your hands on the steering wheel at all times. We got plenty of hand-strength exercise in squeezing the wheel to avoid triggering a warning. We also found the lane centring to be less smooth than BMW’s, as the system would continually saw at the wheel instead of fluidly guiding the car through curves. And in some cases, it brought us uncomfortably close to other vehicles.

Features available on upper trims include front and rear park distance control, rain-sensing wipers, and a blind-spot view camera system that display video feed from mirror-mounted cameras in the instrument cluster when the turn signals are activated. It’s a cool feature, but also one that’s available in lesser Hyundai and Kia models. And because the G70 doesn’t have a fully digital instrument cluster, the camera view is always shown on the right side no matter what direction you’re signaling.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the 2023 G70 its highest “Top Safety Pick+” award. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t published any crash-test ratings for the 2023 G70 to date.

With the four-cylinder engine, the 2023 Genesis G70 gets Natural Resources Canada fuel economy ratings of 11.4 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 8.2 on the highway, and 10.0 combined. The V6 powertrain is rated at 13.5 L/100 km city, 9.1 hwy, and 11.5 combined. We managed 12.1 L/100 km during our week with the G70 3.3T, according to the trip-computer readout.

In Canada, retail prices for the 2023 Genesis G70 start at $47,000 for a base 2.0T Select model. It’s important to note, though, that Canadian pricing for all Genesis products is no-haggle and not only includes all destination charges and fees, but it also covers at-home test drives and online purchasing, five years of scheduled maintenance with at-home vehicle pick-up and delivery, five years or 100,000 kilometres of comprehensive limited warranty and roadside assistance, and five years of map updates and connected services. Our Genesis G70 3.3T Sport test car represents the high end of the lineup, with a $61,000 all-in as-tested MSRP.

Like other luxury cars, the G70 leaves a lot of features for higher trims. But its relatively low base price means a fully loaded G70 doesn’t get outrageously expensive. There’s also plenty of goodness baked into the standard car, including a great chassis, ergonomic cockpit, intuitive tech, and a decent array of standard safety features. The G70 provides the sporty handling and upscale design expected in its market segment, but it’s also one of the few small luxury sedans that could be considered a good value.

Note: Images show a US model.