2024 Genesis G70 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

There is no doubt that Genesis is producing some of the most attractive cars you can buy these days. The G70 strikes a perfect balance between elegance and sportiness with its signature quad LED headlights and taillamps, standard dual exhaust and large front air intakes. Only 19-inch alloy wheels are available, but they look great and the proportion works.

There are 11 exterior colour options, but there are two shades of white, three of gray and two of silver. The best-looking of the bunch is the Kawah Blue. In Canada, this rich hue doesn’t cost extra.

Inside, the G70 gets a few updated design elements like the air vents and push-to-start button. A new digital climate control panel is a nice touch as are the new aluminum trim options. A frameless rearview mirror is new as well. You’ll get your choice of three interior colours: gray, red or black. Unfortunately, the red isn’t available with the blue exterior paint that we like—but then again, that’s probably a bit too much colour for most folks. Regardless of colour, the build quality is excellent and the materials are all top-notch.

For 2024, the base engine is improved from a 2.0-litre turbocharged powerplant to a 2.5-litre inline four-cylinder turbo with 300 horsepower and 311 lb-ft of torque. That’s an increase of 48 ponies and 51 pound-feet of torque from last year, and it’s more power than what’s available from comparable offerings from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Acura and Lexus. Buyers can also upgrade to a 3.3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine with 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque if so desired. Both are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters, and all-wheel drive (AWD) is standard equipment in Canada.

The smaller powerplant is a peach with a dynamic chassis providing excellent handling. Newly standard Brembo brakes allow for later braking when really pushing the car. The drive modes here include Comfort, Smart, Eco, Sport, Sport+ and Custom. Choose Sport+ to up the ante in throttle and shifting response, although when really getting on the gas we still noticed a slight lag between flooring the accelerator and the G70 responding.

The extra bump in power from the V6 is nice, but the real magic here is in the mechanical limited-slip differential, electronically controlled suspension, Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires and variable-steering ratio. The car even has a drift mode should you care to really smoke those summer tires. While most folks won’t push their cars as much as we did, they certainly can take the abuse. Instead, you’ll likely toddle around town, running errands and commuting to work. Here, the 8-speed automatic transmission does the work in the background and either powerplant provides plenty of power for highway merging. Our only small quibble is that there is a bit more wind noise than we’d prefer in a luxury-sport sedan.

In Canada, the G70 is available in Advanced or Prestige trims with the 2.5-litre engine while the larger 3.3-litre engine can be had in the Sport trim. The base Advanced comes standard with heated mirrors and heated and ventilated front seats with leather upholstery, a heated steering wheel, dual-zone HVAC and a hands-free trunk. Heated rear seats come in at the Prestige trim.

If you decide to go all-in with the 3.3-litre Sport you’ll get Nappa leather seating surfaces, a microfibre suede headliner and pillars and a 16-way power-adjustable driver seat.

We like the mix of analog and digital components in the dash. You’ll find an old-school speedometer and fuel gauge, but it’s combined with digital readings for your tachometer, odometer and coolant temperature. It’s a neat mix of flavour. Interior storage is a bit of a mixed bag. There is a large tray in the centre console that is very useful, but door pockets are on the smaller side. Also on the smaller side is the rear seat leg room. Taller people will want to call shotgun for longer trips.

The rear seats can fold down in a 60/40 split and that is a very good thing since the trunk is very small for the class. There are only 297 litres of space back there, while the BMW 3-Series offers up 480 litres of space and the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class sit at around 450 litres.

Every G70 gets a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, although they don’t function wirelessly. By and large the menu structure here is easy to use and intuitive, the graphics crisp and the response time fast. Voice recognition is pretty good as well and over-the-air updates mean you’ll always have the latest and greatest.

If you’re into using your phone for every little thing, Genesis’s digital key now works in Canada with both Android and iOS operating systems. Also standard across the board is Genesis Connected Services with crash assistance, stolen vehicle recovery, remote access and connected profiles for multiple drivers.

One thing we really like is the standard navigation-based adaptive cruise control that takes into account the upcoming route. Even if the cruise control is set for 110 kilometres per hour, the G70 will slow down for sweeping turns on the highway and only accelerate back to the set point when the road straightens out. Combined with the available head-up display, you shouldn’t ever be lost.

Audiophiles might want to opt for a trim with the Lexicon premium audio system with 15 speakers including myriad tweeters, woofers and subwoofers scattered about the cabin. The standard six-speaker system is fine, but the upgraded Lexicon surround sound stereo is quite good.

To keep things charged there is a mix of four USB-A and -C ports in the cabin as well as available wireless charging.

The G70 makes most advanced driver aids standard, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, rain-sensing wipers, and parking distance warning. Highway Driving Assist is also standard, which combines adaptive cruise control and lane following assist for a hands-on system that takes some of the stress out of a commute or long road trip. We like the available blind view monitor that sends a video feed of the right and left side blind spots to the digital gauge cluster. It’s pretty trick. A 360-degree camera is also available on the Sport trim.

The G70 has a unique front centre airbag, placed in the right side of the driver’s seat. This segment-first airbag is designed to cushion any impacts between the driver and passenger in case of a crash.

The 2024 Genesis G70 has not received an overall, frontal, side impact or rollover crash rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). However, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gave the G70 the top score of “Good” in crashworthiness, crash avoidance and mitigation. In child restraints the G70 received a score of “Marginal” due to the lower LATCH anchors being too deep in the rear seats and difficult to maneuver around.

The 2024 Genesis G70 is one of the least-expensive cars in its class, priced at $53,000 for a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine in Advanced trim. At the top end, the 3.3-litre engine in Sport trim is priced at $64,000.

It’s important to note that Genesis pricing in Canada is all-in, meaning you won’t need to haggle and all destination charges and fees are included. You’ll also receive an at-home concierge for test drives and service appointments, five years of scheduled maintenance and map updates, and more.

If you’re on the fence about which engine to get, we recommend the 2.5-litre. Sure, there are a few more niceties when you spring for the top dog, but in the end the extra 65 ponies will cost you $6,000. Not quite worth the dough unless you’re an enthusiast who plans to head to the twisties every weekend.

You’ll save a bit on fuel costs as well. The 2.5-litre engine gets a Natural Resources Canada fuel economy rating of 10.2 litres per 100 kilometres combined. The larger 3.3-litre engine returns an estimated 11.9 L/100 km combined. In Canada, Genesis vehicles come with a 5-year, 100,000-kilometre comprehensive warranty, which also includes the powertrain.

At the end of the day, the Genesis G70 makes for a compelling choice. It provides more power and torque than the competition, often at a lower price. The warranty is solid, the safety features abundant and the car is gorgeous to boot. Its small trunk and lack of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are a small price to pay for an otherwise excellent new car.

Note: Images show a US model.