2026 Genesis GV70 Reviews, Pricing & Specs

Though Genesis hasn’t been on the market as a luxury brand as long as any of its main rivals, by now it’s clear Hyundai’s luxury arm knows how to build and sell a premium product. The 2026 GV70 exemplifies the brand’s “Athletic Elegance” design philosophy with a refined style, strong grille and fascia treatment, and sweeping profile and roofline. Genesis offers the 2026 GV70 in eight colours in Canada, including four matte hues and a new-for-2026 Ceres Blue that has notes of greys in certain lighting. It’s “inspired by Ceres, the first dwarf planet discovered by humanity.”

The car’s face is sharpened for 2026 with a redrawn crest-shaped grille. It’s again flanked by what Genesis calls two-line headlamps that are fitted with micro lens array lighting elements. Toward the bottom of the GV70’s front fascia is a skid plate that’s bolder than before. (It’s used as a design element and isn’t meant to take impacts from rocks or other off-road obstacles.) It’s separated from the main grille opening by an intake that, in Sport trim, looks vaguely like a catfish’s open mouth. We mean that in the nicest way possible. The design is polished, attractive and doesn’t look like anything else on the road.

Inside, there are some immediately obvious changes to the 2026 GV70’s dashboard. Where the older GV70 had a sweeping look defined by organic shapes, the new version is dominated by a 27-inch OLED screen that sits on top of the dash. There are still oval-shaped elements on the dash and door panels that seem a bit incongruous with the wide, squared-off screen, but the overall look is luxurious. Redesigned interior lighting elements on the dash and doors add a techy glow to the cabin.

Genesis gave the 2026 GV70 Sport model a slightly different look and feel from the standard car, which is available in Advanced, Advanced with Tech Package, and Prestige trims. In addition to a unique grille pattern, GV70 Sport models get dark chrome moulding and 21-inch wheels. Inside, Sport models are set apart by carbon fibre trim. Depending on trim, flashy interior colours include a deep blue with orange contrast stitching or a bright red that’s paired with black for a sporty look. Those who are looking for more mellow luxury will still find black and beige on the menu.

The 2026 GV70’s base powerplant remains a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine that produces 300 horsepower and 311 pound-feet of torque, matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive (AWD) is standard across the entire GV70 lineup. A 3.5-litre turbocharged V6 is the default on the 3.5T Sport trim, and it sends 375 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque to all four wheels for an exhilarating level of performance.

For our test drive, the car was in the U.S. Sport Prestige configuration. (Note packaging on the unit shown may vary from Canadian Sport models.) So equipped, the 2026 GV70 scoots up to speed with authority and seamlessly shifts through its gears. Drivers can choose between Comfort, Sport or Sport+ driving modes, each of which changes the throttle response, steering feel, and suspension firmness. The 2026 GV70 also gets a new Terrain Mode that offers Snow, Mud, and Sand settings that allow the driver to tailor the car to the type of road (or off-road) surface they are driving on.

The standard Comfort drive mode offers a relaxing experience but still benefits from very direct steering feel and a ride that’s firm and well controlled. Sport amps up the sportiness a bit, and switching to Sport+ immediately induces a transmission downshift and relaxes the car’s stability control intervention. This allows for some wheel slippage for drivers who want to push the performance envelope. We found Comfort to our liking on most roads, and an extra Custom drive mode setting lets the driver customize the driving experience to match their preferences.

New for 2026 are hydro bushings designed to reduce road vibrations and Highway Body Motion Control that adjusts damping forces when accelerating or decelerating. Like the previous GV70, the 2026 edition in 3.5T trim includes a Road Preview feature, which uses the vehicle’s forward-facing cameras to read the road surface and control the electronic suspension system. This improves comfort and minimizes the effect of large road impacts. Together, these high-tech systems mean the 2026 GV70 provides a very smooth ride across all types of road surfaces.

There’s plenty of space inside the GV70 for tall drivers in the front two seats. Most controls are easy to reach from the driver’s seat. However, the single-piece OLED screen does get partially blocked by the steering wheel. It is therefore of particular importance to find a good driving position in the GV70 that also offers a reasonable view of the 27-inch screen. Genesis does divide the part of the screen that displays the car’s digital gauge cluster into the area in front of the wheel that isn’t blocked.

The GV70’s wide centre console features a rotary shifter and a rotary dial for the infotainment screen, which is sometimes confusing when trying to make a quick shift from reverse to drive and doesn’t leave a lot of room for storage. More than once we spun the infotainment knob when we meant to change gears. The two cup holders are shifted toward the passenger side but are still easy to reach for the driver. There’s a shallow wireless smartphone charger toward the rear of the console and a small storage area with a generously upholstered covering. The storage space in the lower part of the door panels is pretty tight, too, barely having enough width to hold a normal-sized water bottle.

The rear seats have plenty of headroom, elbow room and shoulder room for six-foot occupants but, despite official measurements that are in the same ballpark as its competitors, rear legroom isn’t the car’s strongest suit. The sloping rear roofline means the back seat feels a bit more cramped and claustrophobic than its measurements suggest. Cargo space, while adequate for the segment, is down from competitors such as the BMW X3.

While the touchscreen infotainment system screen is new — the OLED display is a whopping 27 inches wide — the Genesis touch- and knob-based technology package returns with some new additions. The 2026 GV70 is now capable of receiving over-the-air (OTA) updates so the ownership experience can improve over time. There are dark and light customizable themes the driver can choose from, and common functions including radio, phone, media, and navigation can be chosen from a list of large icons. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both included. The screen is also used to display the car’s various external camera angles, which include an available 360-degree Surround View Monitor.

A customizable set of digital gauges sits directly in front of the driver. Map views, Advanced Driver-Assist System (ADAS) readouts, phone projection, and more can be included alongside gauges for the speedometer and tachometer. Both the in-car navigation system or the phone-based navigation can be moved into the gauge cluster as well.

Genesis has added additional voice commands to the refreshed GV70 that are said to include the ability to control the climate control, infotainment, and even the windows. We couldn’t get the car to recognize our voice commands to roll down the driver’s window, so either that feature will be rolled out in an upcoming OTA update or Genesis has some bugs to work out. The GV70 includes Genesis Digital Key, a smartphone-based system that allows an Android or Apple iOS phone to be used in place of the normal car keys. There’s also a fingerprint authentication system that can be used to start the car without the key.

The 2026 GV70 boasts a comprehensive package of advanced driver safety features that include (deep breath) forward collision avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, lane following assist, driver attention warning, blind-spot collision avoidance assist, rear cross-traffic collision avoidance assist, front and rear parking distance warning, safe exit assist, rear occupant alert, forward attention warning, and front, rear, and side parking collision avoidance assist.

The Genesis Highway Driving Assist II (HDAII) technology now features the ability to detect a driver’s hands on the steering wheel using capacitive sensors on the wheel’s surface. There’s a bit of side-to-side movement between either edge of the car’s current lane while HDAII is active, but it otherwise proved reliable under testing.

Although the new car has yet to be tested (and by tested we really mean crashed on purpose) by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the 2025 Genesis GV70 was rated as a Top Safety Pick+, the highest possible score. Similarly, past versions of the GV70 have earned a five-star rating from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Considering there haven’t been any structural changes and the advanced safety packages are at least as good as before, it's reasonable to expect the refreshed 2026 version will also be given high marks from both the IIHS and NHTSA.

According to Natural Resources Canada, the 2025 Genesis GV70 has expected fuel economy ratings of 12.0 litres per 100 kilometres in city driving, 8.9 on the highway, and 10.6 combined with the four-cylinder engine, or 13.1 L/100 km city, 9.4 highway, and 11.5 combined with the V6. Those figures are slightly higher than on 2025 models, but by not enough to concern the average luxury buyer. However, they’re well above the 255-hp BMW X3 xDrive30i’s 8.1 L/100 km combined rating, and the 383-hp X3 M50i xDrive’s 8.6 L/100 km combined rating. In fact, the GV70’s efficiency ratings are some of the worst in its class.

In addition to the two gasoline-fueled GV70 models we’ve covered here, there is also an Electrified GV70, but there are no hybrid or plug-in hybrid versions to compete with competitors like the Audi Q5, Lexus NX, Lincoln Corsair, Mercedes-Benz GLC, or Volvo XC60. Genesis has yet to release specifications for the 2026 GV70 Electrified other than to say it has a larger battery that will provide more than the 380-kilometre rating of the 2025 version.

The 2026 Genesis GV70 2.5T has a starting MSRP of $60,000 in Canada for the base Advanced trim. Note that Genesis pricing in Canada is all-in and includes the destination charge, all fees, plus five years of scheduled maintenance with concierge service, map updates, and more. The step up to the 2.5T Advanced with Tech Package is $7,500 more and adds a panoramic sunroof, ventilated front seats, real leather upholstery, larger wheels, and a long list of tech updates. For $73,000, the Prestige version gets an excellent Bang & Olufsen audio system, Nappa leather seating surfaces, a 16-way ergo driver’s seat, heated rear seats, and more, which appears to be a solid value. If you want the larger twin-turbo V6 engine, the 2026 Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport is priced at $84,000.

Those figures are competitive against luxury car competitors, such as the BMW X3 and the comparable Mercedes-Benz GLC models, but some brands offer additional levels of performance for added cost. For instance, BMW’s fastback-shaped X4 M model starts at $103,814 with a 503-hp engine. For even more power, a Mercedes GLC 63 S E Performance SUV starts at $109,500 but offers a 671-hp plug-in hybrid powertrain.

Genesis may not (yet) garner the admiration of the Mercedes three-pointed star or BMW’s roundel, and it may not match the potency of its most overpowered competitors. But where the GV70 does align with its rivals in the heart of the luxury SUV market, it competes on even footing and provides excellent added value. We expect the refreshed GV70 to stay at the top of the Genesis sales charts for years to come.