Genesis GV70 vs Land Rover Defender

The 2025 Defender lineup includes the 90, 110, and 130. The 90 is the short and stubby two-door, the 110 is the standard four-door, and the 130 is the extended four-door. They’re available with turbocharged four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines, as well as a turbocharged or supercharged V8. They’re all equipped for off-roading right out of the box, but you can add more tech for more challenging situations. The big news for this model year is the high-performance 2025 Land Rover Defender OCTA.

Verdict: There is a Land Rover Defender for almost anyone, and any of them can take you farther into the wilderness than you expect. They’re rugged but refined, comfortable yet capable, and plenty of fun to drive. But the Defender comes at a cost, both on the window sticker and at the pump.

There are some subtle alterations to the GV70’s exterior, most notably to the grille and lighting clusters. To find the biggest changes for 2026, though, you’ll have to look inside to see the very wide OLED display that dominates the view from the driver’s seat. In addition to the massive infotainment panel, the software that powers the GV70’s abundant technology and safety packages has gone through a comprehensive upgrade.

Verdict: While we’d love to see Genesis push the styling envelope a little further — recent concepts like the X Gran Coupe and Equator show what the Korean brand’s stylists are capable of — the 2026 GV70 remains near the head of its class of compact luxury crossovers. The GV70 has been Genesis’s most popular model in Canada since launch and represented 57% of the brands total Canadian sales last year. Expect that trend to continue for the foreseeable future.