Yahoo Autos 2019 Genesis G70: A New Brand, a New Car, and Maybe a Threat to the German
Creating a proper compact sports sedan is an important, credibility-establishing job for any luxury brand. So it was a wise move for Hyundai’s Genesis marque to wait a bit before trying to take on the Audi A4, BMW 3-series, and Mercedes-Benz C-class. After all, far more practiced brands than Genesis, including Cadillac, Infiniti, and Lexus, have struggled to match the Germans over the years, despite flashes of brilliance such as the ATS, the original G35, and the current IS.
With the Korean giant weighing in, the fight will intensify. Unlike the G80 and the G90, which are based on an older Hyundai platform, the G70 has been developed as a Genesis from the start. (That said, we first experienced this component set in the Kia Stinger.) To ensure that the G70 wins its share of buyers, the brand assembled an impressive team to engineer and develop the G70, including Albert Biermann, head of high-performance-vehicle development and testing, formerly of BMW M.
The G70 certainly checks all the right boxes. Its size mimics that of the A4, 3-series, and C-class-and it’s nearly six inches shorter than the Stinger. It comes standard with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four and offers a boosted six-cylinder. Rear-wheel drive will be standard, and to make sure it sells in the Salt Belt, all-wheel drive is available. A manual-transmission option will pair with the turbo four-cylinder and a limited-slip differential for the types who read Car and Driver.
As noted, the G70 shares the same basic chassis as the Kia Stinger, which we’ve found to be a bit soft when pushed to its handling limits. We’ve driven both four- and six-cylinder prototypes of the G70 on a track in Korea, and although we need a complete shakedown to render a final judgment, our short drive (in the V-6, at least) revealed a sports sedan with sharp handling, featuring eager turn-in and a promising amount of steering feedback.
The G70’s base 252-hp four-cylinder will have its work cut out for it beating Audi’s and BMW’s polished and potent turbo 2.0-liter fours, but the twin-turbo 3.3-liter V-6 with 365 horsepower and 376 pound-feet of torque has proven to be a strong, enticing, and refined powerplant in the larger G80, G90, and Stinger. Dropped into the smaller and lighter G70, it will likely allow for a zero-to-60-mph sprint in the mid-four-second range-in the hunt with Audi’s S4, BMW’s 340i, and Mercedes-AMG’s C43. As hard as proving its sports-sedan chops will be, earning recognition may be even tougher. Its lines are clean and its details carefully considered, but the anonymity of the G70’s design doesn’t stand out in a group of cars whose designs have become familiar over generations. Even Genesis’s Bentley-like winged badge could be confused with, well, Bentley’s. Of course, there was a time when BMW’s roundel and Audi’s four rings lacked meaning, too. The G70 could provide it for Genesis.
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