Genesis GV60 review - Electric motor, drive & performance
"The Genesis GV60 is powerful and fast but also smooth, comfy and easy to drive"
The Genesis GV60 uses the same electric car tech as the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. Since these models have already impressed us with the way they drive, it’s not too much of a surprise to learn that the GV60 is also good to drive.
The Genesis GV60 strikes a good balance between comfort and drivability, though the Sport Plus model’s large 21-inch wheels do occasionally mean some road imperfections cause a bit of a jiggle at lower speeds. We think the entry-level Premium is the best option for a comfortable ride thanks to the smaller wheels.
The GV60 is very quiet inside, especially with optional noise-cancelling tech fitted. There’s very minimal motor whine, and the option to change the motor’s noise to a futuristic, electronic or ‘G-motor’ sound, the latter of which sounds burbly as if to mimic a combustion engine – we preferred to keep the fake noises off for a more serene experience, however.
We noticed the accelerator pedal could be a little all-or-nothing, which can make the GV60 worrying to manoeuvre into tight spaces when you need to gradually modulate your inputs. There were quite a few occasions when we needed to tuck the car into a space by moving just an inch or two, but the car would suddenly lurch forward or backward at the slightest touch of the accelerator.
Genesis GV60 electric motor
There are three different versions of the Genesis GV60, and they all have a slightly different layout in terms of their electric motors – but all have the same 77.4kWh battery pack. You can click back to the previous page to find out more about how much range each version has, but the maximum claimed range is 321 miles.
The Premium is the entry-level car and it has a single electric motor with 226bhp. This version is all you really need, because performance is great – it goes from 0-62mph in a brisk 7.8 seconds and feels very powerful from low speeds (like almost all electric cars do).
This model is rear-wheel drive only, but the higher-spec models are four-wheel drive because they have an additional motor at the front. Sport has a total of 314bhp and benefits from the added grip of the second motor taking it from 0-62mph in 5.5 seconds, but it’s the Sport Plus that’s the most powerful with a total of 483bhp.
The GV60 is face-bendlingly quick, doing 0-62mph in just four seconds if you toggle the ‘Boost’ button on the dash – doing so unlocks its full power potential for 10 seconds at a time, which is perfect for overtaking or launching the car, though it’s a bit of a gimmick you might tire of using after a few goes.
There are some other neat Sport Plus features, such as the ability to enable ‘Virtual Gear Changes’ via a submenu in the infotainment in Sport and Normal modes. This is a feature taken from the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N and was added via an update to the GV60 Sport Plus in 2024. Enabling this mode turns the brake regen paddles behind the steering wheel into fake gear shifters and plays a fake engine note through the car’s speakers – each time you change gear the revs shift up and down and the electric motors jolt to give the impression you’d get in a combustion-engined car.
While it’s a welcome addition for a little more engagement, it’s somehow not quite as fun to use as it was when we tried it in the Ioniq 5 N, perhaps because that car gets more faux engine noise options and is an overall more sporty package – the fake gear changes go against the ethos of the upmarket GV60.
