2019 Genesis G70

I'm here at Club Motorsports in New Hampshire to drive the all-new 2019 Genesis g70 this small sporty luxury car is meant to take on the likes of the BMW 3-series the Audi a4 and the mercedes-benz c-class Genesis is really aiming high with this so we have to answer the question have they done enough to compete with the Germans this car also shares a lot of its DNA with the kia stinger which is a car that we at Edmunds really like so the other question we have to answer today is is the g70 better than a kia but right behind me is a racetrack you know what's gonna happen next you may notice that my face looks a little funny right now and that's because I am on a race track in a twin turbocharged 365 horsepower v6 all-wheel-drive the all-wheel-drive system in this car normally sends 40% of the power to the front wheels and 60% to the rear it's capable of sending up to 90% to the rear wheels which means that if you step on it with the traction control turn totally off you can't drift this car at v6 makes good power we like this twin turbocharged motor in other Genesis products that we've seen it we like it in the kia stinger and it certainly works here as well [Music] yes yes I love a good straightaway oh the brakes are strong if you opt for the sport models you get these fat Brembo brakes and there's also a special dynamic package that's going to be available at launch that includes uprated pads this car handles really well I mean there's definitely some noticeable body roll here but I expect that from a luxury car and while I'm sure that detracts from its peak performance potential means it's just going to be more comfortable on the road this isn't a car that it's gonna beat you up when you're driving around you're actually going to be able to enjoy it really I'm I'm impressed with the way that it corners the turn in is so sharp there's a ton of grip from these summer tires and there's not really a tendency to understeer here that's one of the things I'm pretty impressed with whoof that all-wheel drive system just absolutely puts the power down so quickly paddle shifts from the automatic gearbox are very quick I usually really like it it's a rev-matching 8-speed automatic and it executes the shifts so quickly it's really sharp this car isn't a track monster this car isn't about wringing every last second out of your lap time as that body roll can attest to but it's a lot of fun to drive out here well it was a lot of fun but you know you're probably not gonna drive this car on the track a whole bunch so maybe we should find out what it's like on a real Road and talk about what this car be like to live with the most obvious way that Genesis differentiated the g70 from the kia stinger is with the exterior design you'd see this front end of course is entirely different and along the sides you get these long flowing lines and some muscular bulges to give it a different look a less obvious difference when you're just standing next to the car is that its wheelbase is actually three inches shorter than the Kia Stingers wheelbase now this is paid off in a few ways the car is a little bit more athletic the shorter wheelbase helps it rotate more like a sports car and it's also saved some weight we don't have official numbers yet though so I can't tell you exactly how much weight but Genesis says it's pretty significant there are some downsides to losing that length though the rear seat of the G 70 is really only suitable for children or small adults it's pretty tight back there and around the back this is a traditional sedan instead of a hatchback so there's a little less usable space in the trunk when I first saw pictures of the interior of the g70 I was a little trepidatious the center console really looked a lot like what we had seen in the stinger and I was worried that it wouldn't differentiate itself enough now they have sort of rearranged some of the controls a little bit and they've reskin stuff with some nicer materials one big difference in the center console between the kia stinger and this particular car is this right here the manual shifter - like the stinger there are two basic power trains available you have a 252 horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder and you have a 365 horsepower twin turbocharged v6 both of these you can get with either all-wheel drive or just rear-wheel drive now if you opt for the v6 you get a limited slip differential in the back whether you get all-wheel drive or just rear-wheel drive which is really neat it gives the car a lot of character when you're driving it and it sets it apart from some of the other all-wheel drive luxury cars that are just you know really more focused on the extra traction if you offer the manual you get the limited slip differential in the back you get Brembo brakes that are also standard on the v6 you don't get the top trim level options you don't get leather seats you don't get the quilted leather I've got cooled seats in here but I'm just sitting on the leatherette they figure that if you want the manual transmission you're more interested in driving dynamics and less interested in all the features this car has all of the technology you'd expect from a luxury car you get adaptive cruise control standard except in a manual you get all of the active safety features you expect like blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert you get an eight-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Android auto and apple carplay and as you move up through the trim levels you also get things like a surround view camera you can get a wireless charging pad for your cell phone they talked about the engines on track they're pretty strong that six-cylinder pulls pretty well and especially when you're driving it on the street it feels more than ample the 4-cylinder I mean its 250 horsepower it's not quite as punchy obviously with the manual transmission it it matches pretty well I think especially as you're moving through the gears the second and third gear pull feel pretty good feels punchy as you get going but you do run out of gas Pat higher speed with the 4-cylinder it's definitely got a little bit more trouble trying to accelerate for a pass at freeway speeds at the highest trim level you do get adaptive suspension which has selectable modes the ride with adaptive suspension is really nice the standard suspension is a little stiff I mean it's definitely tending towards the sporty end of the spectrum but it handles bumps well it definitely takes the edges off of bigger impacts and it avoids any sort of bounciness it feels settled it feels pretty good we don't have final pricing yet but they have given us some estimates the genesis is going to start at about $35,000 for that you'll get the 8-speed automatic transmission and the 2-liter turbocharged engine as you start going up through the trims you're gonna get into the 50s I think that for a v6 in a higher trim level you're going to be looking at around $50,000 so the pricing is actually pretty competitive you're getting a lot of features you're getting a lot of good stuff in this car for a pretty reasonable price and I think that's why you would choose this car you know the Germans are good cars none of them are bad they're all engaging to drive and they're all they're all sporty and fun but I actually do think that the Genesis has its own personality it does something a little different and it lets you have some fun and it lets you be comfortable and it gives you all of the features that you're looking for in a package that stands out a little bit from its competitors we had some fun today but what have we learned we started off with two questions first has Genesis differentiated the g70 enough from the kia stinger I gotta say yes there's definitely some similarities when you get into it but in terms of the driving dynamics in terms of the the feel of the car on the road and in terms of just some of the luxury upgrades that you get like that really lovely quilted leather I think they've done enough to make this the kind of vehicle that you would consider entirely separately from the Stinger especially if you don't need the extra trunk space or you don't need a large backseat you're just gonna have more fun in the g70 but how does the g70 stack up to its German competitors well something like the Audi a4 is gonna have a lot more pretty technology in it the fancy screens and gizmos that that give you some wow factor there well something like the mercedes-benz c-class that's got an interior design that just has a lot of that mercedes class to it this car doesn't quite have the same wow factor on those fronts as its rivals from Germany but it's got its own character and it's a character that I really like I think that the driving dynamics of this car the way that it feels on the road the way it communicates what it's doing those are gonna be some of the reasons that people will buy this car it doesn't hurt that it has a lot of equipment for a reasonable price and it comes with a hundred thousand mile warranty those are pretty compelling bonuses well I really enjoyed my time with the g70 today and I think it's a contender in this class but we can't give you our official verdict just yet that's gonna have to wait until we can get a g70 into our office and ring it out on our test track and really do a full rating and review so stay tuned to Edmunds we'll have more about the g70 just as soon as we can get our hands on it if you like this video make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and check us out on Instagram Twitter and Facebook