Photo: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Back in 2015, Hyundai made the wise decision of creating a more premium sub-brand that would take the name of its most luxurious model at the time, the Genesis.
Two years later and the South Korean manufacturer has already released two vehicles in the shape of the G90 and G80. Continuing down the same road, Genesis is now getting ready to introduce another premium sedan, and if you know subtraction and can detect a pattern in the naming scheme, then you will know we're talking about the G70.
For some reason, the smallest sedan in the Genesis lineup so far has been called a BMW-killer, but we think it's a little too soon for that. Genesis still has a lot to prove before it can take the fight straight to the segment leaders, but that doesn't mean that day won't come.
Hyundai definitely seems to think it has arrived already. Our spy photographers captured the South Korean sedan testing in the hellish conditions of Death Valley alongside two BMW 3 Series. The two Bavarians didn't just happen to be there - Genesis was benchmarking its vehicle against the competition, so perhaps that nickname is warranted after all.
The two BMWs were a 330i and a 340i, and judging by the exhausts on the two G70s, it's fair to believe they were their exact correspondents in the Genesis range. It is believed that the base model will get a two-liter four-cylinder turbo engine with nearly 250 hp, while the more potent version will use a V6 turbo with closer to 340 hp. A hybrid powertrain should also make its way under the G70's hood, but it seems to be missing from this meeting here.
What's new in this set of photos, though, is that they show more of the G70's interior this time, particularly the dashboard. The center console appears to go for a clean, not very imaginative design: you get a similar display positioning as in a BMW, a similar strip of buttons under the air vents and a three-dial climate control unit. We can also see a rotary device that controls the infotainment unit that, you guessed it, resembles the BMW's iDrive. Were they benchmarking or trying to make sure they copied everything right?
The premium credentials are supported by the use of leather and quilted stitching, but the overall feel we get from these pictures is that the G70's interior fails to come through as genuinely luxurious. But judging the quality of the materials and finishing from a set of photographs is ridiculous, so we will reserve our final opinions for when the G70 is officially introduced. Which should happen by the end of the year, by the way. Stay tuned for more.
For some reason, the smallest sedan in the Genesis lineup so far has been called a BMW-killer, but we think it's a little too soon for that. Genesis still has a lot to prove before it can take the fight straight to the segment leaders, but that doesn't mean that day won't come.
Hyundai definitely seems to think it has arrived already. Our spy photographers captured the South Korean sedan testing in the hellish conditions of Death Valley alongside two BMW 3 Series. The two Bavarians didn't just happen to be there - Genesis was benchmarking its vehicle against the competition, so perhaps that nickname is warranted after all.
The two BMWs were a 330i and a 340i, and judging by the exhausts on the two G70s, it's fair to believe they were their exact correspondents in the Genesis range. It is believed that the base model will get a two-liter four-cylinder turbo engine with nearly 250 hp, while the more potent version will use a V6 turbo with closer to 340 hp. A hybrid powertrain should also make its way under the G70's hood, but it seems to be missing from this meeting here.
What's new in this set of photos, though, is that they show more of the G70's interior this time, particularly the dashboard. The center console appears to go for a clean, not very imaginative design: you get a similar display positioning as in a BMW, a similar strip of buttons under the air vents and a three-dial climate control unit. We can also see a rotary device that controls the infotainment unit that, you guessed it, resembles the BMW's iDrive. Were they benchmarking or trying to make sure they copied everything right?
The premium credentials are supported by the use of leather and quilted stitching, but the overall feel we get from these pictures is that the G70's interior fails to come through as genuinely luxurious. But judging the quality of the materials and finishing from a set of photographs is ridiculous, so we will reserve our final opinions for when the G70 is officially introduced. Which should happen by the end of the year, by the way. Stay tuned for more.
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