► 2023 Genesis GV60 revealed
► It has drift and boost modes!
► Plus, new ‘Face Connect’ tech
This is the Genesis GV60, a mid-sized electric crossover from the Korean luxury brand. It’s been on sale since 2022 in the UK and the brand has already updated it with a new bit of tech: facial recognition.
The GV60 starts from £53,905 in the UK with its entry-level Premium model, rising to £58,365 for Sport and £67,505 for the Sport Plus trim.
The new GV60 uses E-GMP battery and platform tech from the Hyundai Motor Group to deliver a slicker, posher electric car. It’s just one of the brand’s planned EVs as it moves towards a fully electrified strategy beyond 2025, and currently sits alongside the G80 Electrified and GV70 Electrified so far. More electric cars are to come, with even the possible prospect of a smaller EV based on the Mint concept, and a grand electric flagship.
You mentioned there’s facial recognition now?!
Indeed. New for the 2023 model year, the GV60 can be specified with what the brand calls Face Connect. It’s basically Face ID for your car where you unlock your GV60 with your face. Genesis says it allows you to leave your key at home, using a biometric fingerprint scanner to wake up the car inside, too.
While we’ve seen biometrics in cars before – Mercedes is particularly fond of the technology at the moment – Genesis says this is the first time facial recognition has been used to allow access into your car. Merc uses facial recognition, but just to load your profile into the infotainment system – this is the next step.
It’s a striking looking car…
As is every Genesis model. This mid-size crossover has a distinct lack of vents for what’s customary by Genesis standards, though, given the powertrain underneath. But the brand’s design cues remain – the ‘crest grille’ is shoved right to the bottom of the front bumper, and the quad headlights remain. A clamshell bonnet hides some of the car’s electronics and, presumably, a place to store your charging cables. Genesis also points to the ‘volt’ motif on the C-pillar.
Inside is equally eye-popping. Loads of leather, big screens and digital dials as well as a ‘floating’ centre console much like the Ioniq 5. The E-GMP platform underneath also means a flat floor, a floating centre console and loads of rear passenger space.
But, more importantly, the GV60 introduces some trick details that the Hyundai or Kia’s EV6 don’t get. The ‘crystal sphere’, for a start, is a glowing glass ball that acts as the shifter for drive and reverse. When the car is off, you get to see a backlit crystal ball that then flips when the car is on. Genesis head of design, SangYup Lee, says he thought of the idea as an extra security measure – just to make sure your car is definitely parked – after he had an incident with a rolling vehicle. Digital camera mirrors are offered, with viewing screens inset into the doors.
E-GMP underneath, you say?
Absolutely, which has already impressed us with Kia and Hyundai’s efforts. Every GV60 will have a 77.4kWh battery pack, and there will be rear- and all-wheel drive variants.
Premium versions come with a single e-motor. This rear-wheel drive configuration offers 225bhp and 258lb ft, with Genesis promising up to 321 miles on a charge.
GV60s with all-wheel drive are offered with two very distinct configurations. Sport offers 314bhp and 446lb ft, and a claimed for 292 miles of range.
Sport Plus develops 429bhp and 446lb ft, and has a 289-mile claimed driving range. This model also introduces some lairy capabilities that seem most unbecoming of a nice environmentally-friendly luxury SUV.
The GV60 Sport Plus ‘Boost mode’ delivers an extra 26bhp per axle for a short 10-second burst, allowing a four-second 0-62mph time. There’s also a drift mode – something rather uncouth for a supposedly posh EV – that allows just the right level of power distribution between the front and rear e-motors to allow the GV60 to slide.
What about charging?
Given the E-GMP underpinnings, the GV60 can be charged on either a 400 or 800-volt architecture, with charging capacities up to 350kW. Genesis claims the fastest chargers will allow a 10-80 per cent charge in 18 minutes. There’s also ‘vehicle to load’ functionality (again like the Ioniq 5 and EV6) which allows you to plug in devices inside and outside the car, and when plugging in at home there’s on on-board charger supporting up to 11kW.
Read our Genesis reviews