THE GENESIS ELECTRIFIED G70

If you’ve enjoyed riding in the gas-powered GV70, you’ll find the overall experience like the electrified version. Beyond the apparent engine that runs on a charge, not gasoline, another difference is the car’s front grill, with a slightly different shape that allows plug-in from the front. Add 20-inch alloy wheels, remove the unnecessary exhaust pipes at the rear, and get a GV70 that isn’t far off its gas-swilling cousin.

INSIDE COMFORT
Inside, comfort is king, with seriously nice leather seats and trim, an ultra-modern instrument panel, a large general display screen for mapping, music, parking assistance, etc., and an overall feel of quiet luxury. This Electrified GV70 is so subtle and sleek that you’ll find yourself going 90 miles an hour without feeling the thrust via its 320kw motor, which puts out the equivalent of 429 hp. It even has a “BOOST” button on the steering wheel, which blasts it forward at 483 hp output 10 seconds of acceleration in times of need for quick speed.

But therein lies the rub of this all-electric vehicle. Using that BOOST button and putting the car through its high-speed paces (which it responds to nimbly) eats up electricity at a fast rate, meaning that you can drive fast for a little while, and then the fun is over, as you’ll be stopping to recharge for large chunks of time. With an estimated range of only 236 miles on a single full charge (with the operative word being full), the Genesis Electrified GV70 is not designed for a real road trip. It is terrific for driving around town, running errands, and toting the kids back and forth.

SEARCH & CHARGE
You’ll never see your charge at 100 percent unless you have a charger in your garage. Stopping at an EV charging station on the road is quite an experience. On our road trip of about 420 miles, here are the things we discovered. First, you’ll need to plan where public charging stations are available. One company, Electrify America, has a deal with Genesis, which means that for the first three years, your 30-minute charges are free. So that’s the system you’ll look for (Tesla charging stations will not work on a Genesis).

Next, you’ll discover that 30 minutes usually charges the vehicle to 80 percent (about a 180-mile range in the Genesis), nowhere near that vehicle’s full 236-mile charge. Once an electric car reaches 80 percent via fast charging, the charging rate plummets, and it will take another 30 minutes or more to get that last 20 percent.

Adding insult to the already time-sucking charging ritual are the broken charging stations. And if you drive just a little too fast, you’ll watch your precious charged miles sink to zero at a fast rate. So, on our test road trip of 420 miles, across that distance in a place known for a good infrastructure of charging stations, the trip took ten hours going and eight hours returning. That same trip in a gas-powered or hybrid vehicle takes at least six hours.

Of course, the electricity cost substantially less than gasoline, but when in a line of seven vehicles waiting for one of four charging stations to open, without enough charge to get anywhere else for a jolt of electricity, that gas pump starts to look enticing. We waited at one spot for over 40 minutes to get to the plug, then added another 30 minutes to charge up.

The bottom line is that electric vehicles like the 2023 Electrified GV70 have a lot going for them if you’re stuck near home. However, they’ve still got quite a way to go before a real American road trip is a viable option to take them on—unless you’ve got all the time in the world to hang out at EV charging stations!  

For more information on the Genesis Electrified GV70,
visit genesis.com/us