Genesis GV60 2026 review | Distinctive and well-equipped premium electric SUV

What is the Genesis GV60?

The GV60 is a mid-size luxury electric SUV, and was the first fully electric model from Genesis, the luxury division of Hyundai. It takes on premium-badged competition such as the Audi Q4 E-Tron, Mercedes-Benz EQB and Volvo EX40.

Those are some very desirable cars, so how does it compete? Well, it’s based on the same underpinnings as the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV6, which on the face of it, might not sound like the most premium of starts. However, those are two of the most capable and likeable mid-size EVs around, and they give the GV60 an incredibly solid base on which to work.

And how does the Genesis mark itself out? It has an interior that's considerably plusher than you'll find in its mainstream Hyundai and Kia counterparts, and it feels totally at home in the premium market Genesis is targeting. It offers decent everyday practicality, a good driving experience, plenty of power, a competitive range and smart styling. Most of all, though, it offers one of the most distinctive and hassle-free buying and owning experiences anywhere in the car market – which could be a massive draw for customers who are cash-rich but time-poor.

How practical is it?

Climb aboard the GV60, and the first thing that’ll grab you is the sense of space in the front seats. That’s thanks in part to the floating centre console and large windscreen, which results in good forward visibility. The interior is smartly finished (the ‘crystal sphere’ gear selector, which rotates to reveal a glowing orb when the car is turned off, is a particular highlight), the infotainment system is relatively intuitive, and the switchgear is clearly laid out and easy to use.

The back seats are a little more claustrophobic due to the arching, coupe-like roofline, but there’s enough legroom and headroom that you won’t find yourself feeling cramped. What’s more, each of the outer seats gets its own air vent and a cupholder in the door, a nice touch that makes you feel like you aren’t travelling second-class. It’s relatively easy to belt kids into the back, too, given the GV60’s tall stance.

A 432-litre boot is a touch on the small side when compared to that of a Volkswagen ID.5 or a Ford Mustang Mach-E, but it’s roomier than a Polestar 2. What’s more, the rear seat-backs can be moved to a more vertical position, creating more boot space while still retaining the ability to carry passengers in the rear seats (although those passengers will have to sit uncomfortably upright).

What's it like to drive?

Even the entry-level Pure model is quite engaging to drive. You get a single 226bhp motor turning the rear wheels, which gives plenty enough shove for most people. It rides well, too, although it does sometimes clump its wheels into larger potholes, and on some motorway surfaces there’s a slightly wooden pitching sensation.

Upgrade to the Sport and you get an extra motor on the front wheels, which means four-wheel drive and a combined maximum output of 321bhp. However, it’s the top-spec Performance that keen drivers will want to know about, with a whopping 483bhp on offer from its two electric motors. It’s more than fast enough to keep pace with a plethora of performance cars.

That’s not all, though. The Performance model features a boost mode, accessed by pressing a button on the steering wheel, which gives you an additional hit of power for 10 seconds, so that you can make overtakes with consummate ease. With it engaged, the GV60 Performance can hit 0-62mph in just 4.0 seconds. There’s also a drift mode, intended for use off the public highway, which uses the Performance’s standard electronic limited-slip differential to enable the driver to initiate powerslides at will.

The drift mode is a bit of a gimmick, but see past that and there’s no getting away from the fact that the all-wheel-drive Performance corners with sensational grip and traction, tearing out of bends with real ferocity. There isn’t all that much feel or deftness involved in the process, but the GV60 still covers ground with an easily accessible intensity that few EVs can match.

During the GV60's facelift in 2025, no major changes were made to the powertrains themselves, but the trim names changed to Pure, Sport and Performance (previously Premium, Sport and Sport Plus). All versions also gained a larger 84kWh battery to replace the previous 77kWh unit, improving range.

Technology, equipment and infotainment

On early examples of the GV60, you didn’t actually get a lot of standard equipment with the entry-level car. True, it did have LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, dual-zone climate control and digital dials, but then again, you’d rather expect these features as standard on a premium car in this day and age.

Moving up to the dual-motor Sport didn’t radically increase equipment levels, focusing more on performance upgrades than luxury additions. Having said that, you did get adjustable suspension, which allows you to vary the setup from soft to firm. For a surprisingly modest fee, you could upgrade this so that it reads the road ahead using a camera and adjusts the damping automatically when it senses a rougher surface. This works pretty well in practice, and although it doesn’t cure the GV60’s slightly sharp ride quality, it does mean there’s no penalty for choosing the Sport Plus with its bigger wheels.

Some comfort features that rivals included as standard were bundled into option packs on early GV60 models. What’s worse is that most options weren’t available individually, so if you wanted heated seats, for example, you'd have to specify them as part of the Comfort Seat Pack, which cost around £3,000.

A facelift in 2025 remedied this to an extent, adding more luxury kit to the standard roster. All versions now have heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, an electric tailgate, a reversing camera and a wireless phone charger as standard. The names of the three versions have also been changed to Pure, Sport and Performance, and all three have been given a bigger 84kWh battery pack for a better driving range.

The facelift also brought an updated infotainment layout and interface. The twin 12.3-inch screens remain, but have now been combined visually into a single 27.0-inch unit. The way in which the system works hasn't really changed, and it hasn't made the system any easier or better to use. It's rather complex and it can take a while before you can find your way around effectively, but at least you have separate air-con controls, and there's a rotary dial to scroll through menus, instead of relying solely on the touchscreen functionality.

Genesis GV60 running costs

When it was first launched, all GV60s got the same 77.4kWh battery pack. In the entry-level rear-wheel-drive Premium version, this was good for an official driving range of up to 321 miles. The heavier four-wheel-drive versions – called Sport and Sport Plus – didn't do quite as well, with range figures of 292 miles and 289 miles respectively.

In 2025, the GV60 underwent a facelift that upgraded its battery to an 84kWh item. This improved the range of the entry-level car (now called Pure) to up to 348 miles, while the mid-range Sport improved to 318 miles, and the range-topper (now called Performance) improved to 311 miles.

With all these figures, though, view them very much as a best-case scenario. Even in perfect conditions, you should plan on getting around 15-20 percent less, and when it's cold or you're doing lots of high-speed motorway miles, plan on getting a lot less still.

Something all GV60s have always had, though, is extremely fast 350kW DC rapid-charging capability, and this is a massive benefit. If you can find a DC public charging point capable of supplying power at the same rate (these are still rare at present), the GV60 has the potential to charge from 10 to 80 percent of its battery capacity in just 18 minutes. On a more widely available 50kW charger, though, that time increases to just over an hour, while at home, charging an empty battery up to full again will likely take between 12 and 14 hours.

However, while charging at home takes a lot longer, it's also a lot cheaper. Overnight off-peak power will likely cost you around 10-15 pence per kWh, while at even relatively slow 50kW public chargers, it's not uncommon to see prices of 90p per kWh.

As for the GV60’s other running costs, well, there shouldn’t really be any: at least, not for the first five years. That’s the huge benefit of the package the GV60 comes with, and it means compared with any other EV on the market, it’ll cost next-to-nothing to run until it hits five years old. That’ll help to offset its rather high purchase price – indeed, when you consider how much you’ll save on servicing compared with other manufacturers, the Genesis doesn’t look like bad value after all.

Genesis GV60 reliability

Genesis is still a fairly new brand – it didn’t even exist in the UK until 2021 – and its cars sell in very small numbers. That means there’s not really enough data around for us to be able to make an accurate prediction on how well the GV60 will fare on the durability front, so long-term reliability is still something of an unknown.

However, the signs are promising. While Genesis isn't yet featured in the What Car? Reliability Survey, the brand is an offshoot of Hyundai, a South Korean manufacturer known for its repeated good showings in this and other reliability surveys – and the same can be said of Kia, Hyundai’s sister brand. Indeed, both perform strongly in reliability surveys. The GV60 is based on Hyundai and Kia mechanicals and it uses those companies’ software and ancillaries, so it should prove dependable.

Either way, that five-year warranty should add some peace of mind. It means that even if your GV60 does go wrong, Genesis will typically arrange collection and return as part of its ownership service.