8.09.2019

30 Minutes With: The 2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition

Front 3/4 view of 2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition
The 2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition.
Publisher's note: Normally, the cars you read about here at TireKicker are loaned to us by the press fleets of the various manufacturers for several days. Seven is typical.  Occasionally, we'll get a longer period of time, and sometimes it'll only be three or four days.  Our "30 Minutes With" series features cars we spent half an hour driving during the just-concluded Western Automotive Journalists Media Day in Monterey, California.

Needless to say, these are quick drives and brief impressions that we hope to be able to flesh out with a full review of the vehicle at some point in the near future.

Media Days is a driving program, with journalists taking cars from the staging area at Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley over Laureles Grade and back or off-road on the acclaimed Land Rover Experience on the grounds of Quail Lodge.

My sixth drive of the day was the 2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition.



Rear 3/4 view of 2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition
2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition.
Genesis is the luxury and performance division of Hyundai and we've driven and liked their G90 luxury sedan and loved their G80 Sport performance sedan.  The G70 is one size smaller than the 80 and is a revelation.  Anyone who has doubts that Genesis is serious about competing with European sport sedans needs only to take a test drive.



It's powered by the same 365-horsepower 3.3-liter twin-turbo V6 that's in the G80 Sport, but with less weight, it's faster.   Zero to 60 should come up in a shade under five seconds and the handling as fellow WAJ member Bruce Hotchkiss and I hustled it up and down Laureles Grade was right on the money.  

The transmission is an eight-speed automatic with paddle shifters and the EPA says it saw 18 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on the highway in its testing.


$50,250 is the base price and it comes with a fairly staggering list of standard equipment:


  • Vehicle stability management.
  • Electronic Stability Control with traction control and brake assist.
  • Forward collision avoidance assist with pedestrian detection.
  • Blind spot collision warning with rear cross-traffic collision warning.
  • Lane keeping assist.
  • Driver attention warning.
  • Surround view monitor.
  • Rearview camera with parking guidelines.
  • Parking distance warning.
  • High-beam assist.
  • Hillstart assist control.
  • Brembo brakes with performance brake pads
  • Tire mobility kit.
  • Drive mode select with Custom mode setting.
  • Rack-mounted, motor-driven power steering with variable gear ratio.
  • Electronically controlled sport suspension.
  • Limited-slip differential.
  • 19-inch sport alloy wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires.
  • Dual-muffler exhaust.
  • Low-beam assist.
  • LED daytime running lights.
  • Power-folding, heated auto-dimming outside mirrors with LED turn signal indicators.
  • Copper headlight bezel accents.
  • Dark tint taillight covers.
  • Dark chrome grille and window trim.
Interior view of 2019 Genesis G70
2019 Genesis G70 interior.
That's just the exterior and the mechanicals.  The standard equipment you'll find inside:

  • Auto-dimming inside rearview mirror with HomeLink.
  • Wide sunroof.
  • Microfiber suede headliner.
  • Black Nappa leather seating surfaces with Sport quilting and contrast stitching.
  • 16-way power driver's seat including four-way lumbar.
  • 12-way power front passenger's seat including four-way lumbar.
  • Heated and ventilated front seats.
  • Integrated memory system.
  • Power tilt-and-telescoping perforated leather-wrapped steering wheel.
  • Dual automatic temperature control.
  • Heads-up display.
  • Smart cruise control with Stop & Go.
  • Seven-inch color LCD multi-information display.
  • Eight-inch color touchscreen navigation system with AM/FM/HDRadio, a 90-day trial of SiriusXM, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and Bluetooth, mated to a Lexicon 15-speaker audio system with Quantum Logic surround sound and Harman Kardon's Clari-Fi.
  • Wireless charging pad.
  • Three USB ports (two front, one rear). 
  • Rain-sensing wipers.
  • Hands-free smart trunk with auto open.
  • Electronic parking brake.
  • Aluminum interior trim.

And that's literally it.  Zero in the way of extra-cost options, meaning that with $995 inland freight and handling, the 2019 Genesis G70 RWD 3.3T Dynamic Edition rang in at $51,245.  That's a massive bargain.  I heard more than a few of my fellow WAJ members talking in glowing terms about the G70 after their drives.  This may just be the beginning for Genesis.