2024 Genesis G70 Sedan Review

Premium mid-sized sedans have long been an important aspect of various luxury brands’ model lineups, but with the rise of the SUV, this previously lucrative segment unfortunately does not sell in the numbers it used to. Despite this, there are still many premium mid-sized sedans on the market and Genesis is one brand that still sells one with the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan. How does it stack up against its well established rivals? Read on to find out.

Cars like the iconic BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class have dominated this segment for decades, with the Audi A4 being just behind in sales. Being a relatively new vehicle in the segment having only launched in 2018 and from a brand that isn’t a household name, the Genesis G70 needs to blow the segment out of the water and offer something different to be a success.

How much does the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan cost to buy?

For the 2024 model year, Genesis Motors Australia cut the G70 range down to just two models: the four-cylinder G70 Shooting Brake wagon and the V6 sedan tested here. The Shooting Brake is priced from $81,000 plus on-road costs and the sedan we’re testing here is priced from $88,000 plus on-road costs (or around $97,000 drive away, depending on location).

G70 Sedan standard equipment:

• 19-inch alloy wheels
• Dusk-sensing automatic all-LED exterior lighting
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Heated/auto-dimming/auto-folding mirrors with auto-dipping functionality in reverse
• Nappa leather upholstery
• 16-way power adjustable driver’s seats with memory functionality
• 12-way power adjustable passenger seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Heated rear seats
• Heated steering wheel
• Power-adjustable steering column
• 10.25-inch touchscreen
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Satellite navigation with live traffic
• 12.3-inch digital driver’s display
• Head-up display
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• Keyless entry and start
• Hands-free powered bootlid
• Sunroof
• 660W 15-speaker Lexicon sound system
• Auto-dimming rear view mirror
• Dual-zone climate control
• Acoustic laminated glass
• Wireless phone charger
• Five drive modes: eco, comfort, sport, sport+ and custom

G70 Sedan standard safety equipment:

• Matrix adaptive high beam
• 10 airbags (including new front centre and rear side units)
• Auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian, cyclist and intersection support
• Lane keep assist with adaptive lane guidance
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert (both with braking)
• Blind-spot cameras
• Low speed rear auto braking
• Adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go functionality
• 360-degree surround view camera
• Safe exit warning
• Driver attention monitoring
• Multi-collision braking
• Rear occupant alert

The 2024 Genesis G70 range received a five-star ANCAP rating in 2018 but this rating expired in December 2024.

G70 Sedan colour range:

• Vik Black: no cost
• Capri Blue: no cost
• Tasman Blue: no cost
• Hallasan Green: no cost
• Makalu Grey: no cost
• Vatna Grey: no cost
• Cavendish Red: no cost
• Bond Silver: no cost
• Savile Silver: no cost
• Uyuni White: no cost
• Kawah Blue: no cost (fitted to our test car)
• Makalu Grey Matte: $2,000
• Bond Silver Matte: $2,000
• Verbier White Matte: $2,000

G70 Interior colour range:

• Sport Black
• Sevilla Red
• Fog Grey (fitted to our test car)

Choosing rivals for the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan is a little difficult as the price point, the G70 is at has no six-cylinder competition. For example, with the BMW 3 Series, the four-cylinder 330i is priced from $94,700 plus on road costs while the six-cylinder M340i is $106,200 +ORC. The same goes with the Audi A4: the four-cylinder 45 TFSI is $83,200 while the six-cylinder S4 is $111,800. For this review we will stick to the 330i and A4 45 TFSI as direct competitors to the G70 Sedan.

The BMW 330i M Sport Sedan is $6,700 more expensive than the G70, but the A4 45 TFSI Sedan is $4,800 cheaper. Both cars do not offer the equipment level that the Genesis has as standard. Over both cars, the G70 adds a larger engine, two more airbags (10 vs 8), blind-spot cameras, a more sophisticated AEB system, matrix auto high beam, a 15-speaker sound system (vs 10 in the other cars), heated and cooled seats, a heated steering wheel and Nappa leather upholstery. A lot of that equipment can be added as optional extras on the German cars, but doing so pushes their prices a lot higher.

How powerful is the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan?

Under the bonnet of the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan is a 274kW/510Nm 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged petrol V6 that was also shared with outgoing Kia Stinger GT. Pleasing car enthusiasts is its rear-wheel drive layout and it’s matched solely to an eight-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. According to its maker, that results in a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of just 4.7 seconds with a top speed of 270km/h. The engine is a fantastic unit that feels soft and lazy at low revs just wafting along, but once you put your foot on the loud pedal and the turbos spool up, it responds well and feels quick. In the right conditions, the G70 can be a seriously fast car and we love its dual personality.

The transmission is just as relaxed and laidback as the engine – its shifts are smooth and can barely be felt in the cabin. Using the steering wheel mounted paddle shifters is a delight and in sport or sport+ mode the gear changes liven up and become quicker. We find that the G70 is most at home on a motorway in eighth gear as the low end torque gives you enough oomph to overtake. Compared to its four-cylinder BMW and Audi rivals, it feels much more effortless at highway speeds and its gearbox is more relaxed because of that as well.

The drive modes in the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan tailor the driving experience quite well. Eco mode will let the car coast when not accelerating and makes the steering lighter for a more efficient drive while comfort puts the suspension in its most relaxes setting with the gearbox changing gears low down in the rev range to keep noise down. Put the G70 into sport mode and the bolsters in the seat hug you more, while the dials change and the valve in the exhaust opens. The engine becomes more responsive and the transmission holds gears for longer, sport+ is much the same but with traction control disabled. Custom mode lets you choose your own parameters for the suspension, steering and drivetrain.

One aspect of the G70 fitted with this engine that is a bit of a drawback is the efficiency. The claimed average fuel consumption figure given by Genesis is 10.2L/100km which is not too bad, but good luck in getting that in real life as its real life consumption can be quite high. In our week and around 500km spent steering the G70 on a mixture of driving we saw an average fuel economy figure of 13.2L/100km, which is just too high in our opinion – the six-cylinder BMW M340i is a lot more efficient, yet also more powerful. The G70 requires 95RON fuel and has a 60-litre fuel tank.

What is the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan like to drive?

Riding on 19-inch wheels and with its standard adaptive dampers, the 2024 Genesis G70’s ride is superb. We think it’s a great mix of comfort and sport – it’s not too floaty to make you sick but not too firm to be uncomfortable on longer journeys. Put the G70 into sport or sport+ mode and the suspension firms up as well as the steering, which makes the G70 handle very well. It feels so planted and solid when cornering hard and gives you the confidence to push it. Given that the G70 is rear-wheel drive it will occasionally slip at the rear – especially in wet conditions – but the stability control reacts quite quickly.

One aspect of the driving experience that we didn’t love is that when you have traction control on and the car detects the wheels slip the traction control cuts a lot of power, which we found frustrating – especially when pulling out of side streets as it can often leave you in the road with not much power to continue for a few seconds. The annoying active speed limit audio warnings are now quieter and less annoying than in other Hyundai/Kia products, though they’re still annoying because they’re not accurate. The driver attention alert is also annoying, and dings at you when you even look at the central touchscreen. It also takes a while to access the menu to deactivate it, and you have to do this every time you get in the car.

How practical is the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan?

Even though it’s not the newest or most impressive cabin in the segment, stepping into the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan makes you feel special. Thanks to the quality materials throughout and stylish layout, the cabin looks pretty good. We like the special touches like the metal ends on the new indicator stalks and the leather centre console next to the shifter – though the plasticky door handles could be nicer. Thankfully, Genesis has updated the G70’s interior with indicator and wiper stalks from other models in the range and they’re more special to use than the previous Hyundai-derived units.

Storage throughout the G70’s interior is reasonable for a premium mid-sized sedan. There is a shallow centre console bin underneath the central armrest with a USB outlet, two cup holders, a wireless smartphone charger, reasonable door bins, a big glove box and glasses storage next to the sunroof controls. The seats are also worth noting too as there is plenty of adjustment (16 ways for the driver and 12 for the front passenger) and they are more than comfortable to spend long periods of time in. Having said that, we’d love to see the massaging functionality from the GV70 in the G70 for extra comfort.

One crucial thing we believe should feature in the 2024 Genesis G70 is ambient lighting as every other Genesis product features multi-colour ambient lighting, yet the G70 does not. It would make the cabin feel extra special and tie it in with other Genesis models better, in our opinion. We’d also like to see all-USB C charging ports in the cabin, instead of just in the rear.

The touchscreen that sits atop the soft touch dashboard is a 10.25-inch unit that was new to the mid-life update to the G70. While not big for modern standards, we love its integration into the dashboard and it doesn’t appear stuck on like some rivals’ screens do. The clarity and resolution of the screen is also quite good, the colours are bright and the text is easy to read, though there could be more features like wireless smartphone mirroring. The 15-speaker Lexicon sound system is also average to listen to – the Harmon Kardon system used in the G70’s Kia Stinger platform-mate (let alone the 3er) is much richer.

Rear seat space is not the 2024 Genesis G70 sedan’s forte thanks to tight leg room, and it’s certainly not the roomiest car in the class. The back seat is well featured however, which a centre armrest with cup holders, door pockets, air vents, rear outboard seats and two USB-C charging ports. 

The boot of the G70 is not its biggest attribute either at just 330-litres with the seats in place – against the 3 Series’ and A4’s much larger 480L and 460L spaces respectively – though the seats do at least fold to increase the space on offer. The boot’s opening is small, and it is a bit shallow with a high floor, but it has a nice finish, a power bootlid, 60:40-split folding rear seats and under floor storage. There is also a space-saver spare wheel.

What warranty covers the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan?

All Genesis products come with a very luxurious ownership experience, including complimentary picking up and dropping off of your car for servicing within 70km of a service centre, as well as a loan car while it’s being serviced. Genesis goes a step further with five years/50,000km (whichever comes first) of servicing included in the cost of the car. A solid five-year/unlimited km warranty with five years of roadside assistance rounds out the aftersales package.

BMW and Audi both match the five-year unlimited kilometre warranty Genesis offers, though BMW’s roadside assistance is only three years. The BMW 330i M Sport is covered by condition-based servicing, though the general guide is 12 months or 15,000km and the Audi A4 45 TFSI also needs servicing every 12 months or 15,000km. Both BMW and Audi do not quote service costs, though at the time of purchase you can buy a service pack: a five-year or 80,000km service pack on an 330i costs $2,225 and a pack for the A4 over the span of five years or 75,000km costs $3,280.

Should I buy a 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan?

As we’ve discovered before, we came away impressed with our week behind the wheel of the 2024 Genesis G70 Sedan. There are many impressive attributes to the G70 such as its quality interior, great driving dynamics and handsome styling that make it feel more than worthy to rival cars like the 3 Series and A4. Its aftersales experience is also excellent and gives Genesis a real point of difference.

However, it’s not perfect. The fuel bill alone will cost you an arm and a leg given how thirsty its engine can be, its rear seat and boot room isn’t great and we would like to see more features like ambient lighting and wireless smartphone mirroring added to the cabin. But overall, the Genesis G70 is a great car that is definitely deserving of more consideration in this segment.