Genesis may be one of the newer luxury automakers on the market, but the South Korean company already has a lot of great cars in its lineup. One of the company’s best offerings is the GV70, and it’s a smaller sibling to the GV80, which is a midsize crossover SUV. While they’re both capable and great SUVs, there are three features that make the 2023 Genesis GV70 a better pick than the GV80.

1. The 2023 Genesis GV70 is just much cheaper than the GV80

Good Housekeeping recently published its choices for the Best New Family Cars of the year, and the car critic had a lot of praise for the GV70. This was especially true when the GV70 was compared to the GV80. Since the GV70 is a smaller SUV, that has the inherent benefit of making the car much less expensive. 

The 2023 version of the GV70 has a starting price tag of about $43,000, which is relatively affordable considering the fact that it’s a luxury SUV. In comparison, the same model year of the GV80 starts at almost $56,000. That’s a difference of around $13,000. And of course, there’s a big gap with their most expensive versions. The GV70’s top trim costs about $65,000, while the GV80’s top trim costs about $77,000.

2. The 2023 Genesis GV70 is smaller and lighter, and that has some inherent benefits

Compared to the GV80, the GV70 is smaller in every area possible. It weighs about 4,200 pounds, which is roughly 600 pounds lighter than the GV80. It’s also about 3 inches shorter in height, 3 inches shorter in width, and 10 inches shorter in length. Naturally, that gives the GV70 less cargo capacity, but it’s not a huge difference overall.

The GV70 has 28.9 cu-ft of space with the seats up, and that’s not far from the GV80’s 34.9 cu-ft of cargo space when its seats are up. Since it’s a lighter and smaller vehicle though, it’s more agile on the road, and it should also be easier to park the SUV in urban spaces. 

3. The 2023 Genesis GV70 has a great powertrain 

Despite being a smaller SUV, Genesis ended up giving both SUVs the exact same powertrain. Both start with a 2.5-liter turbo four-cylinder that gets 300 hp and 311 lb-ft of torque. Both also have an optional 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 that gets 375 hp and 391 lb-ft of torque. On top of that, both come with all-wheel drive, and both have an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

Since the GV70 is equipped with the same powertrain while being much smaller, it’s also the faster and more efficient SUV. The standard engine can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds, which is faster than the GV80’s 6.1 seconds. The V6 drops that number down to 4.9 seconds, which is faster than the GV80’s 5.3 seconds.

The GV70 gets those numbers while delivering a fuel economy of 24 mpg combined with the standard engine. That’s better than the GV80’s 22 mpg combined. The GV70 also has a 1 mpg advantage with the V6 equipped.

Why the 2023 Genesis GV70 is one of the Best New Family Cars of 2023

Overall, it’s not surprising that Good Housekeeping gave the award to the 2023 GV70 instead of the GV80. In addition to praising its affordability, the car critic wrote, “Its exterior and interior styling is bold, with a confident swoopiness that a brand typically acquires only after decades in the market. The fact that Genesis is willing to experiment like this is made all the more compelling by the fact that the GV70 is such a pleasure to drive and live with.”