Luxury sport SUVs have become the new, highly competitive sector of the automotive industry. Porsche has secured an F-150-like stranglehold on the group of SUVs as the undisputed best, or at least most popular. But makers like BMW and Mercedes have been gunning hard for a corner of this market. Now, Hyundai’s luxury brand, Genesis, is making a hard push against the German luxury SUVs by introducing the GV80’s little brother, the 2022 Genesis GV70. 

What is the 2022 Genesis GV70?

The GV70 joins the larger GV80 in the fight against the Germans dominating the luxury sport SUV segment. The GV70 follows in its bigger brother’s footsteps in many ways, like sharing the four- and six-cylinder engines and somebody styling cues. However, the GV70 is totally its own deal and stands out against the Germans and the GV80. 

The Genesis GV70 falls into the “compact” SUV category making its direct competitors the Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLC, BMW X3, and Porsche Macan. According to Consumer Reports, the GV70 comes with two engine options; the 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and the 3.5-liter turbocharged V6. Both versions are rear-wheel drive and feature an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

Genesis hasn’t released any horsepower and torque numbers for the GV70 yet. But since both engines are currently in use in the GV80, we know the 2.5-liter makes 300 hp, and the 3.5-liter makes 375 hp. Again, the GV70 is smaller and lighter and should make better use of that power than the GV80, making the driving experience totally different. 

The GV70 isn’t just a smaller GV80

The easy play here would have been to shrink the big GV80, but that is not what Genesis did. Although they kept the same powertrain options between the two models, the GV70 being smaller and lighter will likely make for a more thrilling and responsive driving experience over the big boy. 

Genesis also gave the GV70 a distinctive look in hopes of competing with the Germans. For instance, The GV70 matches the BMW X3 almost exactly but with a 2-inch-lower roofline. The low roofline creates an aggressive and sporty image. The GV70 also sports giant wheel arches filled with big wheels. The vibe of the GV70 is quite a sporty little number. 

The body is deeply sculpted and swoopy. The GV70 has the newest genesis grille, a low hood, and distinctive horizontal headlights. Along the side of the new Genesis features dramatic chrome bits, deep lines, and an arched D-pillar. All of these elements together add up to an SUV that looks distinctive from every angle. 

The 2022 Genesis GV70 a lovely interior 

The interior really leans into long oval shapes and tasteful minimalism. Almost like the Ford Mustang Mach-E or the Tesla Model Y, the GV70 is proudly featuring a huge infotainment screen. CR found the GV80 infotainment system to be distracting and unnecessarily complicated. The hope is that that will be at least one major improvement that the GV70 can bring to the table. 

The GV70 has a wildly futuristic feature called Genesis CarPay. This allows the driver to use a fingerprint scanner to pay for gas or parking from the car. Consumer Reports goes on to say that this feature can also be used to set driver profiles for automatic seat and mirror adjustments. 

Does the Genesis GV70 have what it takes to beat its brother and the Germans?

Only time will tell. More than likely, the Genesis won’t be able to outperform the Porsche Macan and friends outright. Still, the whole package seems to have enough firepower to give the bigger Genesis and any other SUVs of this segment a good run for their money.