Genesis GV70 revealed: Hi-tech meets luxury in new SUV

A never before seen SUV from a fledgling brand is about to head Down Under and it is bringing some pretty amazing technology with it.

Australia’s newest luxury car brand is about to launch its most important vehicle to date.

Genesis, Hyundai’s luxury offshoot, is following a path tread by Toyota with its Lexus brand more than 30 years ago.

The burgeoning luxury carmaker is launching its new GV70, a mid-size luxury SUV aimed at the BMW X3 and Audi Q5.

2021 Genesis GV70.

The GV70 will join the larger GV80 SUV and the G70 and G80 sedans in its local line-up.

Due to arrive in Australia in the first half of 2021, the GV70 gives the up-and-coming brand a real chance to boost sales as it enters the most popular segment in the country.

So far this year Genesis has sold about 180 vehicles, but that is almost double what they sold at this point last year thanks to the introduction of the GV80 SUV in the past month. And it could be a case of the right car at the right time for the GV70.

The larger GV80 just went on sale in Australia.

New car sales bounced back dramatically in November, buoyed by a huge 50 per cent increase in private sales of SUVs.

The growth was driven by Australians cancelling overseas trips and buying vehicles to explore Australia, according to the head of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, Tony Weber.

The GV70 features classy styling with a smooth, sweeping coupe-like silhouette and a muscular squared-off front end dominated by a large grille.

The GV70 has a coupe-like roofline.

Genesis will launch the GV70 with three engine choices, a 2.2-litre turbocharged diesel (155kW/441Nm), a 2.5-litre turbo petrol (224kW/422Nm) and a 3.5-litre turbo petrol (280kW/530Nm). The latter can sprint from 0-100km/h in a claimed 5.1 seconds and is all-wheel drive only. The two other variants are available in two- or all-wheel drive.

Classy styling is sure to appeal to buyers.

Genesis says each engine can be matched with the optional “Sport Package”, which boosts the SUV’s sporty styling with black and dark chrome highlights, a redesigned bumper, diffuser and large muffler as well as massive 19- or 21-inch alloy wheels. In the cabin the sports package adds exclusive interior colours and a unique steering wheel.

In a sign of the times a dual air filter has been included. It can remove up to 99.9 per cent of airborne bacteria within 10 minutes. It will also remove fine dust from inside the cabin.

There will be a high level of advanced safety tech fitted to the GV70 including emergency auto braking, driver attention warning, a new blind-pot collision avoidance set-up that helps avoid crashes with vehicles in the lane next to you and a navigation-based smart cruise control that can adjust speeds automatically.

Genesis is packing the GV70 full of plenty of hi-tech safety and convenience features.

This is on top of rear cross-traffic alert, lane-change assist and eight airbags including a new centre airbag that is required by ANCAP to receive a five-star rating.

New fingerprint authentication technology has been added to the GV70. This is connected to a new Genesis CarPay application, which allows for in-car payments. In South Korea this tech can be used to pay for parking and at petrol stations simply through the central touchscreen.

There is also a rear occupant alert feature, which can notify the front seat passengers if a sleeping child has been left in the seat.

Full local pricing and specification will be revealed closer to the car’s launch date next year.

Originally published as Genesis GV70 revealed: Hi-tech meets luxury in new SUV