Toyota has Lexus, Honda has Acura, Nissan has Infiniti, but have you followed Hyundai's luxury brand Genesis? The brand was launched in 2015, and reached the U.S. market the following year. The company has sold over 400,000 vehicles in North America as of late 2025. Well, calling it Hyundai's luxury brand is mostly accurate, but Hyundai and Kia are both part of what's known in Korea as a chaebol, a sort of cross-shareholding conglomerate, with Hyundai owning 33% of Kia. Genesis, however, is 100% a Hyundai subsidiary, though it is part of the powertrain, platform, and manufacturing partnership with Kia, and it has its own design and marketing team. Confused yet? No need, all that matters is that Kia and Hyundai have been making huge strides forward in design and manufacturing, and much of that is also reflected in the increasingly premium and luxurious Genesis lineup.
I've driven a number of Genesis vehicles and have consistently found them to be luxurious, comfortable, peppy, and an overall delight. The Genesis GV80 features a quirky "shift sphere", a small crystal ball located on the center console that flips over to reveal the gear knob. Amazing. The G90 has front door close buttons on the center console too, a feature that proved surprisingly helpful in bad weather. The GV70 features a fingerprint sensor integrated into the start button, allowing you to drive the car without the key fob in a pinch. In an era of manufacturing commoditization, it's a pleasure to experience a product from a company that seeks to surprise and delight its customers, not just check off all the boxes in a particular segment.
When I was offered a chance to drive the 2026 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige AWD, I didn't hesitate to say yes, and with one reservation (which I'll get into later), there's quite a lot to like about this luxury crossover SUV. Here it is in Ceres Blue with Ultramarine seats:
Yes, it's an SUV. In fact, it seems like the only way that SUVs can differentiate themselves now is through the front grill design. In this instance, Genesis did a nice job with the design, and the vehicle has good curb appeal. The carbon fiber trim, especially on the 21-inch upgraded wheels, is part of the sport prestige package.
It's powered by a hefty 3.5L twin-turbo V6 with an 8-speed automatic transmission and is great fun to drive. It's zippy, fast from a stop, and smoothly accelerates at highway speed for when you need to pass someone. It's also quiet inside (with a Bang & Olufsen audio system featuring Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Fuel efficiency was meh, however, and I averaged just under 20mpg on my various drives around town, in the country, and up in the mountains. EPA estimates have 18/25 for a combined 21mpg, but my experience was just a bit lower than that.
The luxury feel is really focused on the interior design, of course, dominated by the expansive dual display screen:
That's a 27-inch OLED display and it's crisp and lovely to view. If you keep it in Genesis mode, rather than switching the right portion to CarPlay/Android Auto, the map can spread across the entire display, offering a remarkable vista. Otherwise, it's a high-end version of a typical vehicle control layout, with climate controls behind the center console, which itself features conveniently located cup holders, a gear shift knob, and an entertainment control knob.
The steering wheel control cluster is reasonably symmetric, with the adaptive cruise controls on the left and the entertainment controls on the right. Don't be fooled, though; most of the changes to vehicle configuration are through the infotainment system itself. The latter is nicely laid out - reminiscent of the BMW vehicle management system - and it includes a full manual for the vehicle accessible via a button, too.
The climate controls are nicely designed and sure to be easily understood by every driver. One button that was obviously hard to place, however, is the steering wheel heater control. Can you spot it in the above photo? I also found the surface susceptible to fingerprints, as you can see with the AUTO and driver's seat heater buttons.
Above the climate controls are various buttons to help manage the infotainment system, some of which are duplicated in the center console:
The upper knob is the infotainment control system, with "Back", "Home", and "Menu" the three buttons immediately above it. Having infotainment controls split across two different areas of the dashboard is not great design, and many drivers will likely forget one of the clusters exists at all. I know that I forgot about the Map, Nav, Radio, Media buttons when controlling the entertainment system during my drive period.
The main gauge display was very elegant and smartly managed what to display in different scenarios. In the above, for example, the tachometer dial has been hidden so that the Genesis map can be displayed. Borrowing a neat idea from Hyundai, the Genesis entirely replaces the speedometer with a left turn camera live view and the tach with a right turn camera view so you can ensure that there's no one in your blind spot. It's a great feature!
The Sport Prestige trim level adds a heads-up display and this one was also straightforward. In the above, it shows my current speed (52 mpg), the speed limit (55 mph), and an upcoming pedestrian crossing warning sign. When navigation is enabled, it will show the next turn and a distance countdown, allowing you to keep your eyes on the road.
With all these smart features and appealing design, what was my great concern with the Genesis GV70? Legroom for the rear passengers:
I'm over 6 feet tall, so I cannot drive the vehicle with the seat too far forward. Moving it back, however, means that there's almost zero legroom for the rear passenger. When I had passengers, we had to negotiate legroom versus seat position. A luxury crossover SUV should have sufficient legroom for four adults, including those of above-average height. Gov't data shows that about 15%, or one out of seven, of men in the United States are 6 feet tall or above. Just a few more inches of length to add to this legroom would have made a significant difference in overall family utility.
Rear cargo space was good, certainly enough for an expedition to Costco or the local hardware store. Note here the bright orange seatbelts. I really liked them as a contrasting pop of color, but my kids universally felt they were out of place in a muted design and luxury vehicle.
I know that these are becoming more popular with manufacturers, but I also didn't much like the keyfob:
I found that I was constantly tilting it at different angles to figure out which button was which, so I could remote lock, unlock, or open the rear hatch. There are buttons on the other side of the keyfob, too, making it even trickier at night.
Ultimately, the pros definitely outweighed the cons with this beautiful luxury automobile. The GV70 exudes a sense of harmony and luxury that puts it in the same class as similar crossover vehicles from Acura, Lexus, even BMW and Audi. If you've got tall children, however, you'll want to pay close attention to legroom and think about what's going to happen in a few years as they continue growing.
2026 Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD, with 3.5L twin-turbo V6 engine and 8-speed automatic transmission. BASE PRICE: $70,095.00. The only options added were a surcharge for the paint and a fee for the NFC key card (visible in the key fob photo). AS DRIVEN: $72,225.00.
Disclosure: Genesis loaned me this vehicle for a week of driving in return for this candid write-up. This article originally appeared on PlanetDave.com with the title The 2026 Genesis GV70 Sport Prestige: Luxury, but No Legroom and is republished with permission of the author.
Hey Dave Taylor wants you to share this!
