Long-term review: Genesis Electrified GV70 month 2

A cross-country trek puts our GV70 long-termer’s range to the test

I haven’t been on many car events that start in a Morrisons cafe on a cold November morning, but that’s where my Genesis GV70 long-termer took me this month, all in the name of science.

Well, science might be pushing it but I and a handful of other Genesis keepers had gathered in a non-descript corner of Workington in the pursuit of knowledge. Viz: can you drive a GV70 from one side of England to the other and back on a single charge?

As I mentioned last month, range and efficiency don’t seem to be the GV70’s strongest suit, so I was intrigued to see how the Big Red Machine would fare, especially in the recent freezing conditions.

Hence half a dozen of us sitting about drinking supermarket tea while we fully charged our cars ahead of a 204-mile drive from Workington in the west to Whitley Bay in the east, and then back again.

None of us taking part in the drive were EV sceptics but there was still an element of doubt around the trip, especially given that this was the first ‘long’ trip in these cars for most of us and we were doing it during the first true cold snap of the winter, with temperatures that hovered around 2C.

Fully juiced and pre-warmed we did all the nerdy things EV journalists do, resetting trip computers, noting odometer readings and sucking in our breath at how much range we would lose if we activated the heating (15 miles, if you’re interested).

Genesis claims an official WLTP range of 286 miles for my AWD GV70 but I usually see around 235 predicted and the sudden cold snap dropped that further. Setting off, my car was claiming it could manage 224 miles, or 239 if I turned off the heating.

I refused to do that. Partly because I hate being cold but, more relevantly, because that’s not what most right-minded people will do unless they’re desperate. My only concession was to use the clever ‘driver only’ function so it didn’t waste energy heating empty parts of the cabin.

So with the air con set to 21C and the heated seat and steering wheel on (did I mention I hate being cold?), we set off from the Workington Shore car park overlooking the Irish Sea.

In truth, the coast-to-coast route via Carlisle, Haltwhistle and Corbridge isn’t the most challenging of drives. The route is a good mix of twisty, A roads with some climbs and descents, plus a good few miles on the dual-carriageway A69. But apart from that high-speed stretch and a brief stint on the A1 there aren’t any hugely energy-sapping elements.

Our whole group travelled at the prevailing speed of the traffic around us, to reflect how owners will use the car rather than attempting some hypermiling heroics. The only concession to efficiency was a slightly lighter right foot when accelerating, and dropping 5-10mph below the limit on the dual carriageway just to save a little juice.

The result was that when I stepped out into the bracing seaside air of Whitley Bay, I’d managed a personal GV70 best of 3.2m/kWh and had 54% left in the battery – or 126 miles if the computer was to be believed.

After a brief lunch stop we were back on the road heading into the already setting sun and substantially more confident that we’d all make it back. So confident, in fact, that I was happy to sit at 70mph along the dualled A69, and when the car pinged to warn it was down to 10% charge I didn’t even glance at the remaining distance. Generally higher speeds on the return leg hurt my efficiency slightly, meaning I only managed 2.9m/kWh.

Still, I made it back to the Workington Shore car park (decidedly less inviting after dark) with 17 miles of range left – just 3 miles off the car’s initial prediction. That’s pretty good when some cars I’ve driven recently have been out by 20 or more miles.

What isn’t brilliant is a real-world range of 220 miles. If I was paying £70,000+ of my own money, I’d expect more, especially when a £50k Kia with the same battery will break 300 miles. It does limit the GV70’s long-range credentials compared with alternatives, both premium and more mainstream.

Playing devil’s advocate, most people will probably need to stop for a break after a couple of hundred miles, anyway, and the 230kW+ charging means a top-up takes very little time. But that’s a tougher sell than a better real-world range.

That Kia comparison and, more relevantly, the Genesis GV60 which took part in our challenge show up the shortcomings of the GV70’s shared platform and its bulkier design. The most efficient of our GV70s finished with 19% charge and 43 miles of range left. The one GV60 driver on our test finished with 34% and 68 miles of range to spare thanks to a more compact form and a platform designed to get more out of the same 77.4kWh battery.

All that said, heading into the colder months, our little coast-to-coast jaunt gives me confidence that whatever else we get up to with the GV70, I can rely on its accurate trip computer and ultra-rapid charging to see me right.

Facts & figures

Arrived: October 2024
Price as tested: £77,825
Mileage since arrival: 1,671
Average consumption: 2.90m/kWh
Monthly charging costs: £105.16
Costs: None
Faults: None