New Genesis GV60 promises to put the excitement into EV with drift mode, boost mode and something called a Crystal Sphere

September 30, 2021October 8, 2021 EV Central team 3473 Views Genesis, GV60, Hyundai Ioniq 5, kia ev6

The new Genesis GV60 will arrive in Australia in the first half of 2022, one of three new EVs the brand will launch in the first six months of next year as the Korean premium marque pushes all in on electricity.

The three-EV line-up will include an electrified G80 large sedan, and another yet-to-be-named model, but the big news right now is the GV60, which acts as a premium answer to the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, and will be the first to arrive in three guises — standard RWD, standard AWD, and an AWD performance model.

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And it’s in this latter trim that Genesis is promising will put the excitement into EV, with a new drift mode, boost mode and a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 4.0secs flat.

GV60 motors and power

The new Genesis GV60 will arrive in three guises

All options in the GV60 range ride on the Hyundai Group’s E-GMP dedicated EV platform, which also underpins the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6, but how much power your new Genesis will produce depends on which one you choose.

The GV60 will open with a Standard RWD model, which is fitted with a rear-axle motor that produces 168kW and 350Nm. Next is the Standard AWD, which is fitted with a 160kW motor at its rear wheels and a 74kW motor at its front wheels, unlocking 234kW and 605Nm and all-wheel drive.

For the most power, though, you want the Performance AWD, which is equipped with two 160kW motors, one at each axle, producing a total 320kW and 605Nm.

The Performance car also gets some extra tricks, including a new Boost Mode button, which unlocks additional performance for 10 seconds bursts, helping drop the sprint to 100km/h to 4.0 seconds, and a slightly mysterious Drift Mode, which “provides athletic driving by optimising distribution of driving power and braking system”.

How it actually works remains something of a mystery, but in announcing it, the brand showed footage of the GV60 doing some impressive sideways work in a field of dirt and dust.

There’s also an electronic-Limited Slip Differential for torque distribution, and an adaptive suspension system that uses the navigation to read roads ahead and adjust suspension settings accordingly.

GV60 batteries and charging

The Genesis GV60’s interior is a screen-happy place

Every GV60 model gets the same 77.4kWh battery, which means how far you can travel between chargers depends on how much power your Genesis makes.

The standard RWD model, with is single motor, can travel the furthest, with Genesis estimating up to 451km of WLTP EV driving range. Opting for the AWD version reduces that number to 400km. The Performance model has the most grunt, but also the shortest driving range, at 368km.

When it does come time to recharge, the GV60 is fitted with a new 400V/800V multi-rapid charging system that increases a chargers 400V to 800V, while the batteries will pre-condition (pre-heating the batteries) for quicker charging.

The brand says that, when plugged into a 350kW fast charger, you can take your battery from 10 percent to 80 percent in 18 minutes.

When on the road, the new Genesis GV60 uses a Smart Regeneration System 2.0, which automatically optimises the regenerative braking level using live traffic data and map information.

GV60 technology

The GV60 debuts some clever tech for Genesis, but the headline act is its ability to adopt over-the-air updates that won’t just work on the expected stuff, like maps or infotainment settings, but will be able to adjust everything from the steering to suspension and braking wirelessly.

The idea, says Genesis, is to ensure your GV60 can stay up to date without having to visit a service centre, but the news also points to the brand being able to launch new sportier drive modes or efficiency measures from a distance. Key to all of this, though, is a fingerprint reader that unlocks in-car payments, which suggests not all updates will be free of charge.

Also new is a suite biometric measures that do away with the need for an actual key. These include a system called Face Connect, which uses a door-mounted Near Infra-Red (NIR) camera which can store two faces, and means you can unlock the door just by touching the handle. it also sets up the seating position and mirrors for that driver. Once in the car, the vehicle’s Fingerprint Authentication System means you can start the car without a key, too.

There’s also what Genesis is calling its expansive Integrated Cockpit, a 17-speaker Bang and Olufsen stereo and a very fancy gear-selector called the Crystal Sphere.

Essentially a cool safety feature, the gear selector disappears when the car is switched off, instead looking like an illuminated crystal dome in the centre of the cabin. But when you power up, the sphere spins 180 degrees, revealing your traditional gear controls.

Genesis says its Crystal Sphere is intended to act as a reminder that the car is switched on or off, given there’s no engine noise to alert you.