2024 Genesis GV60 Performance First Test: Hot Hatch for the New Generation?

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We’re taking a wide, sweeping turn onto a multilane road, and there’s a pack of slow-going rolling chicanes in our way. Time to punch the 2024 Genesis GV60 Performance’s push-to-pass, er, boost button and access 10 seconds’ worth of 483 horsepower. The tires chirp as we fly by and say goodbye, piped-in electrified sound filling the cabin as we do.

A couple of decades prior, we would have done this in the likes of a Volkswagen GTI, and to be sure, we still can in our 40th anniversary GTI yearlong-test vehicle or other fantastic performers like the Honda Civic Type R and the Toyota GR Corolla. But gas-powered hot hatches, as great as they are, sadly won’t be around much longer in their present forms. Vehicles like the GV60 Performance, a compact electric SUV with ample power as well as that software-enabled boost function, simulated gearing, and by-wire regenerative braking, are increasingly becoming the new normal.

Straight-Line Star, Better All Around

This is the second Genesis GV60 Performance we’ve tested recently. Both cars boogied rapidly down the dragstrip, with this particular Atacama Copper–sprayed 2024 model blowing past the 60-mph flag in 3.7 seconds and on to a quarter mile in just 12.1 seconds at 113.0 mph (the 2023 model’s numbers were virtually the same). We did see a difference in braking distance, with the 4,892-pound 2024 GV60 needing 119 feet to stop from 60 mph. The 2023 model took 127 feet.

As far as how the 2024 Genesis GV60 Performance performs when things go sideways, the 2023 model that participated in our last Performance Vehicle of the Year competition was largely panned for its track manners. But around our figure-eight course, at least, the 2024 GV60 got an enthusiastic seal of approval, our test team lauding its neutral handling attitude and saying it “tracked beautifully.” Its 50/50 weight distribution was called out as a contributing factor, as well as its “tremendous” power coming off the corners.

What changed? Both cars’ tires were the same (they aren’t super great to begin with, and we’d like to see Genesis offer an optional performance tire), so it wasn’t that. Our best guess says the ESC/traction control systems weren’t fully off during the last test run and during our Performance Vehicle event (the 26.9-second lap at 0.63 g (average) figure-eight number of the 2023 car is way off the 25.1 seconds and 0.75 g of the 2024 model).

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How the Performance Performs in Range, Charging

While the 2024 Genesis GV60 Performance did enough performing at the limit to impress us, did it do enough to pass our range and charging tests? Mostly. The dual-motor Performance, with 430 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque all in, isn’t exactly set up for long range, with a middling 235-mile EPA rating. During our primarily 70-mph steady-state range test, we recorded 208 miles to a charge, or 11 percent less than what the EPA lists.

The good news is that the Hyundai Group’s E-GMP platform and 77.4-kWh battery pack under the floor, which the GV60 Performance uses, is one of the better EV setups on the market. As a result, its DC fast-charging time and peak charging power are impressive. We were able to pour in the power at a rate of 241 kW, resulting in a 5 to 80 percent charge in just 21 minutes (5 to 100 percent took 46 minutes). In the end, it’s a question of priorities. If you want a GV60 with a longer range, they’re available, but you won’t be blowing past traffic and whipping around corners.

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Gee-Whiz-Bangery and Real-World Road Work

At just more than $70,000 to start, the 2024 Genesis GV60 Performance isn’t cheap, but it’s loaded with a pile of Genesis luxury amenities, including its dual, high-definition 12.3-inch infotainment and instrument panel screens, its Face Connect entry, and even a fingerprint reader to start your car. It’s also Apple Car Key–capable (allowing you to share your key), has one of the better phone-charging pad locations (in front of the center armrest area), and offers plenty of stowage under the center area between the front seats, although it can be difficult to access.

It’s also a bit of an acquired taste in some ways inside, with a kitschy glowing-orb shifter cover and other circular accents throughout the cabin that may not be for everyone. And this car’s ash gray/glacier interior color combo would likely not wear well (the driver’s floormat was already looking rough). Outside, the GV60 looks sharp but also somewhat polarizing, with a functional grille and fastback style that set it apart from other Genesis models.

Once you’re underway in typical around-town driving, the GV60’s steering is relatively direct and not overly heavy, and the electronically adjustable suspension soaks up bumps without issue. In essence, you’ll have no problem with how comfortable and easy it is to drive in the day-to-day on surface streets and freeways.

The 2024 Genesis GV60 Performance can also do one-pedal driving using its iPedal feature (don’t let Apple know you’re doing the lowercase i thing, Genesis), and the Performance is now available with what Genesis calls Virtual Gear Shift, a simulated gear shifting system along the lines of what’s available in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. But it's far from the same striking system in the Ioniq.

Yes, we know, it’s a bit of a stretch to call the hottest, dual-motor GV60 a hot hatch like the GTI, especially given that its wheelbase is more than 10 inches longer and the curb weight about 1,700 pounds heavier than the VW’s. But until we start seeing true compact and subcompact performance electric cars, vehicles like the GV60 (and its Ioniq 5 N and Kia EV6 GT distant cousins) are forming the vanguard of electric-powered, enthusiast-oriented, smallish hatchbacks/SUVs—whether we like it or not.