2026 Genesis GV70 First Drive: Same, Same, but Better
Genesis’ bestseller is improved by a tsunami of small yet highly considered changes.
Genesis as a brand has not existed for very long, but you wouldn’t know it by how Hyundai’s luxury division is humming along. It has sold more than 1 million vehicles globally, having sprouted from a single model—the original Hyundai Genesis luxury sedan launched for 2009, while the luxury brand went standalone in 2016—to a robust lineup of premium sedans and SUVs. That story isn’t written without the GV70, Genesis’ compact luxury SUV, which is getting its first update since first appearing for 2022.
0:00 / 0:00
It's Kind of a Big Deal
To put into perspective how critical the GV70 is to Genesis’ success, more than one in three Genesis vehicles sold in America is a GV70. The rest is a mix of G70, G80, and G90 sedans, GV60 EVs, andGV80 midsize SUVs.
The GV70 competes in the most popular luxury vehicle segment—the same compact SUV space where BMW’s X3, Lexus’ RX, Audi’s Q5, Mercedes-Benz’s GLC, and others print money. That class is highly competitive, and the GV70 has made surprising inroads given the newness of the Genesis brand overall.
That’s less surprising, of course, if you experience the GV70 for yourself. It’s an excellent luxury SUV, with great style inside and out, a good mix of athleticism and comfort, and satisfying ease of use.
When it launched, our experts named it SUV of the Year, the best new SUV introduced for 2022, luxury or otherwise. For 2026, Genesis has taken the already class-leading GV70 and carefully inched it forward—after all, why would it drastically change what clearly is working so well?
Mostly Tiny Changes—a Lot of Them
The 2026 GV70 might not look any different, and that’s because … it largely doesn’t. Genesis has widened the visual differences between the regular GV70s and the GV70 Sport models, imbuing the latter with snarlier intakes up front, a unique grille mesh, darkened trim, special wheels, and specific exhaust outlets.
Regular GV70s wear their own new grille mesh and wheel designs, and the paint color offerings for 2026 have become slightly less adventurous. There is no more saucy green or lavender-purple, but there are still eye-catching and subtly upmarket choices, namely a new light blue. The rest are more common grayscales, with a red thrown in.
More work was applied inside and deep within. Most obviously, the original GV70’s separate gauge cluster and central display have been replaced by a single 27-inch-wide, curved OLED combination digital gauge cluster and central touchscreen. (Only the right half of the monitor is touch-sensitive, but both sides share sharp OLED resolution.)
This widescreen digital billboard runs the same intuitive Genesis menu structure as other contemporary Genesis models. You navigate the system's row of large tiles via finger swipes on the screen itself or a classy-feeling crystal knob on the center console.
Genesis also revised the climate controls, which are mostly on a touch-sensitive panel but include satisfying metal knobs for temperature control. While some of the onscreen climate buttons are smallish, the screen responds promptly to inputs.
Material quality is improved, too, and Genesis spent a lot of time specifically honing improvements for the American market. Nothing seems too small to have escaped Genesis engineers’ attention. The cupholders are better—nothing’s more American than cupholders that properly hold coffees and sodas—and the wireless phone charger is relocated under the forward part of the center armrest, more out of the way.
Less Noise, More Tech
Cabin noise volumes are reduced by the GV70’s improved active noise cancellation tech, which trickles down from the larger G90 and other newer Genesis models and uses frequency detectors in the headliner, four accelerometers in the body, and two sound dampers in the tailgate to reduce booming and offset unpleasant ambient noise frequencies at highway speeds. Similarly, on Sport models’ 21-inch wheels, Genesis fits resonators to quell tire noise.
Tech-eager customers can look forward to improved over-the-air update capabilities, along with Genesis’ excellent digital key technology, which lets owners set up their smartphone as a key for the car—even sharing access with other smartphone users.
Voice recognition’s purview has expanded to include not only the climate controls, but also the door windows, which can be lowered by voice command.
Other hyper-detailed minutiae include moving the ambient lighting higher on the door panels and adding selectable colors.
The solid-performing Highway Driving Assist system (self-steering lane-centering and adaptive cruise control) no longer needs a tug at the wheel every so often to let the software know the driver is still engaged in driving; a capacitive sensor for the wheel means now a touch will do.
The self-parking function can now handle perpendicular and diagonal parking spaces in addition to parallel parking, and a new Terrain mode with settings for mud, snow, and sand gives the surely tens of customers intent on taking their GV70s off-road something to play with.
Genesis even changed the pings, pangs, dings, and dongs that make up the GV70’s various safety alert noises. We listened to both, and the new sounds are still attention-grabbing but—and we can’t believe we’re typing this—classier-sounding, tonally lower and less shrill.
And Now for What’s the Same
Mechanical changes to the GV70 are few. The two available engines carry over unchanged, with entry-level GV70s getting a stout, 300-hp turbocharged 2.5-liter I-4 and all-wheel drive. There’s a single Sport trim for the 2.5T, as this engine is referred to by Genesis, whereas all GV70s with the 375-hp twin-turbo 3.5-liter V-6 option are Sports. As before, the Sports get 21-inch wheels, an extra drive mode (Sport+), and sportier suspension tuning.
Genesis says there are no major chassis hardware changes save for a switch to hydraulic bushings throughout, a change credited for the GV70’s palpable reduction in road gristle and noise we experienced on our drive, and the adoption of a heavier-tuned damper for the steering column, which does a better job filtering out unwanted kickback.
Still Great, Now Even Better
The net result is subtle progress for an already solid luxury SUV. But there are issues. The steering takes more effort now, though with no obvious payoff in road feel. If you like heavier steering, you’ll love this; if you prefer a lighter effort—as seems more appropriate for an otherwise nicely comfortable SUV like the GV70—it’s a step backward.
Our only other major complaint has to do with the brake pedal feel, which is slightly wooden and lacking in feedback; it gets slightly better in Sport mode, but only just.
We only drove top-of-the-range GV70 Sport 3.5T Prestige models for this review, which come loaded with every gizmo, gadget, and chassis enhancement offered—including an electronically adaptive suspension that can read the road ahead via the onboard cameras to adjust in real time—and the ride is truly better than before, with no compromise in handling.
Even GV70 Sports aren’t overtly sporty, merely capable when asked to hustle, though the twin-turbo V-6 is plenty powerful. Now, though, the occasional wheel flutter from prior models with the 21s is iced out completely; try as we could, we could not upset the new GV70 Sport or its 21-inch wheels over railroad crossings, potholes, and Houston's craggiest heat-heaved streets.
Genesis says the four-cylinder, non-adaptive-suspension GV70s with their smaller wheels should exhibit similar improvements, as they receive the new bushings and tuning enhancements. We look forward to confirming that when we test them ourselves.
A luxury SUV that’s still a looker, now quieter, loaded with improved tech, and more comfortable than before? The 2026 Genesis GV70 remains a winner, and as a bonus, it’s built in Alabama, so it may be relatively insulated from the worst of the auto industry tariffs rocking carmakers and consumers.
Genesis has promised no price changes to its lineup in response to tariffs and other uncertainty before June 2, so maybe take the opportunity to pick up a GV70 soon if it was on your to-do list. For now, prices start at $49,435 for the 2.5T and $64,865 for the GV70 3.5T Sport.
A lifelong car enthusiast, I stumbled into this line of work essentially by accident after discovering a job posting for an intern position at Car and Driver while at college. My start may have been a compelling alternative to working in a University of Michigan dining hall, but a decade and a half later, here I am reviewing cars; judging our Car, Truck, and Performance Vehicle of the Year contests; and shaping MotorTrend’s daily coverage of the automotive industry.
Read More
