[TEST DRIVE] Electrified GV70 has the luxury price, but what about the performance?

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[TEST DRIVE] Electrified GV70 has the luxury price, but what about the performance?

The Electrified GV70s [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

The Electrified GV70s [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

 
GAPYEONG, Gyeonggi — The Genesis GV70 rules Korea's luxury SUV market. But whether its electric version will be able to maintain that reputation in the cutthroat electric vehicle (EV) market remains to be seen.
 
The Electrified GV70 is the third EV under the Genesis brand. Though the luxury brand from Hyundai Motor was quite a latecomer in the EV market, it has an ambitious goal of becoming an all-electric brand by 2025.
 
The Korea JoongAng Daily recently went for a test drive in the electric version of the GV70 on a 120-kilometer (74-mile) course around the outskirts of Seoul, which included winding roads and an almost empty highway. It was a jaw-dropping luxury SUV with plenty of advanced features, for sure, but without any big charms as far as EVs go.
 
The exterior of the electric GV70 showed most of the signature design features from the original version, with a large diamond-inspired grille. Excluding the grille and sky blue-colored license nameplate, the SUV is almost identical to its petrol-engine predecessor. Eleven exterior colors are available.
 
The trunk capacity is around 503 liters (133 gallons), which is down around 100 liters from the original. But the car also offers 22 liters in the front trunk, which camping lovers will be glad to hear.
 
Driving was soft and gentle. The advanced driver assistant system let the vehicle drive on its own at a set speed while maintaining a distance from the car in front in the center of the lane, without the driver’s hands having to be on the steering wheel. When this reporter checked their phone for a second, the car gave a notice, telling the driver to keep their eyes on the road.
 
Interior of the Electrified GV70 [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Interior of the Electrified GV70 [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

 
Whenever the reporter went to change lanes, it offered a live video on the dashboard showing the rear lateral blind spot. When the vehicle was about to move out of a lane unintentionally, it automatically detected the lane and repositioned itself.  
 
Equipped with a 77.4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, the electric SUV can travel 400 kilometers per charge. Using a 350-kilowatt ultra-rapid charger, it takes only 18 minutes to charge to 80 percent.
 
Regenerative braking allows the vehicle to slightly charge itself from the car's kinetic energy when it slows down. In practice, this means the car slows down when you lift your foot from the accelerator, before stepping on the brake. This takes some time getting used to.
 
With a maximum 435 horsepower, the acceleration was strong but still smooth. In Sport driving mode, the car can reach 100 kilometers per hour within 4.2 seconds.
 
The Electrified GV70, contrary to what the name suggests, is not made on Hyundai Motor's E-GMP modular platform, which is being used for the company’s other EVs. Instead, the electric GV70 is made on an existing platform designed for internal combustion engines.
 
Although it is not made on the E-GMP platform, the electric sedan offers some features that only E-GMP-made EVs were capable of in the past. It has a vehicle-to-load function that enables the electricity remaining in the car's battery to be used to charge other electronic devices. The sockets are located on both the interior and exterior. One is located on the grille, which would be handy for camping, while one is on the right wall of the trunk, which would allow people to charge their laptops inside the car, for example.
 
But what’s the good of all these luxury outlooks and features if the car is not yet cost-competitive? The sticker price of the electric GV70 starts from 73.32 million won ($60,400), around 25 million won pricier than its original.
 
Though buyers of the EV may be eligible to receive a 50 percent EV subsidy from the Korean government, the original price will exceed 80 million if including more add-ons. That brings it very close to its rival long-range version of the Tesla Model Y, which costs 85 million won but can travel 511 kilometers per single charge.
 
With no dramatic difference in prices, the future of the Electrified GV70 looks bleak, with its rival Tesla Y offering a much longer range.
 
The back of Electrified GV70s [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

The back of Electrified GV70s [HYUNDAI MOTOR]


BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
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