New cars editor for Parkers Alan Taylor-Jones introduces the Genesis GV60 Premium, a large and luxurious rear-wheel drive electric SUV. It’s with the Parkers team for six months, and will be facing the rigours of family life for much of that time. Keep checking back for reports to see how we’re getting on.

29

Update 1: Welcome to the long-term fleet

Think of ‘premium’ car manufacturers, and a few familiar names will always pop up first. However, for every Audi, BMW and Mercedes, there’s at least one other brand that’s tried or is trying to break into the luxury sphere. Remember Infiniti? How about Xedos, or maybe Cadillac’s attempt on the UK market?

That leads us to the Genesis GV60, an electric SUV from Hyundai’s upmarket offshoot. It certainly comes from good stock as it shares a platform with the highly recommendable Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. As a result, the performance figures will look familiar to anyone who’s considered its siblings.

As tempting as the twin motor models are, it’s the rear-wheel drive Premium that’s the big seller, so that’s the one I’ve selected. When I was growing up, 229hp and 0-62mph in 7.0 seconds were the numbers you’d expect from a performance car, not a sensible family SUV, so they’ll be more than adequate for our needs.

29

Perhaps the most important numbers with an EV are the range and charging speed. The former is no longer near the pointy end of the class – plenty of rivals can almost hit 400 miles these days – but 321 isn’t bad, and Hyundai’s efficiency numbers usually impress, so I hope to get closer than most to that official figure.

Charging speed is particularly impressive, with an 18 minute 10-80% charge time if you can find a 240kW or stronger charger. That’s amongst the best in class. A 0-100% charge on a typical 7.4kW home wallbox is over 12 hours, but that should still be enough to fully charge the GV60 by the time it’s time to leave in the morning.

What you get as standard with a Genesis GV60 Premium

Technically, Premium is the bottom of the GV60 range, although you wouldn’t think it looking at the spec sheet. That is reflected in the price, with £54,105 the amount you’d need to buy one outright. That’s significantly up on the EV6 and Ioniq 5 and in line with other upmarket rivals.

29

Here are 10 features of note that are standard:

• 18-way electrically adjustable driver’s seat
• Heated and ventilated front seats
• Dual-zone climate control
• Electric tailgate with height adjustment
• Heat pump
• 19-inch alloy wheels
• Facial recognition for entry, and fingerprint sensor for authentication
• 12.3-inch infotainment screen and 12.3-inch driver’s display
• Blind spot monitoring
• Adaptive cruise control

Optional extras

As well equipped as the GV60 is, there were too many tempting items in the options list. Metallic silver paint is a cost option, but you can pick the light interior over black at no extra cost. The B&O stereo is nearly a grand and arguably worth the money for the clear, crisp and powerful sound it delivers.

The £1,120 sunroof makes an already light cabin even airier, and the £80 auto-dimming door mirror has proven worthwhile at night. As for the £280 copper brake calipers, they look better than plain metal ones, but are completely unnecessary.

29

The final options are the £2,810 Innovation Pack and £880 vehicle-to-load pack (V2L). The former is the priciest option by far, although it does add plenty of useful kit. I’ve been appreciating the upgraded adaptive LED headlights as the nights get shorter, I’m always a fan of a head-up display, and the highway driving assist keeps the car in lane well.

V2L turns the car into a giant power bank so you can power all manner of items using an adapter that goes into the charging port. I’ve not used it yet, but it could be very handy.

You also get automatic rear braking at parking speeds, improved forward collision avoidance assist that deals with junction turning and crossing, and a system that’ll show a camera feed of your blind spot in the driver’s display when you indicate. Finally, there’s a remote parking system that allows you to move the car via the key. I’ve only used it on the drive so far, and I suspect it could be very handy in tight parking spaces.

Early impressions suggest this is going to be calming and relaxed family transport with plentiful range for our needs. Whether it’s big enough remains to be seen…