It’s hard to buy a nice but weird car these days. In a post-Tesla world, so many cars are dominated by screenslop that the little touches are often overlooked. Eccentric styling, unusual mechanisms, that sort of stuff prone to surprising and delighting connoisseurs of the wonderfully odd. Thankfully, we still have the Genesis GV60.
When I first tested Genesis’ ground-up electric crossover, I came away enchanted by many of its details and enticed by its performance but disappointed by its range. However, since then, it’s had a major update including a larger battery pack. That sounded promising, so I spent a week in the 2026 model to see how it’s improved.
[Full disclosure: Genesis Canada let me borrow this GV60 for a week so long as I kept the shiny side up, returned it reasonably clean with more than 70 percent state-of-charge, and reviewed it.]
The Basics
Battery Pack: 84 kWh NCM lithium-ion.
Drive: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive with rear limited-slip differential.
Output: 429 horsepower (483 with Boost engaged), 516 lb.-ft. of torque.
Range: 252 miles (406 km).
Charging: 235 kW DC fast charging, standard NACS port.
Base Price: $74,020 including freight ($84,100 in Canada)
Price As-Tested: $74,020 ($85,700 in Canada).
Why Does It Exist?
When it comes to luxury marques owned by mainstream automakers, upscale offerings based on more common bones are a time-honored tradition. Think Lexus TX and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. The GV60 is Genesis’ take on Hyundai Motor Group’s E-GMP platform, an upscale electric crossover competing with models like the Lexus RZ, Audi Q6 e-tron, and Cadillac Optiq. It’s been on sale for a number of years now, and just received a facelift inside and out. This particular one’s the medium-spicy one, dubbed Performance in America and Sport in Canada.
How Does It Look?
Amid trends of gape-mouthed grilles and boxy silhouettes, there’s still something wonderfully amphibian about the GV60’s styling. Maybe it’s the largely smooth surfacing, maybe it’s the swept roofline, maybe it’s the bottom-breathing fascia, maybe it’s everything together. It all adds up to a sleek but characterful look. I still love the strange little zig-zag to the greenhouse brightwork, and appreciate some of the visual refinements Genesis had made with the facelift. Body-color arches are a nice touch, while the winglet-style trims and simpler grillework on the new front fascia also help clean things up.
What About The Interior?
Inside the Genesis GV60, it’s lost almost none of its glorious weirdness with its facelift. The glovebox is still a drawer that pulls out from the dashboard, there’s still a stash spot above the passenger door grab handle, and the crystal gear selector still serves as irrefutable proof that “P” is stored in the ball. However, it has improved in a few ways. The new screen setup is properly slick, the new three-spoke steering wheel is far more ergonomic than the old two-spoke unit, and updated paddles behind said steering wheel feel nice and clicky. More on those later.
As for space and comfort, the GV60 is neck-and-neck with its Electrified GV70 big brother. Despite having a smaller footprint, the GV60 features nearly an inch more rear legroom and nigh-on the same rear hip room, albeit slightly less headroom. Still, the plush rear seats recline, the front seats offer loads of adjustment, and you get plenty of cubbies for phones, wallets, cups, what have you.
How Does It Drive?
Whether you call it the GV60 Performance or GV60 Sport, it’s important to think of this trim as the moderately spicy model. There’s a GV60 Magma with liquid insanity coming, but 429 horsepower will do the trick for most people, right? Actually, that’s only half-true. Tap the button on the steering wheel marked “Boost” and output jumps to 483 horsepower so long as you keep Need For Speed-spamming the button. No refractory rate, this thing just wants to go. However, beyond the sub-four-second zero-to-60 mph time, the other headline performance feature is simulated shifts. Those paddles behind the wheel for regenerative braking can be used to flick through a simulated eight-speed gearbox that will fake-lug if you boot it from a low speed in a high “gear” and interrupt torque on simulated shifts to an artificial internal combustion soundtrack. It’s a fun gimmick that’s exceptionally well-calibrated, but it’s not as all-encompassing here as it is in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
Come to think of it, 483 horsepower feels perfectly matched to the stock rubber on the GV60 Performance. Genesis went with Michelin Primacy Tour all-seasons that are just skittish enough to let you experience a surprisingly neutral chassis balance on real roads. The way this crossover tucks in under trail-braking or a lift of the skinny pedal and can follow through thanks to its limited-slip rear differential is wonderfully accessible. There’s loads of warning before you actually lose grip, and nicely-weighted steering adds proper confidence. It’s the sort of fun that will make you want to exhaust the 84 kWh battery pack completely, juice up at a 350 kW DC fast charger or a Tesla Supercharger, and repeat until you run out of road.
Or, if that’s not your thing, just sit back and marvel in the GV60’s comfortable cruising demeanor. It rides quite well on its adaptive dampers, turning sharp bumps into audible thuds without jostling your mocha latte. Wind noise is suitably hushed, tire noise is kept to an appreciable minimum, and the adaptive cruise control is rather well-judged. At the same time, 252 miles (406 km) of rated range is a notable step up from the pre-facelift model’s 235 miles (378 km) of range, and I actually exceeded the official rating this time in the real world.
Does It Have The Electronic Crap I Want?
In this loaded trim, absolutely. There’s a huge OLED screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, yet plenty of redundant physical controls. Heated and ventilated front seats? Check. Auto-dimming power-folding exterior mirrors? Check. A HUD? Check. A full suite of advanced driver assistance features? You bet. Typical nice car stuff, although there are two things on the GV60 that aren’t typical at all. The first is what I like to call the “ghostride the whip” mode common on Genesis models that lets you move the crossover fore-and-aft using the key fob. Handy for tight parking spaces. The second is biometric recognition. A face scanner on the B-pillar recognizes a registered driver’s face and lets the car unlock, then a fingerprint reader on the console lets that driver start the GV60 without needing keys. That’s some serious James Bond stuff. Best of all, biometric information is all locally stored and encrypted.
As for the Bang & Olufsen audio system, it’s pretty solid. Low-end extension is lacking, but overall clarity is good by the standards of the class, and the system’s set up for a nice wide soundstage. While switching from “Reference” to “Surround” mode adds more low-end punch, sticking with “Reference” provides a better overall listening experience.
Three Things To Know About The 2026 Genesis GV60 Performance
- It has noticeably more range than the pre-facelift model.
- It’s really just as spacious as the Electrified GV70.
- All-season tires and a neutral chassis help make it fun in the real world.
Does The 2026 Genesis GV60 Performance Fulfil Its Purpose?
Absolutely. Not only is it a swift and sumptuous compact luxury electric crossover, it’s also the strange little freak of its segment in the best possible way. In a motoring landscape hellbent on J.D. Power-ing the quirkiness out of everything, the GV60 serves as a reminder that different can be fun, or interesting at the very least. It’s funky and easy to get on with, but the biggest potential hurdle is price.
At north of $74,000 for this top trim, it’s $4,725 more than a Cadillac Optiq-V and a whopping $15,625 more expensive than a Lexus RZ 550e F Sport. However, the Lexus simply isn’t very good, and the Cadillac doesn’t just not offer Apple CarPlay, it also only offers 150 kW DC fast charging. In Canada, the GV60 Sport is a much better deal, coming in at just $2,301 Canadian more than the Cadillac. At that delta, I’d take the Genesis every day of the week.
What’s The Punctum Of The 2026 Genesis GV60 Performance?
Weird is good.
Top graphic image: Thomas Hundal
