Genesis G70 first impressions - rental car

[CamaroSS]

Hello everyone,

I’m writing this to give my opinion on the G70 and on Genesis in general and to see others’ opinion. This is not the first nor last of these posts but still maybe this will help people. Before this I sat in a 3 row GV80 and loved it. It’s a model that I’m seriously considering once kids “arrive” in my life.

Starting with my own driving experience: I daily a 2017 Camaro SS (2-ss, full option) in the incredibly busy and bumpy Manhattan, NY as well as Brooklyn, NY. I bought it new and for these almost 6 years I had it all I can say is that I will have a hard time letting it go. But it’s inevitable as life has other plans for me.

Now to the rental: visited family in Chicago/Indiana during the holidays. Car rental at airport gave me a walking tour of their luxury cars and they had this 15k mile G70 in stock. Perfect. I did almost 2000 miles with it with 4 people in the car.

What I love: overall car comfort and the luxury feel of immediate touch points, screen legibility, stability on road, sport plus mode (plus AWD). Acceleration is surprisingly brisk even if I wanted an in between acceleration pedal feel from Comfort to Sport. Traction control off still feels it holds some power back, but sport plus is a riot, would recommend if it’s safe to use. Comfort is perfect for highway cruise. Visibility is great (not just compared to a Camaro which is borderline trash) and I love the lower hood line for maneuverability purposes. Heated seats are a solid pass.

What is Ok: back seat comfort and trunk space. Reviews say both are on the small size but I’m ok with it coming from a two-seater. Parents in back were also happy and their snoring proved it. Fuel use is ok for me at 19mpg (debate here of course but I come from 14mpg). Connectivity phone-infotainment. Plenty of storage. Cup holders are great. Suspension was almost on par with my magnetic ride control; solid pass. Ease of use of infotainment and setting. By the way I couldn’t get the blind spot monitoring ON without it BEEPING. I want it just on, no sound alerts. All assists were solid pass, specifically radar cruise, but with one exception below.

What is bad: line assists. Felt like bouncing from left to right constantly. Never settled. I have no front assists on my car so maybe I’m just not used to how it should be. I will put the speakers here as well. Could be just ok compared to standard cars but I would put it in the sub-par category.

What is an absolute dealbreaker: maybe this is the rental issue, tire issues or the road conditions in these two states. ROAD NOISE. Oh my Lordy lord. I did not use any actual measurements but a Camaro V8 at 85 mph should not be quieter than a luxury V6. Again, no measured data, but my ears, my fiancés ears and my parents’ ears cannot all lie. It was brutal for a “new” car. For comparison the other car in the group was a 2014 Altima and it felt similarly if not quieter.

What I missed having: heads on display is a must have for me; this model didn’t have it. Heated steering wheel. And Heated rear seats I could live without but I would check those on the order list.

Overall good car for a weekend, not for me as a daily replacement. Especially in a noisy city. Need to test drive the g80 or gv80 to see if the stability and comfort is similar.

 

[CamaroSS]

Short edit: the road noise becomes less of an issue for the passages after a while as it becomes “white noise.” This is more of an issue if you want to have conversations in the car. Music doesn’t help as it only adds more volume to the already noisy cabin.

 

[23GreenG70]

Short edit: the road noise becomes less of an issue for the passages after a while as it becomes “white noise.” This is more of an issue if you want to have conversations in the car. Music doesn’t help as it only adds more volume to the already noisy cabin.

On the rear seat room I think it’s worse than you claim. I actually own one and find it very quiet and confidence inspiring. Maybe it was the roads you were driving? Who knows but I do enjoy my 2.0 sport prestige happy to have it esp for its price point. Maybe that’s the magic of the car people expect more from such a nice car.

 

[pulsar]

Don’t notice excessive road noise in my G70. Have the radio on so don’t notice adverse noises while driving. Lane assist, when mine is fully activated (I only use it while on the highway) I do not notice jerkiness or bouncing between lanes. Mine is smooth and will take smooth curves on the highway just fine. Accuracy of lane marking lines is important and being mindful of exits for I have had the wheel tend to jerk toward an exit before. I learned the short comings of the system so not a big deal. Be interesting if your rental car was in full and most sensitive lane assist mode or the medium sensitivity mode? Being a rental I’m assuming you did not have the 3.3 engine for most rentals I’ve ever had have 4 bangers. Back seat is tight for adults unless front seat folks are not that tall. I’m 6ft and you would not want to sit behind me if you want any leg room. Glad you enjoyed the car though. Would love to have a Genesis as a rental choice when I travel but have not yet seen one at the airports I’ve been too.

 

[Gunkk]

a Camaro V8 at 85 mph should not be quieter than a luxury V6. Again, no measured data, but my ears, my fiancés ears and my parents’ ears cannot all lie. It was brutal for a “new” car.

I agree. C&D test specs say 70mph noise is 65dBA for the G70 and 74 for the Camaro (OEM runflats). So it must be tires.

Yet the Camaro has a very quiet chassis and very low NVH for what it is. Also the main reason why some mopar and mustang folks get in a 6th gen Camaro and it say "it feels slow" because it as very low NVH. And NVH is what many of the performance crowd associate with butt-dyno-muscle-performance, if it shakes and vibrates it must be fast, right?? No that 4300 lb 392 Chally is not faster, it just makes you think it feels faster. Besides, big shaky V8 motors on cheap muscle cars are a historical design feature... to hide the squeaks and rattles!

As a 2012 4.6 Sedan and 2017 ZL1 Vert owner I can say they are both surprisingly quiet at highway speeds. No my supercharged Z with its mostly worn out OEM Goodyears is not quieter than my 11 year old 97k mile 4.6 sedan with newish Michelin PS4S's on the highway, but it has very low wind noise even for a vert. When you can have a normal conversation at 80mph with the top down without shouting, your vert has very low wind noise. I have not yet driven a G70 or 6th gen SS on the highway, but my bet would be the tires on that rental and perhaps wind noise to a lesser extent. Tires make a VERY BIG difference in highway noise.

 

[23GreenG70]

I agree. C&D test specs say 70mph noise is 65dBA for the G70 and 74 for the Camaro (OEM runflats). So it must be tires.

Yet the Camaro has a very quiet chassis and very low NVH for what it is. Also the main reason why some mopar and mustang folks get in a 6th gen Camaro and it say "it feels slow" because it as very low NVH. And NVH is what many of the performance crowd associate with butt-dyno-muscle-performance, if it shakes and vibrates it must be fast, right?? No that 4300 lb 392 Chally is not faster, it just makes you think it feels faster. Besides, big shaky V8 motors on cheap muscle cars are a historical design feature... to hide the squeaks and rattles!

As a 2012 4.6 Sedan and 2017 ZL1 Vert owner I can say they are both surprisingly quiet at highway speeds. No my supercharged Z with its mostly worn out OEM Goodyears is not quieter than my 11 year old 97k mile 4.6 sedan with newish Michelin PS4S's on the highway, but it has very low wind noise even for a vert. When you can have a normal conversation at 80mph with the top down without shouting, your vert has very low wind noise. I have not yet driven a G70 or 6th gen SS on the highway, but my bet would be the tires on that rental and perhaps wind noise to a lesser extent. Tires make a VERY BIG difference in highway noise.

All interesting stuff of course but I personally would want my Camaro SS to have a more aggressive ride along with an v8 exhaust growl. Unsure when that wouldn’t make me happy. Love the Camaros but own a C8 2LT coupe. Now I don’t know why but in that car there are times I want a smooth and quiet ride. I can not say it ever is a quiet ride. However, smooth can be had with a turn of a knob. The exhaust note is also tuneable. So even in the best ride mode along with the quieter exhaust set the car has road noise. Not wind noise but I’d say tire noise. I’m good with it as I didn’t buy a Cadillac and wanted a sport car. Just my opinion and sorry I don’t agree.

 

[Subzero13]

All interesting stuff of course but I personally would want my Camaro SS to have a more aggressive ride along with an v8 exhaust growl. Unsure when that wouldn’t make me happy. Love the Camaros but own a C8 2LT coupe. Now I don’t know why but in that car there are times I want a smooth and quiet ride. I can not say it ever is a quiet ride. However, smooth can be had with a turn of a knob. The exhaust note is also tuneable. So even in the best ride mode along with the quieter exhaust set the car has road noise. Not wind noise but I’d say tire noise. I’m good with it as I didn’t buy a Cadillac and wanted a sport car. Just my opinion and sorry I don’t agree.

Oh man that Corvette looks stunning!