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Kelly Rissman
US News Reporter
Now that the battery electric vehicle (BEV) is an established feature of the passenger car and light commercial vehicle scene, the question arises for car designers all over the world: what do we do with the grille?
Obviously, that’s not the most important dilemma troubling the big car companies, faced as they are with vacillating governments, uncertainty about future regulation and, still, a certain amount of consumer resistance.
But for the creatives, who have to concentrate on making something that looks kinda neat, the grille is an issue. And so we find it with the Genesis Electrified GV70.
Best described as a posh Hyundai, Genesis being their in-house, premium brand, the seldom seen GV70 is a fairly new entrant to the luxury compact SUV sector, and arrived at first with a choice of smooth and powerful petrol engines, as you’d expect (albeit no hybrid offerings).
Styled fairly distinctively with some sharp crease along the flanks and an almost coupe line at the foreshortened rear window, it was given the usual Genesis frontal treatment, with a winged logo for a badge and a grille that made it look a little like a baby Bentley Bentayga might.
For the Electrified (capital E) Genesis GV70, they’ve replaced the conventional item with something that looks like it’s been inspired by a quilted gilet, and which has no actual holes. Indeed, the general style echoes very much the luscious quilted leather seats on the inside of the car (heated, vented and electrified too, naturally).
Presumably, the solid grille is marginally better for aerodynamics (not sure about that) and marks the car out as the “environmental” option, but the tell-tale vertical green stripe on the number plate can achieve that differentiation too.
The opportunity is there, however, for the really avant-garde stylist to do something much more radical and lead us into a world where, apart from the legally mandated lighting, an electric car can look far more elegant or exciting, or both, than an equivalent with an internal combustion engine.
We have, after all, come a long way since the grille was an integral part of the radiator and the engine cooling system.
THE SPEC
Genesis Electrified GV70
Price: £77,820 (as tested, range will start at £64,300)
Propulsion: Twin electric motor, powered by 74kWh battery
Power (hp): 383
Top speed (mph): 146
0-60 (seconds): 4.2
Economy (Wh/mile): 235-477
Range (miles): circa 215
CO2 emissions: 0
The interior of the GV70 is both impressive and disappointing. It’s impressive in the sense that it’s extremely comfortable, slathered in quality materials, superbly finished and highly practical – with (pending any revisions) two modestly sized touchscreens, plus a conventional display for the dials and head-up display, including plenty of proper buttons and dials.
Your immediate environment can also be controlled via a rotary dial on the central console, little buttons on the steering wheel and voice command. Who needs a giant Tesla-style touchscreen when you want to get some Shostakovich on Radio 3?
Despite its slightly delicate demeanour, the GV70 when set in sports mode shifts like a supercar and it gives every indication of being capable of light off-road work – twin extricate motors delivering four-wheel drive and settings for snow, sand and mud are waiting for you.
I noticed the doors are deep to help navigate water, though the car’s relatively low stance means you very nearly foul the bottom of the door on even a normal kerb (and probably would if it was fully laden). A little fine tuning needed there.
The only disappointment lies in the lack of a sense of occasion. Its little sibling, the GV60, has much more of a sense of style about it – for example, a much more bling crystal-style dial for the gears.
A Mercedes-Benz EQC owner, for example, or a BYD Seal (albeit a saloon) would find the GV70 a little underwhelming, and someone looking at this genuinely sporty machine next to a Ford Mustang Mach-e would conclude it must be much more pedestrian, which would be unfair.
The Electrified GV70’s most potent rival is really the non-electrified GV70, which is handily cheaper and offers most of what the greener variant offers, though lacking in that breathtaking acceleration and near-silent running.
But there’s no doubt that the Electrified GV70 can make a case for itself; big enough battery, decent range and, as far as I can tell, it’s the only BEV on the market brave enough to go out there with a faux-quilted grille.
