27 is a figure that has been rolling around my head for the last few weeks. No, I can’t stand Machine Gun Kelly’s music, nor am I thinking about the 27 Club. It’s not me counting the number of bones in my hand either or wondering about the percentage of the universe that dark matter makes up.
Rather, it’s the MPG figure ‘my’ Genesis GV70 is coming slightly shy of. A few months ago, we took delivery of the SUV as we pondered why anyone would consider buying one over the German establishment.
After almost 2,500 miles split between myself and my colleague Mike Bartholomew, we’re both largely in agreement that it’s a very pleasant car, but that fuel economy is somewhat bothering us.
The easy solution to this is, of course, to get an electric one. That doesn’t really help when you don’t have access to home charging though, as I suspect many of us don’t. You could also go for the diesel, but that’s not very in vogue in 2024/soon 2025. For petrol choices, the 2.5-litre turbo four-pot is your only option – the poor economy will have to do.
At least that’s likely to change going forward. I’d spent some time with Genesis at the Goodwood Festival of Speed earlier this year with a few of its execs, who acknowledged many of its customers are clamouring for a hybrid stop-gap before going fully electric. The GV70 would seem a ripe application for such a thing, and that’s a car I’d genuinely be looking forward to.
No, it’s still not a Bentley
So far, there’s been nothing else to really make me question why you wouldn’t try the GV70. I’ve been in better-known cars that have begun to creak and rattle by this point into a long-term loan, something the SUV hasn’t had a threat of doing. Oh, and having driven so many cars lately with overly-intrusive ADAS systems it’s been a delight that the Genesis seems pretty well dialled in as far as they go.
I’ve also finally had a chance to try out its practicality properly, something as a single not-quite-30-year-old man I don’t often get to do. As promised in my first report, I can now confirm it’ll hold a one-bedroom-flat appropriate five-foot Christmas tree as well as a 29×11” present without having to fold the seats. Now, how’s that for consumer journalism?
Heated seats and steering wheel my current favourite things on earth
The next task for the GV70 will be Christmas itself as it serves as my sleigh to head north. Expect my next report to be full of quotes from family members asking A) if it’s a Bentley and B) why it’s making waterfall noises from the speakers.
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