First Drive: 2021 Genesis G70 Shooting Brake Review

Genesis is intent on making waves in Europe. An offshoot of the Hyundai group that’s been a name in the line-up since 2004, the brand only emerged as a standalone in 2015, focusing on Asian markets and America. But until this year two of the world’s most important markets were absent – China and Europe. The company is now righting that wrong, and apparently wants to do it in style and differently. There are no showrooms and there never will be – Genesis will bring cars to you to test and they look very, very good. The first to come to the UK are the G70 and GV70, a saloon and an SUV, both already available in other markets. But they are followed by the G70 Shooting Brake, the first Europe-exclusive model from Genesis. This is an estate that’s aimed not at the Focus or Astra, but squarely at the Germans.

First things first, a car is only a shooting brake if it is a three-door estate. The Genesis G70  Shooting Brake fails that test by two, having five doors. It is an estate. But the phrase has been tortured to the point that there’s no point fighting anymore.

Forgiving the G70 the cardinal sin of bogus nomenclature, it’s a handsome devil. The saloon already was, wearing the Genesis shield grille and quad-headlight arrangement nicely. Giving it a big old booty has only served the shape well. The side-profile, especially in the rather fetching Mallorca Blue, has a definite shot of “Impreza five-door” to it and in the flesh is actually looks a lot stubbier than you expect, more of an elongated hatch than lifted saloon.

The front quad-light array is repeated at the rear, just below an elegant wraparound window which looks massive from outside but presents a surprisingly small aperture from the inside. The lower rear bumper is exaggerated to blend into the rear wings, while the boot opening has been slimmed to cut through the inner portion of those lights. The roofline lift for the boot is also aggressively swooped down, to bring more of a real shooting brake profile to the car. Altogether it’s a properly good looking thing, although that front grille was definitely designed to be sans-plate.

At launch there are three engine options, all with four cylinders and a turbo. The petrol options are both the same 2.0-litre unit with either 197PS (144kW) or 244PS (179kW). The alternative is a 2.2-litre diesel with 200PS (147kW). We’ve driven both the diesel and the lower-powered petrol and the oil-burner is the pick of the two. The petrol’s 0-62mph time of 9.3 seconds feels as sluggish in real life as it reads on paper and the complete lack of oomph isn’t useful for anywhere other than a motorway cruise.

The diesel, which will reach 62mph in a much more sensible 7.7 seconds, is still not exactly a speed machine but, with more torque available without having to wait for a slightly dim-witted gearbox to kickdown, will leave you much less frustrated when you try to change lane. We’ve yet to sample the more powerful of the petrols, but with a sprint at around six seconds it will hopefully provide a proper alternative.

The G70 Shooting Brake’s suspension setup feels primed for cruising and town work, where it really is excellent. Damping is calm while the springs feel soft, which means the G70 Shooting Brake can soak up most of the harshest of potholes (and the areas of Lisbon that we drove the car though had some whoppers).

There are four driving modes for the G70: Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+, and none of them make the car a particularly heartbeat-raising prospect, but all have merits. Comfort is that cruiser, the comfortable car that that the G70 is will likely be. Sport adds a little more urgency (very little in the petrol) and Sport+ turns off the traction control and picks the throttle up faster. The dampers are adaptive, and you can feel the car tighten a little in the more performance-based modes, but only if you’re really paying attention.

The G70 Shooting Brake has been designed, or at least marketed, for some semblance of performance, and it’s not a mess if you’re on a good road. It feels like there’s a good chassis underneath the G70 although hamstrung by the drivetrain. Sport+ is the only real option for performance (Sport does change very little), and the car digs in reasonably well as you pitch it in, offering up some understeer but not really telling you anything about it through the wheel. Hang on and there’s grip to be found, the diesel’s torque is welcome and with the electronic aids silenced there’s a shimmy on power exit. Try this in the petrol and it will be more of a bog down and wait for the power. The limited-slip diff does mean traction is good, but the steering really will not tell you anything about it until you absolutely force it to communicate.

The biggest let down is the gearbox, an eight-speed auto developed in-house in which Genesis has specific tech to hold onto a gear for better exit. The slight problem is that hold on to gears is exactly what it does, for ages. There’s no permanent manual option, just an override, so it can be frustrating both when you want it to go up or down. The paddles are fine, but nothing special and while Sport mode makes little difference to the changes Sport+ will just hold onto one too low a gear constantly. This isn’t too much of a worry as you cruise round town, which, along with motorway driving, is the G70 Shooting Brake’s real home.

This is not a car of ultra-high-tech screens and 784 ambient light options. Genesis has gone for a much more old school interior design. In the current day that feels welcome. The elephant in the room is that there are quite a few areas of poor material quality – the middle of the wheel or the weird bit of plastic just below the head restraint – but overall most are good.

The design is nice, if a little driver-biased, diamond stitching to the seats is a lovely touch and the centre console is simple but elegant. Climate controls are all buttons and knobs and there are a number of quick change buttons for the 10.25-inch touchscreen on the dash. That touchscreen is simple to use if a little sluggish and there’s also a 12.5-inch screen for the instruments. Rear space is good, and the boot is a decent 465-litres seats up and 1,535 with them down. The rear seats split with an unusual 40:20:40 ratio, useful for differently-shaped loads.

The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake is well equipped even as standard, with even the basic Premium Line getting electric seats, the big infotainment system, Bluetooth, automatic headlights and high beam, dual zone climate control, auto dimming mirrors, reversing sensors and camera, rain-sensing wipers, electric tailgate and keyless entry and go. The cars we drove were in the top Sport Line (there’s also Luxury in the middle) which added heated seats, a limited-slip differential, adaptive damping, heated front seats and 19-inch alloys for £39,730.

The infotainment system is a simple one, with much to be familiar for anyone whose driven the latest Kia or Hyundai offerings. That said it can be a little sluggish to respond (I counted several seconds from changing temperature on the climate control to the screen acknowledging it). The Sat-Nav system is clear and straightforward and connectivity with a smartphone was painless.

The second screen, the 12.5-inch one in front of you, is the one that has had the most work to it. Genesis claims this to be the first stereoscopic instrument display in the world. Which basically means that it’s a flat screen, but it looks three dimensional. It does actually work, although given how these effects are created the success depends on how far you sit from it. It gives the effect of some physical dials, which is novel, although I’m not entirely convinced it makes all the difference. Our car was also fitted with the Lexicon audio system. This can create all sorts of special ranges of audio, but the only thing you really need to know is that it’s crisp and good.

The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake is trying to break into one of the most competitive markets in the world, and one that’s already suffering a squeeze. The number of people buying estate cars is dwindling in the face of the crossover/SUV onslaught, so the G70 needs to offer something different.

Thankfully it does. The car is handsome, the technology is more friendly than some of its hyper-aware rivals and the ride and comfort on a cruise easily go toe-to-toe with more established Germanic rivals. Sadly what is probably a good chassis is held back by weedy engines, numb handling and a gearbox that frustrates, but the G70 Shooting Brake does turn heads, not a common occurrence in a medium estate, and we welcome the more ergonomic interior layout.