Genesis G70 review - ride and handling

If the powertrain options feel a tad underwhelming, unfortunately things don’t really get much better when it comes to the chassis. Settling into the nicely trimmed driver’s seat, the first point of engagement is the woolly and imprecise steering. It’s extremely light, as is not uncommon these days, but there’s a definite lack of precision, especially around the straight-ahead. Move the wheel a few degrees from centre and there’s no indication that anything has happened, something made even more obvious due to a lazy self-centring action.

Once on the move, steering weight does pick up, and once into the meat of the steering lock there is appreciable accuracy, but its imprecision in the initial phase of a turn never goes away, causing you to take a couple of stabs at corner entry.

The ride is initially composed, but come across rougher sections of tarmac and it’ll start to crash into them without much sophistication, even on the smaller 18-inch wheels. There’s a leaden feel to each of the four wheels that isn’t addressed as speeds rise, a talent German opposition often employ when low-speed compliance is lacking. Instead, no matter the speed, intrusions and shudders are sent into the cabin.

As loads get higher, the body has a strong propensity to roll, pitch and dive. The springs immediately feel too soft for twisty European roads, with dampers that are unable to hang on to the car’s vertical movements. Firm up the dampers in Sport mode and the body control does not appreciably improve, but you instead become even more susceptible to the body unsettling over rough sections.

Try and up the pace and the whole package starts to disintegrate further. The uninspiring powertrain doesn’t have the power to make any use of the rear-wheel-drive chassis, and when you do get greedy with the throttle to force a glut of power to the rear wheels, the open differential on base cars results in squeals of protest. Cars fitted with the limited-slip differential have a sharper and more reliant rear end, but they still lack the clarity and class of rivals from BMW and Mercedes. And while few compact executives will find themselves on a track to make use of the limited-slip diff, it makes driving at a raised pace on the road feel more like a chore, rather than something the G70 relishes, a feeling that’s reflected in your impressions as a driver.

Instead, settle down and the G70 becomes a comfortable cruiser, with impressive refinement and a ride quality that clearly feels more comfortable on motorway straights. Here, the powertrain once again struggles to impress in the same way as its German counterparts, having less of an effortless gait to its high-speed operation.