Newcomers to an established industry like the automotive space must go above and beyond to make a lasting and strong first impression. When Korean luxury brand Genesis first hit the scene six years ago, it featured quality on par with the benchmark Germans, but at a price that had car buyers drooling. Good value isn’t the only thing Genesis has going for it, though, as it’s now turning its sights to EVs loaded with cool tech.
We got our hands on the all-electric new 2023 Genesis GV60, which includes plenty of eyebrow-raising tech. Whether it’s handy or useful driving aids or just simple gadgets, the reality is that Genesis has packed its new EV with all sorts of stuff for techies.
Digital and biometric keys
If you’re ready to ditch your physical keys, the GV60 has a few options. The right smartphone or portable device allows the use of a digital key.
Genesis is the luxury vehicle division of South Korean giant Hyundai Motor Company
Currently, only Samsung and Apple devices with Ultra-Wideband (UWB) and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) capabilities are compatible with the Digital Key feature, which allows you to leave your physical keys behind and use your device to unlock , lock and start the auto.
You can even share the digital key with your friends or family through the Digital Key phone app. So far, only BMW models and very few Kia and Hyundai models support digital key, which makes this feature quite innovative.
Speaking of smartphone technology, the GV60 borrows another set of features from the latest flagship handhelds: biometric identification. Like your smartphone, the vehicle is equipped with a facial recognition camera placed outside the B-pillar.
After installation, approach the car and it will unlock the door if it recognizes your face. There is also a fingerprint reader inside the vehicle, next to the infotainment controller. Using this, you can start the car with your finger; no key is needed!
Biometrics features can also link your finger or facial data to user profiles in the car to automatically change radio presets and seat position for each registered user. Normally this is done using the seat memory buttons, but hey, that’s not quite as cool.
Connected Features
Even if you don’t have a supported phone for the digital key, Genesis offers a connected service and phone app that uses your phone’s mobile network to lock and unlock your car remotely. It’s probably not suitable for everyday use, but it will help give you peace of mind when you leave the car parked somewhere.
Connected features also help you find the car in a parking lot, monitor GV60 range, get roadside assistance, and more. This also provides over-the-air (OTA) updates of the car’s software, updating your infotainment system or navigation without having to visit a dealership.
Like many modern cars, the GV60 supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, although it doesn’t currently offer a wireless connection to the infotainment screen, which is a bummer. Users can connect their devices to the car with a USB-C cable to use Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Safe and secure
Security is another branch of technology that is huge in the automotive industry. The Genesis GV60 is equipped with safety features such as a forward collision avoidance system that can detect pedestrians and cyclists, a blind spot collision avoidance function, a parked collision avoidance system , adaptive cruise control focused on highway driving and a sophisticated remote parking system.
This last item indicates that if you have a tight parking space, you can exit before parking and remotely park the GV60 from outside the vehicle.
The safety features also extend to the passenger. When you leave the vehicle on a busy street, the car blind spot monitor can detect oncoming traffic or bikers and lock the car door for a while to avoid accidents.
There’s also a very sensitive rear seat occupant alert. While other cars memorize the door opening and closing sequence or use airbag sensors to remind you if there is a passenger in a given seat, the GV60 has on-board radar that can detect the minute movements of animals or children to provide an alert in case of forgetfulness. passenger.
Users may also be concerned about the security of the aforementioned biometric and personal data. All of this is encrypted and kept on board the vehicle. Only the driver can access it to erase the profiles.
Loaded and unloaded
Since the Genesis GV60 is an electric vehicle, electric performance is a key talking point. The GV60 supports charging speeds of up to 350 kW, which, in theory, would allow it to charge from 10 to 80 percent in 18 minutes.
You need to find the right DC fast charger and have ideal battery and charger conditions to maintain that power, but if all goes as expected, the car should be able to charge fairly quickly. When fully charged, the GV60 offers between 235 and 248 miles of range, depending on trim level, but all models support this fast, fast charging system.
What if you wanted to use an EV to charge something else? Inside the vehicle, next to the rear seats, is a 240-volt power socket, which should allow you to charge laptops or run small devices in the car.
This should help make things more productive on your next charging stop. But the vehicle also has an external vehicle-to-charge (V2L) function that provides 3.6 kW of power to outdoor devices, making it ideal for a campsite or tailgate party.
The technology behind the reader
Finally, the sophisticated technology of the Genesis GV60 also extends to the driving experience. The GV60 Advanced boasts 314 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque that propels all four wheels to deliver a 0-60 mph sprint of approximately 6 seconds.
The Performance model bumps the power figures up to 429 hp, but has a round Boost button on the steering wheel that temporarily boosts power to 483 hp and 516 lb-ft. For 10 seconds, you get the full grunt of that powertrain, allowing the vehicle to hit 60 MPH in about 4 seconds.
That’s incredible speed, even if it’s insane that this mode lasts ten seconds – on the street, using it beyond five seconds is more than enough to land you in serious trouble. But if you have private property to play on or a skidpad, you can also take advantage of drift mode, which will help you turn tires into smoke!
The gadgets and gadgets don’t stop there. Since it’s an electric vehicle, it’s eerily quiet and has active noise cancellation to eliminate any wind or tire noise from the cabin. If you don’t like that, the vehicle has the ability to play fake engine sounds through the audio system with a few options to choose from.
A car should simply get you from point A to point B, preferably safely and in a reasonable time. But when you’re spending $58,890 (for the Advanced model) or over $67,890 for the Performance model, there has to be something more to justify the price.
Not all of these technologies are necessary, but some of them help to add a used touch to the vehicle, reduce the boredom of a daily commute or improve the owner experience. It helps spread the Genesis reputation when you show it all off to your fellow BMW, Mercedes or Audi owners, which should help the Korean luxury brand gain a few extra followers in no time.
