What is it

It’s the latest name on the market and the upmarket brand from South Korean maker Hyundai.

The line-up includes the G70 Saloon, reviewed here, the GV70 SUV, G80 Saloon and GV80 SUV – but more of those in the coming weeks.

The G70 Saloon showcases a distinctive sporty exterior design with stylish “Parabolic Lines” – that’s how the press release describes it – and it does attract attention, largely through novelty value and the Aston Martinesque badge on the bonnet.

The launch of the Genesis brand is a brave move into Europe, the heartland of the German premiums but there has been a growing appreciation of the Korean brands in recent years.

As we said recently about Kia models, the Koreans are making some very nice-looking cars under the design direction of Peter Schreyer, the man behind all those nice looking Audis.

The G70 sits on the same platform as Kia’s very nice Stinger GT but comes across as more sophisticated rather than out and out sporty.

While Genesis might be new to the UK, the G70 has been on sale in the Far East and the US for a number of years although this is the latest facelifted version.

There is a choice of 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine with either 195hp or 242hp, or a 4-cylinder, 187hp turbodiesel which boasts 295lb ft of torque. Both feature an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard, with rear-wheel drive.

So where can you get one? Good question as Genesis plans to  operate without traditional dealers, although you are likely to see pop-up stores some of the larger shopping centres.

What do we think?

In short, we really like it but we’ve kind of been here before with upstarts in the premium sector. Lexus springs to mind as a brand that took more than 20 years to achieve some sort of credibility in Europe.

Then there’s Mazda’s Xedos or Nissan’s Infiniti ….. anyone? And how about various failed attempts by General Motors’ Cadillac?

We like it because it looks good, feels good and attracts a lot of attention. On the downside, if you get the microscope out, there’s elements of the interior and engine that have been around for some time, albeit in other markets.

That said, who’s going to look under the carpet to see what’s been swept under there. We’ve already stated that this car is easy on the eye and you can add bags of specification, refinement, and decent ride and an enticing ownership package.

Like everything else from the Hyundai stable there’s a five-year warranty and a concierge service – no dealers, but when the car needs a service, it is collected from your house with a courtesy car supplied.

Genesis reckons it can pull in customers who have become disillusioned with the European premiums who, in some cases, have become somewhat complacent when it comes to aftersales service.

The G70 might not be the best in class to drive or in terms of handling and performance but how big a deal is that these days? Customers are largely looking at the three Cs – cost, convenience and connectivity.

Cost is pretty much a no-brainer against much of the opposition with the 2.2 turbo-diesel we tried priced at £40,030 or £46,260 with the additional Innovation and seat Comfort packs included on our test vehicle.

Like all good premiums, the Genesis is rear-wheel drive but the chassis is nowhere near as tight as a Jaguar, BMW or Audi. You can detect that this car was originally fashioned for the Far East or US markets. You can select sport mode but this makes the car feel a little skittish on country roads.

Despite its looks, the G70 does not come across as a sports saloon in the way a BMW does but it’s a comfortable and agreeable cruiser.

It’s quiet and does have a premium feel and Genesis claims up to 44mpg for the diesel although we achieved the mid-30s on the narrow, winding, up and down roads in Dorset.

Nice feel to the interior as well with plush seating and the instrumentation is nicely laid out and easy to understand. Nice to see some chunky buttons – easy to see and use.

Plenty of safety equipment comes as standard although on those narrow Dorset roads you do tend to wrestle with the lane-keeping system unless you switch it out – although this is an issue with many modern cars – and we could probablt do without the incessant chimes.

We do like the rear-view projection on the dials when indicating left or right which fills in the blind spots for you – a feature increasingly seen on Kia and Hyundai models. There’s also a wireless charging pad. And there are plenty of charging ports.

Build quality feels good and there is plenty of room in the front seats although the rear does feel a bit more cramped given the size of the car. Boot space is not the largest in class at 330 litres.

Genesis G70 – 2.2T + 8AT RWD

P11D Value: £40,030

Price for test car: £46,260 including Innovation Pack and Comfort Seat Pack

Engine: 2.2-litre turbo diesel

Max Power: 187hp

Max Torque: 295lb ft

Top speed: 143mph

0-62mph: 7.4secs#

CO2: 166g/km

Fuel economy (WLTP): 44.4mpg

On test: 35.9mpg