2026 Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD Review & Test Drive

There’s something special about a luxury vehicle and how it just feels different, most often in a good way, to appease those who like nice things. Genesis, as a luxury brand, has had a challenge of competing with the vast field of established luxury vehicles, but recently, it seems they’ve found a new solid footing. That footing extends beyond the typical large vehicles into the compact GV70, which I had a chance to review this week in its top-level 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD trim.

As a rear-wheel-drive biased vehicle, the GV70 is already a winner in my book, and for the 2026 model year, it receives a few tweaks that place it in line to better compete with luxury juggernauts. The new tweaks revolve mostly around a new 27-inch touchscreen display that seamlessly flows into the digital gauge cluster with updated graphics that add to the natural flow of graphics and screen displays. Other modifications are narrowed down to small changes in the exterior lighting and revised bumpers, which keep the GV70 a rather attractive vehicle with some sports appeal that doesn’t take away from its luxurious theme.

Performance and Driving Character

Powering the Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD is the job of the brand’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 engine with 375 horsepower and 391 lb-ft of torque sent out to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Powering all four wheels and exuding a supple ride quality aided by adaptive dampers does well to soak up road imperfections even with the larger 21-inch wheels wrapped in all-season Michelin Primacy tires.

I found that I enjoy the driving character that feels tight and buttoned down without unwanted drama, almost on the verge of feeling like an expensive sporty luxury sedan, even more so with the 2026 from some unmentioned drivetrain changes – all for the better. The steering feeling is excellent with a nicely weighted resistance, with a new variable ratio assisting steering rack. There is a bit of turbo lag for a second out of the hole, but the engine does well to follow up with a surge of power after hitting about 2,000 rpm. Zero to 60 mph ticks off in 5 seconds flat through the use of the launch control while in the Sport+ drive mode, where you help eliminate the turbo lag that you otherwise get from normally accelerating from a stop.

Fuel Economy

Fuel economy remains mostly steady, getting the estimated 18 mpg city, 25 mpg highway, and 21 mpg combined in real-world conditions. The cruising range is about 435 miles if you hit and keep the 25 mpg highway figure. One thing to note is that premium unleaded fuel is recommended to get the full power rating out of the twin-turbo V6, while it may otherwise retard timing slightly, causing a small loss in power output.

Interior and Technology

The interior of the Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD is an inviting space where much time was spent on attention to detail, with its leatherette-wrapped dashboard and plentiful soft-touch surfaces laced with high-quality-looking trim pieces. Moreover, there are real carbon fiber trim bits in the cabin as well. Genesis even goes the distance to make the lower door trim soft touch, something that a few luxury brands fail to do.

The seats are nicely supportive with heating and ventilation up front, and the driver’s seat gets treatment to the Ergo motion seat functions, which is essentially a massage feature. Still, to this day, I don’t know why Genesis doesn’t extend the treatment to the front passenger seat in addition to a couple of power adjustments, such as the front thigh extender, only found on the driver’s seat. Otherwise, the seats are comfy but could use a forward and backwards adjustment of the manual headrest, as they seem a bit too thick for my taste.

Seemingly, Genesis cleverly uses the space in the GV70 and does well to contend with its somewhat sloping rear design to give you just enough space in the rear seating area for adults.

The new infotainment screen setup uses a much larger 27-inch screen that integrates both the digital gauge cluster, which is a nice touch and somewhat unique in how the screen flows graphics throughout the entire screen. Those graphics are often adaptable, where the background cleverly changes to mimic the outdoor conditions – if it is storming with rain, the background displays a cloudy day with rain. The same goes for a sunny day and so on. Setting up the screen can be a bit cumbersome to display your desired information, though, using a touch capacitive slide-action button, which often changes its primary function based on other button inputs. There is a learning curve to overcome for most that may take several days to master. The learning curve is somewhat helped along with some physical controls, such as still having a physical volume knob and knobs for the two front climate zones temperature adjustments.

There’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration in addition to having the ability to display some mapping apps’ navigation, like Waze, through the driver’s gauge cluster area. Interestingly, there are many other updates to the GV70 for 2026 that are subtitle added and tweaked, even the vehicle sounds have been updated for certain warnings and chimes. I appreciate an automotive brand that keeps innovating and keeps things fresh, which Genesis does well for the 2026 GV70, far beyond what you can see on the surface!

Safety

Safety remains paramount, and you can expect the full bevy of expected active safety features in the Genesis GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD, in addition to having the latest highway driving assist feature, which is an advanced adaptive cruise control setup where I enjoy only having to ‘touch’ steering wheel to prevent the system asking you to place your hands on the wheel.

Pricing

Pricing remains an appeal for Genesis in the new GV70 and feels like you get a bargain considering how cohesive the luxury and sportiness come together for the new 2026 model year. Starting at $48,985 for the base GV70 with the less powerful turbocharged 4-cylinder is still appealing for the amount of equipment that you get. Moving to the twin-turbo V6 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD trim, my favorite, is where you’ll feel that you’ve leveled up against competitors that have an advantage of being around much longer than the GV70. Still, even at the much higher as-tested price of $72,225, there’s a lot to appreciate that many should not sleep on because Genesis means business, as it’s evident in the new GV70 3.5T Sport Prestige AWD.

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