Genesis GV60 vs Audi Q7

What's the difference?

It’s still a tall order. There’s no getting around the fact this is a lot of money to part with for a weird looking electric car from a brand so new to the luxury space.

While I wasn’t convinced going in, the way this car unites some of the best attributes of its Ioniq 5 and EV6 relations, while bringing with it such a unique look and feel, has swayed me.

I understand this car a lot better now, and this is maybe the biggest catch; you need to spend some time with this car to decide if it’s for you, because I don’t think it will be for everyone. That said, if you like what you’ve seen or read here, give it a try, you might be surprised by what you find.

Overall, changes to the Q7 aren’t quite revolutionary, but that’s okay because it was already a fantastic large SUV.

The fact Audi has kept the price around the same mark and introduced a cheaper entry-grade should be welcome news for prospective buyers.

But even the existing variants are capable and impressive family haulers… and now they’re just that little bit better.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

All of these features are impressive, but you have to be on board with the way this car has been styled. It’s a tad confronting, with its curvy, bulbous look, and an unfamiliar version of the Genesis face.

It’s not as traditionally appealing as the rest of the brand’s range, and I think it’s a bit risky. Then again, this car has to do something dramatic to slot in alongside the outrageously styled Hyundai Ioniq 5, and sporty Kia EV6 with which it shares its underpinnings.

My take: I’m not sure I love it, but there are bits I like. The ‘deconstruction’ 21-inch alloys look incredible and fill this car’s wheel arches, the Genesis signature light fittings pair nicely with the chrome highlight stripe running down the roofline, and the integrated spoiler accentuates the rear hatch.

What gets the concept car cred is those digital wing mirrors. In my time with the car they attracted the most attention from onlookers, and cement the futuristic Genesis brand theme.

An interesting factor of this car’s design is how small it looks. From the outside it looks a fraction of the size of the Ioniq 5 or EV6, and inside it feels the most like a hatch, despite the dimensions being close between the three siblings.

It may have a tight, low-slung feel, but thanks to its platform, the interior remains expansive. The light theme in our test car helps it feel airy and spacious, although my advice is to go with the darker of the three interior colour themes as it will probably age better.

Either way, the flat floor, low dash, and plentiful window space makes for an open-feeling area.

The floating centre console piece is closest in design and execution to the one in the EV6, but with its own kind of showmanship. It’s finished in a metal casing, with the highlight being the crystal gear selector.

With the car on, it exudes an ambient light and is surrounded by silver, but with it off, it flips over to become a luminescent crystal ball. 

One part of me says this is completely ridiculous and over-the-top, but then so are many of the interior elements going into rival vehicles (like the Mercedes ‘hyperscreen’, for example, or BMW’s similar use of crystals for key control items, or the Lexus RZ’s holographic diamond pattern projected into its door frame) which are just as attention-grabbing for the sake of it.

There’s a lot to like, and I think importantly for buyers it’s a unique take.

Genesis has imprinted a lot of its identity in this car’s cabin, which only serves to set it apart from its rival luxury players. It won’t be for everyone, and maybe that’s okay.

The phrase ‘evolution not revolution’ is applicable here, cliche as it is, with the Q7 having been given a Botox-style lift at the front end.

The standard matrix LED headlights have a higher lighting signature than before, with the lighting elements leading into the lines down the shoulder of the SUV.

The grille now features a hexagonal honeycomb insert, the vertical line styling is now a thing of the past and the functional side vents are a little more aggro.

Overall, it’s a sharper look that brings the Q7 up to date with Audi’s current design language, down to the more angular wheel choices.

At the rear, the new tail-lights are ‘joined’ via a chrome strip spanning the rear, and the lower bumper (with real exhaust exits) has had a refresh.

Audi’s new CI badging (or ‘corporate identity’, pretty sexy stuff) is also present, which includes a new typeface for the ‘Q7’ badge at the rear, which is no longer italicised and is separate from the red ‘S line’ rhombus.

The four rings badge is also flatter and is white with black outlines, rather than a three-dimensional chrome badge.

Inside, the changes are more than skin-deep. In fact, the skin is the same, you’d be hard pressed to notice anything different about the Q7’s interior between pre- and post-facelift without diving into the electronics.

As already mentioned, the front seat is a spacious, open environment, with plenty of practicality offered for occupants.

The floating centre console offers two centre cupholders and a shallow armrest box, and while it doesn’t shift back and forth like the unit in the Ioniq 5, it does have a netted storage compartment underneath.

There are plenty of additional storage areas, including a small bay under the USB-C outlets on the floor, a set of two sunglass holders (one under the climate unit and a second in the roof), large pockets with integrated bottle holders in the doors and an interesting slide-out drawer in place of a glove box.

The back seat feels just as spacious, with plenty of width and a flat floor making it a reasonable proposition for seating three adults across. Headroom is its least appealing dimension, with the roof dipping slightly to allow for the sliding sunroof cover.

Amenities are also plentiful, with adjustable vents in the pillars, a bottle holder in the door card, or a cupholder in the armrest, a further two cupholders in the padded drop-down centre piece, hard shell map pockets on the backs of the front seats, USB-C outlets on the back of the centre console, and a huge netted storage area underneath.

Perhaps the most welcome addition, though, is the full-size household-style power outlet under the rear bench, which lets you use the rear space as a mobile office or a comfortable, air-conditioned place to read while charging.

The boot measures in at 432 litres. It’s on-par for the mid-size SUV segment, but like its Ioniq 5 and EV6 relations, the floor is quite high leading to a wide but height-limited area. To fit the three-piece CarsGuide luggage set, for example, I had to remove the roller cover.

Underneath, there’s a small area for the storage of charging paraphernalia and the tyre repair kit. A tiny frunk also exists, best for the storage of similar items.

Audi has changed the layout and added new apps in the main 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen, though fortunately it still has shortcuts to all the Big Dogs in terms of functions: media, navigation, phone, etc.

On top of that, everything is still in big, easy-to-see (and press) blocky buttons on the main screen.

The 8.6-inch screen below also still has climate controls readily available, and there are still physical buttons for a bunch of functions including drive modes.

The wide 12.3-inch driver display also remains familiar, though now has a higher resolution and more functionality in terms of on-road help and safety - which we’ll come to later in this review.

Aside from the tech, ‘spacious’ is an understatement when it comes to the big Audi’s cabin. In the front seats especially, the Q7’s central tunnel and dashboard are easy to reach without feeling like an enclosure as they wrap around the front passengers.

However, if I had to level one criticism at the usefulness of the Q7’s front row, it would be that despite there being physically plenty of room, storage is at a premium. 

For something this big, there aren’t many places to put items that aren’t your phone or a drink. 

There are door card holders for bigger bottles, some space for small items, and the cupholders of course, but the space under the central armrest including the phone charger is stingy.

Fortunately, the second row is not lacking space and is modular in its adjustability. Occupants can move seats, adjust their angle, and even sort out the middle seat separately. 

Depending on how high up the variant chain you go, separate climate controls for the middle row and the panoramic sunroof help create a comfortable and roomy feeling.

The second row can also be tucked up behind the front row for easier access to the third row, which (if the second row is slid forward a tad) is just spacious enough for an average adult to be relatively comfortable for a short trip. 

The third row seats are able to be folded or raised with switches that are accessible from the side doors or the (electric) tailgate, where there’s also a switch to lower or raise the rear suspension by 55mm to aid loading.

On that, the Q7 has a claimed luggage capacity of roughly 295L with all seats up, 780L with the third row folded down and 1908L with the second row lowered.

Four variants are available in the Audi Q7 line-up, excluding the performance-bent SQ7. Well, at the time of the launch event, one of those four is yet to arrive, that being the new entry-grade Q7 45 TFSI which starts from $108,815, before on-road costs. TFSI being ‘Turbo Fuel Stratified Injection’ or Audi-speak for ‘turbo-petrol’.

It’s joined by a diesel-powered 45 TDI which starts from $117,284, before on-roads. But ‘entry-grade’ for the Q7 doesn’t mean skint on goodies, both coming in with standard gear like leather-appointed upholstery with heated electrically adjustable front seats, an electric folding third row, wireless phone charging, screens and tech galore, matrix LED headlights, 20-inch wheels, adaptive air suspension, and a slew of safety features including some new stuff, but we’ll get to that later.

The matrix LEDs are one of the main new bits of kit, though a daytime drive route meant not getting to put those to use. They’re pretty, though…

The 45 grades can be upgraded with the $3900 'Premium Package' to add 21-inch alloys, four-zone climate control, black exterior styling and coloured interior ambient lighting.

Stepping up from the 45s are the 50 TDI S line and 55 TFSI S line, which together at $136,815 each form the next rung up from entry.

They’ve got 21-inch wheels and an S line exterior pack along with tinted privacy glass to tell them apart from the entry 45s from the outside, but inside there’s four-zone climate control, ambient lighting, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, a head-up display and proper leather upholstery for the seats.

Australian 50 TDIs and 55 TFSIs come standard with an S line interior pack that includes sports seats, leather steering wheel and shifter, aluminium inlays and door trim, plus black headlining and floor mats with contrast stitching.

There are two option packs at this level: the $4200 'Luxury Seat Package' adds S sports seats that feature an integrated headrest, Valcona leather with diamond stitching, ventilation for the front seats and heating for the second row’s outboard seats.

Then there’s a 'Premium Plus Package' for $5500 which brings 22-inch alloys, sport-tuned adaptive air suspension, dynamic all-wheel steering, a black exterior styling pack and power-assisted closing doors.

Given the update is all up relatively minor, prospective buyers will be pleased to know the same can be said for the pricing changes - even a year ago, the prices for the Q7 variants that were on sale at the time were within a couple of thousand dollars of where they are now.

The two GV60 grades share the same 77.4kWh battery pack. The standard all-wheel drive version offers a combined 234kW/605Nm, while the Performance AWD as tested puts out a massive 360kW/700Nm at its peak, using a temporary ‘Boost’ mode.

Suffice it to say this is more than enough power. It’s more powerful than (at a similar price) the BMW iX3, Lexus RZ and Merc EQC and you’ll need to spend significantly more to get into something which can best it from the traditional luxury space.

Perhaps also consider the Tesla Model Y Performance ($91,400) if going absurdly fast in a straight line is what you’re all about.

The four drivetrain options for the Q7 line-up are split between the two ‘grades’, with the 45 TFSI and TDI powering the 'entry-level' cars and the 50 TDI and 55 TFSI as the feature-packed variants.

The most affordable option is the 45 TFSI, which runs a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine making 185kW and 370Nm.

Like all variants in the Q7 range, the 45 TFSI engine powers all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission. Audi claims the 45 TFSI will hit 100km/h in 7.3 seconds, if that’s your thing when it comes to three-row SUVs.

The rest of the line-up is powered by different versions of the brand’s 3.0-litre V6, all turbocharged, and all with 48-volt ‘mild hybrid’ (MHEV) tech aiming to increase efficiency.

The 45 TDI is, of course, a turbo-diesel 3.0-litre V6 that makes 170kW and 500Nm, also sending power and torque to all four wheels via the same style transmission. Audi says this one knocks over 100km/h in 7.1 seconds.

Similarly, but with more power and torque, the 50 TDI is also powered by a turbo-diesel unit as the name suggests. This one puts out 210kW and 600Nm, making it likely the best choice for towing and such even though all V6 variants boast a 3500kg braked towing capacity. The 50 TDI’s figure to hit 100km/h is a claimed 5.9 seconds.

Finally, the 55 TFSI makes 250kW and 500Nm, and boasts a 5.9-second claimed 0-100km/h time.

Driving range for the Performance all-wheel drive is 466km, slightly less than the standard AWD version which can travel 470km between charges.

Again, it’s slightly better than you might expect from its most direct rivals, so an easy win there for Genesis. A 450km+ range is generally enough to be free from ‘range anxiety’ on almost all trips.

One of the reasons the GV60 is able to achieve a better range than its rivals with a similar battery capacity is efficiency. Like other Hyundai Group products, the GV60 is impressive.

Despite its huge power outputs, the official combined cycle energy consumption, according to the more accurate WLTP standard, is 19.1kWh/100km.

And in my time with the SUV, I managed an even better overall number of 18.9kWh/100km over several hundred kilometres of what I would consider ‘mixed’ driving conditions.

Charging is an even better story, with the 800-volt architecture underpinning this car allowing one of the fastest charging times on the market of just 18 minutes (10 - 80 per cent) on a compatible 350kW charger, provided you can find one.

On the far more common 50kW DC units you can expect a 73 minute 10 - 80 percent charge, while on the slower AC standard, the max rate is 11kW, indicating a charge time of around seven hours.

As you might expect, diesel versions of the Audi Q7 are claimed to use less fuel than their petrol counterparts, so let’s start with those. 

The 45 TDI boasts a claimed 7.0L/100km consumption figure, while the 50 TDI is a little higher at 7.1 litres. Both have 75-litre fuel tanks, and should therefore theoretically get more than 1000km out of a fill.

On to the petrol models, the four-cylinder TFSI 45 has a claimed 9.3L/100km efficiency figure and the V6 TFSI 55's number is 9.0L/100km.

Given the nature of the driving and groups sharing cars during the launch event, we’ll wait until we’re next in a Q7 for a longer time before doing our own efficiency test.

As someone who has spent significant time with both the Ioniq 5 and EV6, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Genesis take on this formula. I’m happy to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised.

Yes, the GV60 is stupendously fast in a straight line, faster than any car needs to be, but it’s the subtleties which have been built into its ride and handling that make it shine.

While the Ioniq 5 is playful and comfortable, but soft enough it’s sometimes boaty, and the EV6 is hard and determined, but at times a tad harsh and heavy, the GV60 does a remarkable job of uniting the best attributes from its siblings.

The ride is hard enough to grant excellent control and a nice feel for the road, whilst still being forgiving over harder bumps and frequent corrugations. I was particularly surprised to feel its soft edge given its giant 21-inch wheels and slinky performance tyres.

An amount of give in the corners and a traction control system which allows a little slip lets you throw the weight of this car around a bit, mimicking the playful feel of the Ioniq 5. Something which you can enhance if you want by toying with the many soundscapes the GV60 offers.

One of the more surprising things which struck me about driving this EV is how relatively compact it feels. It doesn’t feel as though it has the heft of the EV6 nor the expansive feel of the Ioniq 5. Credit to the brand for making a car with the same chassis and hardware having such a distinct feel.

There’s also the bizarre 'virtual gear shift' feature which has been added for this year’s GV60 update. It makes the electric motors behave as though they’re being channelled through a torque converter transmission.

In the ‘automatic’ mode, the car provides revvy feedback and the feel of shifts between gears, while in the manual mode, the speed will be limited and the gear feedback provided by regen when you lift off, until you shift up.

Bizarre. Can I imagine using this in the day-to-day? Not really, it’s a bit annoying after a while. A gimmick, perhaps, to show your friends.

The same goes for the weird digital wing mirrors, although credit to Genesis, I became used to them quickly. I can’t say the same for the comparatively frustrating digital rear-vision mirrors fitted to Audi’s e-tron.

Unfortunately, they're standard in the GV60. I'd prefer they were optional and live without them.

Yes, it’s tech for tech’s sake. In fact, a lot of things in this car seem to lean this way, but underneath it all there’s a solid electric car, one which manages to unite some of the best features of the Ioniq 5 and EV6 while adding the unique look and feel of the Genesis marque.

Aside from the mild-hybrid now standard on the Q7’s V6 models, there’s not a whole lot to report on in terms of new tricks or surprises from behind the wheel.

But that’s okay, because it means the Q7 remains a supremely comfortable and capable large SUV.

Our test route consisted of plenty of rural driving, with a combination of surfaces that would in some family haulers see the suspension and maybe even steering show cracks in their ability - but the Q7 remains composed.

Given its weight and size, it can feel a little hefty around sharper corners, but the Q7 in these variants (i.e, not its performance-focused SQ7 sibling) isn’t built to be hustled like that.

It feels like the kind of air-suspended loungeroom-on-wheels that would be at home barreling down the autobahn at 180km/h and being completely undramatic about it.

Still, this model shares some moving parts underneath with the likes of the extremely capable Porsche Cayenne, and while the Q7 isn’t quite a giant hot hatch, the sound foundations shine through dynamically.

Of course, when it comes to powertrains, there isn’t really a wrong answer, each engine fits a purpose.

If you’ll ever need to tow (and you can at up to 3500kg braked), the low-down steady urge of the 50 TDI is probably your best bet, but even the 45 TDI is a solid choice for long-range motoring.

The petrol models will better suit those in city situations, and while they never feel truly urgent, the 55 TFSI isn’t without some impressive push for something of this size.

The Q7 is a maximum five-star car according to ANCAP, but the list of safety features is dozens long. 

The highlights include adaptive cruise assist, lane assist and side assist, surround view cameras and new traffic sign recognition plus warnings for approaching cyclists and the like.

In fact, Audi claims there are more than 30 active safety features, and almost all of them are standard across the range. The only one that isn’t is 'Parking Assist' with 'Park System Plus', as Audi calls it - the base 45 TFSI is only equipped with Park System Plus and not Park Assist.

Basically, the 45 TFSI can’t take over the task of parking itself, while the others can.

It’s all handled through radars, cameras, and sensors and when you’re on the road functionality is relatively unobtrusive which is a plus!

For reference, the Q7 has eight airbags including dual-frontal, side-chest airbags for front and second row outboard passengers, plus side head-protecting or curtain airbags for both rows.

On top of that, there are ISOFIX points not only in the second row, but also in the third, totalling five spots all up.

Are you ready for a jumble of numbers? Genesis offers a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, eight years/160,000km for the battery, and 10 years of roadside assistance.

The eyebrow-raising stuff here though is the five years of free servicing, combined with the choice of either a five-year Chargefox subscription or complimentary installation of a home charger.

Yep, theoretically, the GV60 can be free to run for the first five years. Like Lexus, Genesis also offers a complementary loan car at service time.

I don’t think any brand can beat it right now from an ownership perspective.

Audi’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is pretty standard for a premium brand, but five years of free roadside assist and the ability to add a package to extend the warranty both add a little extra to the deal.

For the Q7, a five-year servicing plan is $3820, while the $4370 'Audi Advantage' plan adds two years to the warranty, two more services, and two more years' roadside assist.