What's the difference?
If someone came to you and said, “Hey, want to drop $100,000 on this new car? It looks a bit weird, it’s from a brand you’ve probably never heard of, and by the way, it’s fully electric”, I’d understand if you had a hard time coughing up the cash.
And this is essentially the ask with the Genesis GV60. Unlike BMW, Mercedes, or even Lexus, this luxury Korean brand has very little time in-market, and in Australia at least, no rich history to draw upon to lure buyers in.
If the electric era has taught us anything, though, it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity for new names to get their foot in the door. So, is Genesis putting its best foot forward? Let’s find out.
This is it: Australia’s first fully electric ute.
It is telling of the times that the eT60, a dual-cab, no less, doesn’t come from a traditional titan of Australia’s car market like Ford, Nissan or Toyota.
Instead, it comes from Chinese upstart, LDV. The brand has already made a name for itself importing affordable alternatives to these mainstream rivals.
The combustion version of the T60 is chipping away at the market share of established names, commanding nearly six per cent of the light commercial market, placed fifth behind Mitsubishi.
Can the brand be more than a cut-price option, though? Does it have what it takes to be a first-mover with its all-electric dual-cab? We drove a pre-production example at its Australian launch to find out.
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.
The eT60 presents as an electric vehicle clearly converted from a combustion vehicle to take advantage of being first in our market.
It comes with some significant downsides, from the lack of key specifications and safety equipment to the downright average drive experience, but in other areas it’s specified right, with decent charging specs, and surprisingly good software on that centre multimedia screen.
In some ways, these impressions are a reflection of how far the ute market has come in Australia in the last few years, with many commercial offerings now feeling just as complete as passenger cars in terms of specification and driving prowess.
LDV has left open the door for future tweaks and improvements to the eT60’s spec, ride, and features, and we’re keen to get it in for a longer test in the near future. Either way, though, the brand says it has no shortage of buyers lining up to be a part of the zero emissions future of commercial vehicles.