Is the 2025 Genesis G70 2.5T a Good Luxury Sports Sedan? 4 Pros, 3 Cons

The Genesis G70 has been something of a bargain among luxury sports sedans since its debut for the 2019 model year, offering lively driving and an upscale cabin in a package with a more affordable price tag than alternatives like the BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. A freshening for 2024 brought a more powerful base engine that adds to the appeal, along with other updates — including one we’re not so crazy about.

Related: 2024 Genesis G70 2.5T Review: More Bang for Your Buck

A power increase in a sports sedan is almost always a good thing, especially when it addresses one of our few complaints with what has long been a staff favorite and multiple award winner. It also comes with no real penalty in fuel economy, although that wasn’t terrific to begin with. While other improvements include standard Brembo brakes, a change to more screen-based controls and fewer knobs is not as welcome. For 2025, the G70 is unchanged.

Cars.com Road Test Editor Brian Normile got thoroughly acquainted with a Genesis G70 2.5T, and he found it ups the base trim’s cred as a legitimate contender while remaining a solid value. Tap the link above for all the details in his expert review, or for a quicker rundown, read on to learn four things we like about the 2025 Genesis G70 2.5T and three things we don’t.

What Do We Like About the Genesis G70 2.5T?

1. Added Muscle

The base variant’s turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine has been replaced with a significantly more powerful turbo 2.5-liter four. The result is 300 horsepower and 311 pounds-feet of torque, up from 252 hp and 260 pounds-feet. It’s a transformative update, with the more powerful engine giving the base 2.5T performance that’s more in line with its rivals. (For those who still feel the need for more power, the 3.3T and its 365-hp, 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6 remains available.)

2. Fuel Economy

The big increase in horsepower comes with a negligible penalty in fuel economy, which is a nice bonus even if the previous base G70 wasn’t especially notable in that regard. All-wheel-drive versions of the 2.5T are EPA-rated at 23 mpg combined, which is the same as the old 2.0-liter four-cylinder’s rating. Rear-wheel-drive versions are rated at 24 mpg combined, 1 mpg less than the 2023 model.

3. Ride and Handling

The G70 rides well if skewing toward the firm side in normal driving, with nicely controlled body motions and a composed feel overall. The steering offers good feedback, and the now-standard Brembo brakes bring sure stops with a good, linear pedal feel. However, the G70 loses out to competitors only when pushed hard, and body lean in corners is more pronounced than we’d like.

4. Solid Value

Impressive bang for the buck has always been one of the G70’s strong suits, and we’re happy that is still the case. Our nicely equipped 2024 Genesis G70 2.5T test car came to $49,700 (including destination), a sum that would only buy a comparable base BMW or Mercedes-Benz with no options. That said, we’d still choose the G70 3.3T and its 365-hp V-6.

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What Do We Dislike About the Genesis G70 2.5T?

1. Transmission Hesitation

As much as we like the 2.5T’s added power, we were a bit disappointed with the standard eight-speed automatic transmission. We found that it held gears longer than seemed appropriate even in its most relaxed driving mode. It’s one thing for a transmission to delay shifts in aggressive driving modes in order to extract maximum power and response; it would also be nice to have the option of a Normal mode with a more relaxed driving experience. We found ourselves often upshifting manually to reduce noise and vibration.

2. Limited Cabin Room

The G70’s cabin is nicely upholstered and attractively styled, but it’s not all that roomy in either row. The center console can interfere with the driver’s knee room, and our 6-foot-1-inch driver found room all around to be merely sufficient without much to spare. The rear seat is less accommodating and lacks sufficient legroom and headroom for average adults, too.

3. Tech Shortcomings

With the update, we’re sad to report that Genesis has abandoned the three physical dials and buttons used for climate controls in favor of screen-based controls. While the new setup worked well enough on our watch, it still isn’t as easy to use as physical controls without taking your eyes off the road. We’re also surprised at the lack of wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, something that’s expected in this class; both require the use of a USB-A cable.

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