What It Was Like to Own a 2019 Genesis G70 for a Year
Time to crank up the Boyz II Men. We’ve come to the end of the road with our latest long-term test car, the Best of 2019-winning Genesis G70, having recently traded it in for a 2020 [redacted]. After a year of ownership that included almost 16,000 miles of driving, including multiple road trips and even a track day where it held its own against the redesigned BMW 3 Series, I have to say I’ll genuinely miss our blue sedan — and I’m not alone in that sentiment.
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“I’m still struck by the G70’s impressive mix of ride quality and handling every time I take it on my commute home,” wrote Senior Research Editor Mike Hanley. “It does ride comfort without sacrificing driver involvement better than any other luxury sports sedan available today. That’s a big reason why it was a favorite of mine when we named it our Best of 2019 nearly a year ago, and it’s why I still love driving it whenever I get the chance.”
“I’m going to miss this car,” agreed Editor-in-Chief Jenni Newman. “Not only is it a looker, but it can back up those good looks with its powerful engine and sharp handling.”
Senior Consumer Affairs Editor Kelsey Mays also pined for the sedan: “The G70 remains a riot to drive, and its straightforward controls are a breath of fresh air when you consider all the luxury brands trying to overthink the user interface,” Mays wrote. “Our ownership experience indicates pretty clearly that Genesis has some warts to work out on the dealer side, but the service valet more than makes up for it. I’ll miss that perk — easily worth a few hundred dollars in time and inconvenience saved.”
Not everything was roses with the G70, however. While many of us found the ride quality in the G70 pleasant or at worst inoffensive, Executive Editor Joe Wiesenfelder fielded complaints from passengers about the bumpy ride. He also took issue with the information shown on the gauges and head-up display.
“Presumably manual shifting is for aggressive and track driving,” Wiesenfelder wrote, “and that’s the information that should be in the HUD. The only indication is in the instrument panel, high on the left where it’s easily blocked by the steering wheel.”
Mays dinged the G70 for its tight confines.
“As the months wore on, I grew increasingly annoyed at the G70’s lack of cabin and cargo space,” he wrote. “That’s a weakness we knew from the start, but our head-to-head comparison with BMW’s redesigned 3 Series exposed it even more. Top on Genesis’ to-do list for the next-generation G70? Add room.”
What did it cost to own the G70 for a year? Maintenance costs were both low and self-inflicted: We paid $3.29 for one bottle of windshield-washer fluid and $274 to replace a gouged tire, including shaving it to a tread depth equal to the other three. That was a priority ahead of the G70’s track showdown with the 3 Series, where the gouge could pose worse problems. Everything else was covered under warranty and Genesis’ excellent service valet.
More From Cars.com:
- 4 Guys, 700 Pounds, 600 Miles: Can the Genesis G70 Handle All That?
- Tire Damage on 2019 Genesis G70 Results in Close Shave
- 10,000 Miles With a 2019 Genesis G70: We’ve Spent Less Than $4 on Anything Besides Fuel (and Snacks)
- Genesis Connected Services Enhance Our G70 Ownership Despite a Sluggish App
- Get It in Writing: Majority of Genesis Dealers Can’t Provide Promised Online Service Records
Fuel costs were in line with our 10,000-mile update. Over the life of the car, we’ve paid, on average, $3.52 per gallon for premium gasoline (well, except once) for the 740.1 gallons we’ve added, bringing our total fuel costs for the year of ownership to $2,605.99 (no kidding). Our average fuel consumption ended up around 287 miles per tank, with fill-ups averaging $48.26 per tank (one of them after driving the G70 hard at the drag strip and autocross, where fuel economy is not a priority). Our overall pump-calculated fuel economy of 20.9 mpg still beats the 20 mpg in EPA-estimated combined mileage for our car.
We’ve already replaced the G70 with our Best of 2020 vehicle. We’ll let you know all about that, as well as how much we got for the G70, in the coming weeks. Spoiler alert: The trade-in value wasn’t pretty, but that’s unsurprising for a sedan in an SUV-hungry market — and one from a fledgling luxury brand without established stand-alone dealers to boot.
So long, G70. You were a good car. We’ll come visit you at the farm upstate.
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