Genesis’ big bet on the compact executive segment,
the G70, was unveiled last year to take on class stalwarts such as the BMW 3
Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Audi A4. Now that the car has gone through
its first 13 months on the South Korean market, Hyundai’s luxury offshoot has
seen fit to give the sedan a round of minor updates for the 2019 model year.
The first is that the car is finally getting a
12.3-inch digital instrument display instead of the twin analogue gauges
offered at launch. However, rather than simply copying the screens from other
carmakers, Genesis has introduced three-dimensional viewing technology, a world
first.
This rather cool system gives some depth to the flat
screen without the need for 3D glasses, using a camera to track the driver’s
eye movements. There are Modern, Space and Edge design themes available, and
users can also turn off the 3D effect if they so wish.
Other changes include a handsfree powered bootlid,
an air purifier and high-definition digital media broadcasting (DMB,
essentially Korea’s mobile TV broadcasting system) and an auto hold function
for the electronic parking brake, now fitted as standard across all models.
Also standard is the fuel-saving sailing function
for the eight-speed automatic transmission, previously only offered on the 3.3T
Sport model – which now gets 19-inch “dark sputter” alloy wheels, too. There’s
also a new Dynamic All-Wheel Drive system with a mechanical limited-slip
differential.
Otherwise it’s the same G70 as before, powered by
either a 252 PS/353 Nm (255 PS with the Sports package) 2.0 litre Theta II
turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, a 202 PS/441 Nm 2.2 litre R VGT
turbodiesel or a range-topping 370 PS/510 Nm 3.3 litre twin-turbo V6.
