If the excellent Genesis G70 sports sedan has ever tickled your fancy, you might want to put in an order soon. A report from Korean newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily claims that the Genesis G70 is getting discontinued after just one generation with no direct successor.
“Recently, there was an official announcement within the company that it officially halted the development of RN2, a project name for the next G70,” a source directly related to the project said.
“This is the first time Hyundai announced the halt, although there were so many rumors about the temporary halt [of the development],” the source added. “Weak sales is the main reason.”
Given the recent discontinuation of the G70’s Kia Stinger GT sister car, it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that Genesis is reevaluating the compact sports sedan segment. A decade ago, it felt like every other new car on the road was a leased F30 BMW 320i. Nowadays? Everything’s a crossover. Between crumbling roads, a desire for practicality, and the ever-increasing height of hip points, the compact sports sedan has become a niche product. Although the G70 has consistently had its best sales year ever in 2022, yearly U.S. volume of 12,469 cars usually isn’t enough to sustain what was intended to be a volume product, especially when global sales are sliding. It’s a shame because the Genesis G70 was a rather good sports sedan.
Sure, it could’ve used a little more damping out back and rear legroom bordered on theoretical, but the G70 is a fun, feisty sports sedan that offers genuine thrills with solid everyday practicality. It’s not nearly as hardcore as a Toyota GR86 or Nissan Z, but it offers a solid 75 percent of the fun that a dedicated sports coupe offers. The 3.3-liter turbocharged V6 is a cannonball of a motor, the steering is remarkably precise, and the availability of a proper limited-slip rear differential aids both rotation and corner-exit traction. For an entry-level rear-wheel-drive product, it’s a night-and-day difference between a Genesis G70 and a Hyundai Genesis Coupe.
However, the real disappointment isn’t that a successor might not happen, it’s that work had already started on a follow-up. While a 2021 facelift brought the G70 in line with current Genesis styling language, the interior is still effectively a generation old, from a time before Genesis really spread its wings and produced cabins that made designers from Motown to Munich go slack-jawed in amazement. Every other Genesis product from GV60 electric crossover to G90 flagship sedan is at or near the top of their respective segments when it comes to interior design and construction, so the possibility of a G70 with a cabin to take down the 3-Series was something worth salivating over.
[Editor’s Note: It’s worth noting that at one point the G70 came with a stick. I’ve driven it! It’s cool, and very, very rare. -DT].
For now, the Genesis G70 looks like it’ll continue to be sold for a few years. Global markets just received a feisty new base engine with a big power bump over the outgoing two-liter turbocharged four-banger, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this new motor stateside. If you’re in the market for a fun daily driver that has to do it all, you owe it to yourself to put the G70 on your shortlist. As with many combustion-powered enthusiast cars right now, it’s a case of enjoying it while you can, because new models won’t be made forever.
(Photo credits: Genesis)
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That’s too bad. I really enjoy my ’19 with the manual transmission. Since they axed the manual transmission and the kids are getting bigger a G80 would be on the shopping list, however, even in manual mode, the transmission still automatically upshifts and won’t run to red-line.
The number one area Genesis needs to focus on is their dealership experience. They substantially over-promised and the Hyundai dealer network under delivered. Look at any Genesis dealer’s google reviews and they are complete crap for a reason. The “concierge” and “valet” service was a myth, always booked out 3-5 months, they often tried to get away with an Elantra as a loaner car, or force customer pay when under the covered maintenance plan. The local Ford dealer treats us better with our 8 year old pickup.
The other thing holding them back is the dealer ‘experience’ which is decidedly not playing in the same ballpark as BMW, Audi etc. In 2021, I knew the manual shift was on its way out and wanted to get a G70 with a manual transmission. There were none in my state and there were several likely contenders located around the country that I inquired about(4 different dealers if I remember correctly). I got nothing from any of the dealers (mind you, this was still amidst COVID when long distance transactions weren’t exactly a novelty). After awhile I got tired of the run around and not being taken seriously by these guys and got the other car on my list which I new was also ending soon: a stickshift Clubman. It was also from out of state–did the deal over the weekend and it was shipped to me shortly later. So, yeah, I doubt the dealers are helping sell Genesis products to enthusiasts!
Was one of those that got a Stinger GT right when they came out. Only non-German car I’ve ever owned, and only new car in recent memory that I immediately wanted (mostly cause KIA of all brands had the balls to build it). It was slightly lacking in quality in terms of materials and some of the tech was obviously a little dated, BUT. They spent the money in the places it mattered. The engine was awesome, trans was rated at 800lb/ft, limited slip, brembos, whole nine. For an electric rack, it was incredibly easy to place the front end, you could drift with the throttle and the brakes were so easy to modulate, it felt like your toes were directly on the back of the pads. I’ve driven pretty much everything imaginable, and owned all kinds of cars, AMG Mercs, Porsches, and the biggest issue with the Stinger was for its level of capability, it was tuned *too* GT. It was apparent from every angle the platform was capable of a LOT more than they threw at it. I don’t know if they were afraid of stepping on the M3s and RS5s or what it was, but the car was so capable it was boring. At least in GT guise. They should have turned it up to 11. Also probably wouldn’t have hurt sales. Halo effect works.. look at all the M this S Line that the Germans pump out.
But anywho. In some ways, I wish I’d have kept it and modded the crap out of it, but parts availability will never be what it is for the German big 3 and that money could go a lot faster elsewhere, so.. don’t really know what my point was, but these are excellent cars. I fully believe it’s going to be the Koreans’ MK4 Supra in the future.
I completely agree that there was a missed opportunity for a higher designation than the 3.3T GT. Even if it wasn’t a V8, if they had something well over 400hp and it was a full M competitor, I think it would have helped sales all around.
Had a Kia K900 drive past me this week and my jaw hit the floor. Such a stunning vehicle and the 400+ hp 5.0 V8 makes it one hell of a bargain.
If the American government would update their automaker fleet fuel standards, we might still have sedans in a couple of years.
Pretty ugly car imho. I don’t think anyone will be heartbroken if it doesn’t exist anymore.
Getting rid of all the fun stuff worked real well for fellow conceptual named brand Infiniti. Who are very stable, and will definitely exist in five years. And are totally not the only people in America who can’t sell a Skyline. It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it works them.
Test drove two a couple years back- both the 3.3T and the 2.0T. and really enjoyed them. Did not enjoy that the lease payment was higher than a comparable Acura or Lexus product.
The low starting prices on Genesis products are smoke and mirrors. Their list of standard features is below par for the luxury market. Once you equip them comparably they’re as expensive as the more established brands, and therein lies the problem. I’d also note that dealerships seem to be ordering only higher spec ones as well.
People don’t want to pay the same price for a less established brand. You don’t have to explain what an Audi or Lexus is to your friends and family. When it comes to the Genesis products this isn’t as big of a deal when it’s something in a popular class that they knocked out of the park like the GV70. That car is just so good and interesting that people are willing to buy it over a Mercedes or Acura or something.
…but when it’s just a merely decent product in an overlooked body style? You’re gonna have a bad time. This is why in my OG comment on this article I said that Genesis is going to have to put money on the hoods of these before people will buy them. The G80 has been a huge sales flop as well…and yet whenever I search for either car all 50+ new ones within 100 miles of me are listed at MSRP.
…but I can find lightly used (20k miles or less) ones that have already eaten shit due to the Korean car depreciation monster for $5-10,000 less than they sold for new a year ago. It doesn’t bode well for the brand’s future.
Yes, thank you! Everything about the Hyundai family cars is smoke and mirrors. Like anything else, you get what you pay for. Sure, Anker headphones might look like Apple AirPods for a fraction of the cost, but they aren’t made with the same quality and likely won’t last as long. Everything is built to a cost, and it doesn’t add up that Hyundai family products are going to offer more for less without cutting corners somewhere. Consumers want to believe they are getting a good deal, but Hyundai is pulling the wool over their eyes: if the deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Ehhhh, I love my Kona N and it’s definitely exceeding my expectations for the $500 off MSRP I paid for it back in June of 22. It offers way more performance than anything it competes with directly and the next level of cars (CTR, Golf R, etc) are a full $10,000 more BEFORE dealer markups and only offer marginally more impressive performance.
But then again all the money is under the hood. And I will say that the depreciation has been ungodly. Fortunately I had a big downpayment because of my trade in so I’m not underwater or anything but the KBB trade in value is $12,000 less than what I paid for it 14 months later. Woof.
No car is a good investment but you’re going to lose a lot of money when you buy a Korean car unless it’s a Palisade/Telluride. Knowing what I know now I’d probably have leased my N, but it’s already about half paid off and has had 0 issues/suits the wife and my needs so I’ll be riding it out for the next 5-10 years.
You should never use the word “Stellar” when discussing a Hyundai product – Canadians still have nightmares over the 1980s Hyundai Stellar.
This sucks. Unfortunately like a lot of the earlier Genesis products the G70 has kind of wound up being a “too little too late” sort of situation. By the time it became an appealing product the segment was more or less on its deathbed…and the offerings that still sell are long established ones like the A4, 3 Series, C Class, et cetera.
Genesis always had an uphill battle when it came to trying to unseat such long running cars, and in many ways they still do. Unfortunately the G70 didn’t have the styling to match its more established competition until the recent refresh, and it still doesn’t have the powertrains to match either. Like you said, hopefully that spicier 4 cylinder makes it here in short order because it’ll give the car a leg up on the base engines in the German competition.
Unfortunately that 3.3 liter twin turbo 6 is absolutely ancient and is never going to be competitive. The power on offer is great and it sounds good for what it is but it’s really hard to swallow the horrific gas mileage when the B58 offers similar power with 4 cylinder fuel economy in the same class. Hell the 3.3 G70 gets about the same mileage as an IS500 which has an NA V8 that revs out to 7300.
Something else to keep in mind is the depreciation on Hyundai products is just horrid, which makes these a worse investment than the German and Japanese competition. Plus, Hyundai and Genesis dealerships aren’t even discounting them for some reason. When all is said and done and they make their way to lots they’re essentially the same price as any other luxury sports sedan. Other than the styling and warranty there really isn’t much that sets them apart if they aren’t much cheaper, slash the depreciation more or less makes the potential lower cost of entry a moot point anyway.
If the G70 had debuted 5-10 years earlier I think it could’ve been a game changer, so its demise makes me sad. I don’t think the G80 is far behind it either. They can’t give them away at the moment. Eventually something will have to give, and when it does I think both the G70 and G80 will be great buys as used cars or with heavy discounts. There are rumors that you’ll be able to equip the sports package with the new 4 cylinder, and I think that’s going to be the sweet spot.
300 horsepower with Brembos and some other performance goodies in the low to mid 40s will be a buy. I’m holding out hope that we’ll get that setup stateside and I can consider one in a few years…although would I take that over an Integra Type S? Hmm…
Sad day. I don’t have one, never driven one, never would have seriously considered buying one, but losing a sport sedan hurts no matter what. Also, I did not realize they were not still offered with the manual. Though it’s not shocking at all. I need to get my manual car back on the road.