The mid-cycle update, more commonly known as the facelift, is a tricky moment in any car’s arc. Do it right, and you end up enhancing the original design. Do it wrong, and you end up with something like the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire. It’s a balancing act, but do you know what marque does facelifts well? Genesis. With the brand’s GV80 midsize SUV receiving a round of updates this year, it was only a matter of time before the GV70 compact SUV got a similar treatment. We’re talking about a subtle facelift that’s more noticeable inside than out, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing here.
Let’s start at the front, where a double-mesh grille draws parallels to the larger GV80, while more sophisticated multi-lens array headlights keep the two-line signature while filling more space in their housings. Down on the valence, the lower grille has been stretched wider while the corner grilles have been reined in a little, with the end result being a refinement of a design language that’s already proven to work. New wheel designs, a new Ceres Blue paint color, and a new rear valence complete the look, while not needlessly trying to fix things that aren’t out-of-date.
The big story here is on the inside, where a slick single-panel 27-inch OLED screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto replaces the old arrangement of separate instrument clusters and infotainment screens. Of course, this has required some serious dashboard changes, but Genesis has done a great job of keeping the cabin’s design themes intact while substantially changing the control layout.
For instance, while climate controls used to sit in a semi-elliptical element on the dashboard, that same element is now filled with air vents that would’ve otherwise been obscured by the new screen and a new set of stereo controls including a physical tuning knob. As a result, the climate control panel moves lower on the dashboard as part of a redesigned console, yet still keeps easy-to-use knobs for temperature control. It’s some seriously clean work by Genesis because it’s genuinely difficult to change this much while maintaining such a sense of familiarity.
A new three-spoke steering wheel with available two-tone finishing looks more sophisticated than last year’s helm, and a 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system with B&O’s odd quadrant-based equalizer replaces the outgoing Lexicon-branded unit, even though both brands are owned by the same company. Add in updated ambient lighting and four different upholstery options including blue leather, and the cabin of the 2026 Genesis GV70 looks like an exceptionally sumptuous place to melt away hundreds of miles.
While 2025 GV70s feature the carryover choice of a 300-horsepower 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a 375-horsepower 3.5-liter turbocharged V6, it gains something called Highway Body Motion Control, which uses damping to better control squat under acceleration and dive under braking. The goal is a more serene ride, and I’m certainly interested in trying this new tech out on the road. The bigger story here is the all-electric Electrified GV70 — not only does it get a larger 84 kWh battery pack for 2025 (up from 77.4 kWh), it also gains native NACS support so owners can plug into Tesla Superchargers without needing an adapter. Oh, and speaking of the charging port, it gains extra illumination and is now hidden behind a heated door to prevent icing in cold weather.
With subtle updates to style, slick new tech, and promising powertrain improvements to the electric variant, the 2026 Genesis GV70 is still a compact luxury SUV that wholly deserves to be on your shortlist. Expect pricing and more details on the updated EV model to be released sometime in the first half of 2025 as we get closer to seeing the revised GV70 on the streets of America.
(Photo credits: Genesis)
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Facelift ?? looks exactly the same to me. Maybe include before/after pictures?
I want to like these but I just can’t. They’re a pretty common sight in my area now and when seeing them up close in person it just feels like something is missing. They’re elegant and inoffensive, but they just don’t scream “luxury good” to me. It also doesn’t help that you’re getting that infamous Korean craftsmanship, which means you know corners are getting cut somewhere.
A lot of the GV80s I’ve seen have panel gap and alignment issues. Many look like they have hoods aren’t fully closed even when they are and there’s just way too much shiny metal on the outside. It doesn’t help that they only come in boring colors either. I feel like a bright color would really wake them up appearance wise but almost all of them are in grayscale or the color equivalent of seltzer flavors.
The idea of green or blue is there but it’s so watered down it’s almost indiscernible. Anyway I do think they’re good used buys because they depreciate like crazy, but I’ve never understood why they get so much love from automotive journalists. Then again I’m weary of Korean cars after how miserable my experience of owning one has been, so I’m not exactly unbiased.
The headlights make it look less like Trigon, so it’s an improvement.
I really like these and pretty much everything else Genesis is doing, but I’m not a huge fan of the ellipse. It’s fine and it looks good but I think late 90’s Fords have just spoiled that whole vibe for me. My brain is wired to see something like a ’99 Contour when I see an oval on the dash like that.
I love the elongated ellipse that incorporates the vents and a few controls. The stupid tack on tablet style screen is awful though. I know it’s the style but put a freaking hood on the thing so it doesn’t look like such an afterthought. It’s like they designed this whole beautiful interior, then realized at 430 on Friday that they forgot to put in gauges or a screen so they just grabbed an ipad, stretched it out, and slapped it on top and went off for happy hour.
My thoughts exactly…
You forgot to mention that they all got big bonuses for saving the company so much money on interior design.
I have to skip the article and go straight to comment – did you say that the 2003 Sunfire was an example of a bad mid-cycle facelift?
Sorry, Thomas, but you’re way off there. The early Sunfires were as ugly as the day is long. It was dorky and completely forgettable. The facelifted Sunfires had some nice boy-racer edge to them, and even college me thought the coupes looked pretty nice in blue.
Disagree. I liked the first ones, and felt the facelift was so much uglier at the time, and still do.
The original Sunfire was actually pretty… Eh. I mean, give them a different front bumper that gets rid of the Pontiac split grille and they actually look pretty good, like a cartoon version of a Mitsubishi FTO. But the redesign has always screamed “TAKE ME SERIOUSLY! I AM PERFORMANCE! I AM SPEED! I AM PONTIAC!” The G5 that replaced it was just a straight up Cobalt with hoodscoops so it was also a downgrade compared to the ’95 Sunfire.
ALL Sunfires look like utter crap.
At face value, without reading the article, this vehicle looks no different to me.
The tailpipes are no longer round.
Now they’re – Uh – Something else.
Since the changes are quite subtle, as mentioned, it sure would be nice to have comparison shots to the current model included in the article!