I drove the 2025 Genesis GV60 for a week — here’s my pros and cons
One of the first all-electric compact crossover SUVs I fell in love with testing last year was the Genesis GV60, thanks to its luxury features and turbo-charged performance. This year’s edition, the 2025 Genesis GV60, aims to follow in the same footsteps — but it’s got to do so much more if it has any chance of standing out this time around.
That’s because the GV60 follows other similarly sized EVs I’ve tested, like the 2025 Nissan Ariya EV and 2025 Mini Cooper Countryman EV. They have their own strengths and weaknesses, but the GV60 comes in at a much higher starting price of $52,350 with the base Standard RWD trim. That balloons up to $69,900 for the 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD trim that I drove for a week.
Despite this, I will say that the Genesis GV60 straddles that line between sporty and luxury — making it a fun drive that’s filled with a lot of extra features.
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2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD: Specifications
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD |
Battery | 77.4 kWh |
Motor | 160kW Front/160kW Rear Electric Motors |
Range | 235 miles |
Horsepower | 429 hp |
Wheels | 21-inches |
MSRP | $69,900 |
2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD: Testing summary
In my week’s worth of driving, I drove the Genesis GV60 Performance for a total of 246.7 miles — all while achieving an average efficiency of 3.1 mi/kWh. For its size, that’s about where I’d like it to be because bigger all-electric SUVs, like the 2025 Cadillac Optiq, tend to come in at much less.
By doing the calculations based on its 77.4 kWh battery, it would mean that GV60 could reach a range of almost 240 miles, which would be a slight improvement over its EPA-estimated 235 miles of range.
If you’re looking to get the best efficiency, however, I’d recommend driving in ECO mode most of the time because my best short distance efficiency came out to an astounding 4.2 mi/kWh. Even though the GV60 is unlikely to sustain that efficiency for the battery’s entire charge, it’s nice to know that it’s possible for shorter trips.
But despite this possibility, the Genesis GV60 is built for speed with its intense acceleration and good handling. I find it much more fun to drive than the Nissan Ariya, but it doesn’t hug the turns as well as the Mini Cooper Countryman EV.
One new thing I discovered from readers is that the charging rate of the included Level 1 charger is controlled by the plug adapter itself, as opposed to a setting you change with the vehicle. After this discovery, I set it to charge at 12 Amps — which yielded an average charge rate of 1.41 mi/hr. This added back 22 miles of range to the GV60 overnight on Level 1 charging with 15.6 hours worth of charging, but it’s still not as fast as other EVs.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD | 2025 Nissan Ariya Platinum+ AWD | 2025 Mini Cooper Countryman SE All4 |
Total miles driven | 246.7 miles | 366.9 miles | 298.3 miles |
Average Efficiency | 3.1 mi/kWh | 2.7 mi/kWh | 3.2 mi/kWh |
Best long distance driving efficiency | 3 mi/kWh (34.6 miles of distance) | 3.2 mi/kWh | 3.2 mi/kWh |
Best short distance driving efficiency | 4.2 mi/kWh (16.5 miles of distance) | N/A | N/A |
Level 1 charging rate | 1.41 mi/hr | 0.73 mi/hr | 2.96 mi/hr |
2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD: What I Like
Sleek looking sporty meets luxury design
Visually, not much has changed with the 2025 GV60 because it still blends that sporty-meets-luxury design. I’m okay with this because the Genesis GV60 still looks amazing.
From the front, the clean lines and crisscrossing pattern of its grill make the GV60 look like a Bentley, but it injects a dose of sportiness by adding in a tail fin spoiler around the back and scissor-looking rims.
Vibrant ambient lighting
Genesis consistently produces some of the best interior lights around, and the 2025 GV60 is no exception with its polarizing glow inside at night.
Ambient lights are littered everywhere throughout the cabin space, including underneath the seats, around the armrests, and outlines around many of the buttons around the dashboard. Best of all, you can customize the colors through the settings menu to get the exact mood you’re after.
Crystal ball shifter
The centerpiece of the Genesis GV60 has to be the Crystal Sphere along the armrest, which transforms into the EV’s shifter once it’s turned on. At night, it produces this mesmerizing glow that’s hard to resist, but I’m still at awe when it flips over to reveal the shifter.
Functionally, it has no other purpose than being an eye candy piece for the vehicle, but I don’t mind at all because it’s this kind of small detail that makes the GV60 unique.
Pull out glove box
Another small detail I love about the 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD is how it puts its own spin on the traditional glove box.
Rather than being something that flips out from underneath the passenger side dashboard area, it’s actually designed as a pull out glove box that smoothly rolls out.
Ergo motion seats
With a press of a button on the side of the driver’s side seat, you can activate the GV60’s Ergo Motion function to give you supplementary seating support while you drive.
I wouldn’t describe it as a massaging function because it’s meant to reduce driving fatigue by providing lumbar support. It almost feels like you’re getting a subtle stretch, as the seat slowly manipulates my back and bottom area.
Lane keep assist can be turned on any time
Genesis and Hyundai are the only two car makers I can think of that give drivers the option to enable and turn off lane keep assist through a control directly on the steering wheel. Lane keep assist is a feature that keeps the vehicle in the middle of the lane while driving, and it’s usually tied into a vehicle’s assisted cruise control system.
But with the Genesis GV60, I can turn on this feature for all driving — whether it’s on the highway with assisted cruise control or local roads with the driver in control of the acceleration. It’s one of those features I’ve come to rely on because the GV60 will try to stay in the middle of the lane without my intervention, unless it loses its tracking of the lane due to other factors such as the lines disappearing on the road.
Boost button
If you’ve played arcade racing games or perhaps Mario Kart before, then you’ll love the Boost Button of the 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD. Similar to last year’s model, pressing this button engages the GV60 to leverage its entire 429 hp performance to deliver a surge of power for up to 10 seconds.
It’s like getting that mushroom in Mario Kart, where you press on it and start to feel the vehicle accelerating with power. When I’m at a complete stop and engage it, I really feel my heart racing because of the amount of torque that the GV60 achieves during this time.
One added touch I didn’t experience before is how the seat adjusts to hug me tighter when this button is activated.
Bright head up display
This wouldn’t be a luxury EV if it didn’t have a head-up display. For the GV60, this is actually a standard feature in all trims, which is nice because usually they’re reserved for the most expensive trims — or included as part of a package.
Distractions are fewer with the help of this head-up display because I’m able to keep my focus on the road, instead of constantly looking down to the main touchscreen display to check out navigation directions. Plus, the display shows me valuable information as well like my speed and other assisted features.
Outstanding assisted cruise control performance
On top of the option to manually turn on Lane Keep Assist at any time, the 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD offers outstanding performance with its assisted cruise control system. Once activated, the GV60 will perform the necessary acceleration and braking — while also steering the wheel. There’s also Lane Change Assist included that will automatically switch lanes after you’ve hit the appropriate turn signal.
Not only is it smooth with the driving, but it also manages to respond nicely to the traffic around me. One driver abruptly entered my lane, but the GV60 applied a soft brake to slow its pace down.
Sharp 360-degree cameras
Part of why the GV60’s assisted cruise control system works well is due to the crisp performance from all of the cameras outfitted around the vehicle. They clearly give the GV60 a set of eyes to help out with the driving, but I also find them helpful for getting into parking spaces so that I’m in between lines and switching lanes thanks to the blind spot monitor cameras integrated into the driver’s display.
2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD: What I Don’t Like
Limited availability
Surprisingly, it’s really hard to find local dealers with a healthy inventory of the vehicle. Even Genesis’ own web site states that “the 2025 GV60 is available at select Genesis retailers in select states and in limited quantities.”
Even if you somehow manage to find a dealership that’s within 25 miles of your location, you still might have to look beyond that to get the exact trim you want.
Pricey starting cost
And finally, the GV60’s pricey cost can certainly put it out of reach for people with a tighter budget. The $69,900 sticker price for the 2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD is by no means cheap, but it does come with features that back its cost — like a head-up display, blind spot camera monitors, assisted cruise control, panoramic roof, sun shades for the rear passenger windows, and more.
In contrast, the 2025 Mini Cooper Countryman SE All4 I’ve tested costs much less at $45,200 and offers a much more spacious interior for all passengers.
2025 Genesis GV60 Performance AWD: Bottom Line
If I could afford the 2025 Genesis GV60 without burdening my budget, I would totally do it for the fact that it’s fun to drive, big enough to comfortably seat up to five passengers, and still small enough to handle street parking in busy metropolitan areas.
You’re certainly paying the premium for all the other luxury features I’ve mentioned, but they don’t come at the expense of its efficiency and driving performance. For the GV60’s size, I’m still impressed that it’s able to get beyond 3 mi/kWh efficiency — plus you have the utility of a small SUV for lugging around bigger payloads.
