Edel Stromer takes the car crown

Andrew Faust and Andrew Engel

Genesis GV60, Swiss Car of the Year 2023! With almost 17 percent of all votes, and thus a clear margin against its rivals, the modern-style noble crossover of the new noble Hyundai brand Genesis can prove itself against the other ten finalists. On the test day in early October at the TCS driving safety site in Hinwil ZH, a 12-person expert jury selected the GV60 as the winner from among 11 finalists.

Surprised? Annoyed. Following the already convincing and technically nearly identical Hyundai Ioniq 5 (Swiss Car of the Year 2022) and Kia EV6 (European Car of the Year 2022), Hyundai’s luxury brand is finishing only the best of the trio. The GV60 combines both features such as 800-volt technology for fast charging to 80 percent in 18 minutes, ample space and flashy hardware. They’re just more elegantly packaged and adorned with details not found on sister models.

Driving with a crystal ball

When operating, a glass ball sinks into the center console and releases the rotary switch for the direction of travel. cheat? Parental controls, too, says Genesis. If necessary, the GV60 inflates the side bolsters to prevent slipping on the seats. And for an extra fee, it looks back with a camera instead of a mirror. For once, this is not annoying here as the respective monitors are clearly visible. You get used to looking back like a movie. The interior looks neat, even if some aluminum optics turn out to be plastic.

Even the base model with 229 hp on the rear axle was convincing on the test drive: The almost two-ton compact electric car hits the road with a bang, sits firmly on the road and impresses with its excellent handling. But things get really fast with the 490-horsepower all-wheel drive top model: With the boost mode that can be activated at the steering wheel, the GV60 sprints from standstill to 100 km/h in just under four seconds. and impresses with its powerful torque of up to 700 Nm during intermediate sprints on the highway. The large 77.4 kilowatt-hour battery is always in the vehicle, providing a range of up to 466 kilometers for the top model and 517 kilometers for the rear-wheel drive. If the battery is weak, up to 350 kW can be recharged in the DC fast charger at the same rate.

The Genesis has only been with us since the summer of 2021 – but the Koreans are already competing with a whole fleet of noble combustion and electric models against the strong, especially German, competition. It also picks up a lot of dust in its own home: if the Ioniq 5 is too wide-legged and technoid, and the EV6 looks too baroque, the European Genesis should suit you better. Surprising: In the base version, it’s well below the equally powerful EV6, which starts at CHF 53,000 – but it still needs the extra boost to keep the options up to par. The best all-wheel drive version with 490 hp starts at CHF 79,300.

A price that is nothing short of exorbitant, considering what’s on offer. Because in addition to the pure car, Genesis customers enjoy all-round support with a personal advisor who takes care of everything related to driving, from tire changes to service appointments. All in all, the GV60 truly deserves the title “Swiss Car of the Year 2023”!