Two-thousand Miles in Three Days in Genesis’s Refreshed GV70 3.5T

It may just be a lunatic you’re looking for

What does Thanksgiving mean to you? For my family and me—along with Ester, our very vocal Golden-Samoyed mix—it meant a drive from our home in Denver, Colorado, all the way to Waukesha, Wisconsin, to visit family; a round trip of over 2,000 miles. And we would do it in three days.

You may be right, we may be crazy. But fortunately, Genesis was kind enough to offer up a 2026 GV70 3.5T—in lovely Ceres Blue—to make our holiday pilgrimage a little more pleasant. The GV70 sits in the crowded luxury compact SUV segment, though Genesis prefers to call it a midsize, which feels more accurate. Compared with the outgoing model, the ‘26 GV70 sports a refreshed exterior with a new grille and headlights, plus a fully updated interior anchored by a single 27-inch OLED display. Unchanged is the GV70’s powertrain and its reputation for eating up highway miles like a Hungry Hungry Hippo downs marbles.

In a big country

Drive west on Interstate 70 from Denver, and you’re immediately greeted by what many consider to be the most scenic stretch of our nation’s entire interstate highway system. It only gets better as you approach Glenwood Springs, three hours on. But go east—via the infamous I-80 corridor—and you’ll experience a starkly different landscape. Scrubby, rolling grasslands give way to farmland as flat as you’ll find anywhere, and you’ll encounter very few towns of any size—or, places of interest—along the way. There is a reason they call it The Plains: the counties of western and central Nebraska are some of the least populated in all of the continental U.S., and the thousand miles or so between Colorado and Wisconsin are about as boring as it gets.

Fortunately, there are a handful of neat places like the throwback Fort Cody Trading Post that punctuate the journey and allow you to celebrate revisionist American West history through both made-in-China moccasins and candy cigarettes. Though truth be told, I’m glad that places like it still exist. A little further east, there’s the “World’s Largest Covered” wagon, which now—sans wheels—looks like it’s sitting on blocks and is mostly just covered in graffiti.

This is a stretch of interstate highway that’s also known for tricky weather, and we encountered snow flurries and record wind gusts the whole outbound trip. With that in mind, I was glad to be behind the wheel of a vehicle like the GV70. “Ours” was the top-of-the-line 2026 Genesis GV70 3.5T AWD, with all the Sport Prestige trimmings. While winds of up to 60 mph will put a dent in any car’s mileage, it’s important to note that we still managed a respectable 20 mpg or so, but more on the GV70’s performance later. We eventually made it through the Oz-like Cornhusker metropolis of Omaha, over the Missouri River, and into Iowa, home of corn, caucuses, and covered bridges, where Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep used to make out.

The Iowa problem

It’s a question that must be asked, and ideally, in your best Jerry Seinfeld: “What’s the deal with Iowa drivers?” Because, truly, Iowa may have the worst drivers in the United States. It’s a peculiar mix of poor situational awareness and indignant self-righteousness that seems unique to the Hawkeye State. A typical scenario goes something like this: as you go to pass the inevitable left-lane camper (usually in a Chrysler minivan of some vintage) on the right, the Stellantis squatter will accelerate in an effort to prevent your attempt, just before you see a middle finger pressed hard against the passenger side window. Screw you, too, Iowa.

Also worth mentioning—though not specific to Iowa—are the retina-piercing, chartreuse-colored fog lights that every bro in a Toyota truck apparently now runs 24/7; even in full daylight. This is a trend that seems to have started with the BMW “adventure bike” crowd and hopefully fades away as quickly as their respective operators’ dating prospects did.

The land of milk and funny

Get nearer to the Wisconsin border, however, and the geography—and attitude—begin to change. This is what’s known as the Driftless Area, and the flat topography makes way for hillier terrain, thanks to the once-powerful glaciers that couldn’t quite get it up by the time they reached the region, 13,000 years ago. As you approach the Mississippi River Valley that divides the two states, you’ll find Dubuque, Iowa, which is a fascinating little city with some impressive (and impressively diverse) architecture. Hell, there’s even a funicular—the Fenelon Place Elevator— which is “the world’s shortest and steepest railroad.” In another forty-five minutes or so, you’ll be firmly in Wisconsin, and you’ll hit another neat little town—Mineral Point—which was settled by Welsh miners all the way back in 1827 and still looks and feels exactly the part.

We braced our actual Thanksgiving celebration in Waukesha (which was wonderful but all too brief) with two nights spent with my sister and her family in Madison, Wisconsin. Madison, by the way, is the hometown of the late, great Chris Farley, and, as the biggest college town in the nation’s drunkest state, there is no shortage of bars. On Thanksgiving eve, we poured one out at the genuinely cozy and authentically retro Greenbush Bar that makes its home in the basement of Madison’s own Italian Workmen’s Club, where we gorged on very good tavern-style pizza and excellent mezcal mules. If the drinks don’t hit you, then the Greenbush’s low-slung ceiling probably will.

Add it up

I’ve written here before about my fondness for the Genesis brand and how I think that they’re building some of the best luxury vehicles available for the money; the GV70 is no exception. As the middle kid in Genesis’s SUV lineup, it’s probably the “right size” for most families, though there’s also the smaller GV60, the larger GV80, and even a fastback GV80 “Coupe.” While the GV70 comes standard with a 2.5T four-cylinder, ours had the potent 375-horsepower twin-turbo V6, to accompany its top-level trim. Despite a curb weight of more than 4,500 pounds, it legit scoots. In fact, with a quarter-mile time of 13.4 seconds, it’s a half-second quicker than the V8-powered Audi S4 I had back in the day, which seemed like a rocket at the time. The GV70’s steering is good for a vehicle in its class, and the ride is exceptionally compliant, even without an air suspension setup like some of its competitors boast. Chalk it up to Genesis’s “Road Preview” system that claims to scan the road and adjust suspension damping in real time.

The highlight of the GV70, though, really is its interior, which is an exceedingly nice place to spend time, both as a driver and a passenger. That huge infotainment display is clear and crisp and now spans the better part of the dash. The leather is high-quality throughout and soft to the touch; our press vehicle wore navy blue, and the contrasting orange seatbelts and stitching added a sporty, upscale vibe. The seats are heated all around, and there are full climate controls—and plenty of charging options—for the rear occupants. Without an available third row, the leg room in back is quite good, too. Our uplevel GV70’s driver’s seat even offered Genesis’s Ergo Motion massage, which is a very nice thing to have during thousand-mile stretches of driving. My only complaint is that the massage feature can’t be switched on indefinitely—it’s on a timer; presumably so the unceasing kneading doesn’t lull the driver to sleep. There’s an expansive panoramic sunroof that, when closed, is as quiet as they come. The rear hatch area has plenty of room, too; enough even for a vocal, 60-pound fur factory. It’s all pretty wonderful, really, and is exactly the kind of vehicle its target audience seems to want.

Round and round

But, much like with drivers in Iowa, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the GV70’s Bang & Olufsen sound system. Because, just like those Iowa drivers, it’s infuriating. There’s nothing wrong with the hardware itself; the speakers are plentiful, there’s sufficient amplification, and the on-screen commands are generally easy to navigate. My gripe is with Beosonic, B&O’s proprietary tone controller. Instead of traditional bass and treble controls, it uses a compass-like circular interface labeled “bright,” “energetic,” “relaxed,” and “warm.” No matter where I touched—or how deftly I poked at the circle—I could never get the sound to match my preferences. It’s a shame, because bass and treble sliders are so simple and intuitive, and the system would have benefited immensely from them. This is yet another case of complicating something that didn’t need complicating. That said, it’s not really Genesis’s fault, as Beosonic seems to be standard now in all new cars with B&O sound systems, regardless of manufacturer.

Final thoughts: Pack it up, pack it in

After stopping for the requisite couple of Spotted Cow six-packs to bring home to Colorado, we were back on the road, this time with the GV70 pointed west. And then, we drove. For fifteen hours straight, we drove. Freezing rain and Iowa drivers be damned, we made it home safely, comfortably, and with smiles on our faces. Even Ester. The luxury SUV space has never been more crowded, but it’s also never been more expensive. In a world of $150k G-Wagons and Range Rovers, the Genesis GV70 3.5T—with similar offerings and at half the price—feels like a bargain. For upwardly mobile families traveling across the country, or just across town, it feels just about perfect.

This story was originally published by Autoblog on Dec 3, 2025, where it first appeared in the Reviews section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.