Genesis G70 Shooting Brake

What is it?

Well, it’s not a 4x4, it isn’t even AWD! So, you may ask, what’s it doing in The Mud Life?

Well I’ll get to that shortly, but first, what is it? The G70 Shooting Brake is essentially the estate version of the G70 executive saloon, and is bespoke for Europe. When I say ‘estate’ I mean that it’s been given a hatchback-style extension on the rear end that gives it a more practical silhouette.

With this in mind, the reason I asked to borrow G70 Shooting Brake was because I had a 12 hour round trip to Great Yarmouth to endure. I wanted a large yet comfortable vehicle that would carry both Muddy Madam and Muddy Madam senior, Lilly, myself and enough paraphernalia for four days away at a Sci-Fi convention. Don’t judge us.

Usually I’d go with a large spacious load-lugger of an SUV, but I fancied a change, and as I’ve really enjoyed everything so far from the Genesis stable, I thought I’d give the SB a go.

On the road

As I’ve mentioned, the whole point of borrowing the SB was for its long distance cruising ability, and for that it excelled. From the M6 we took the A1(M), A17 and A47 to Great Yarmouth stopping only once for a loo break. Genesis has clearly done a decent amount of work to cancel out any excess noise, vibration and harshness as I didn’t feel any fatigue at our journeys end, even my back felt fine.

If you want to play around you have Sport and Sport+ modes that not only stiffen things up, including the seat bolsters, but you also get a rather gruff exhaust note emanating through the speakers. For the majority of our week together I was more than happy to leave it in either Eco or Comfort modes, they suited me just fine.

The turbocharged 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol engine and 8-speed auto combo did a fine job and achieved just over 38mpg, and I suspect I could have got more, but I wasn’t in the mood for dawdling. Well, with 241bhp that propels it to 62mph in just 6.4 seconds, who can blame me?

There is a 2.2 litre diesel version available, and a 191bhp version of the 2.0 litre petrol, all are rearwheel drive and are bolted to the silky smooth 8-speed auto box.

Fancy a plug-in hybrid or electric version?

Unfortunately these aren’t available yet in the G70, though they’re offered in the rest of the Genesis range.

Interior

Get behind the wheel and it’s a comfortable, if not snug, place to while away the hours driving, the dash layout isn’t as visually exuberant as the rest of the Genesis range, but that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the heads up display, limiter, adaptive cruise and all the other switchgear are all laid out at your fingertips in the form of physical buttons and dials, none of that searching through the touchscreen monitor nonsense to find the heated steering wheel control, it’s all there in front of you.

Some would call this ‘old fashioned’, even retro, but I like to think that Genesis has listened to the masses of drivers and got rid of the unnecessary and distracting tech that nobody needs, or asked for. I haven’t been this impressed by switchgear for a long time!

Finding your comfy spot is easy with the electric and very supportive seats that are long enough in the base making them ideal for housing a packet of crisps between your legs - so I’m told.

There’s a decent amount of cubby space up front with two cup holders and a wireless mobile charging plate underneath the heater controls with a USB and 12v socket.

There’s another USB port found within the arm rest, but no USB-C. Rear seat passengers only get a singular 12v socket.

On the subject of those relegated to the back, despite the sloping roof, they have plenty of head space, though leg room, especially if sat behind 6-footers, is a bit limited, and there’s no space under the front seats to slide your feet, unfortunately.

Now for the boot. When Muddy Madam and I peered into the back, the stark reality hit us - it wasn’t as big as we were hoping for. With the rear seats in place you get 465 litres and 1,535 litres of space with the seats folded down. Another potential problem was the steeply raked boot lid that means a bit of squashing may had to happen.

Fortunately, Muddy Madam is a Tetris master and it wasn’t long until she had everything packed for our extended weekend away. The trick is to use plenty of bags instead of bulky items like suitcases and boxes.

Are you wondering what that weird looking head thing is on the top is?

Well this is just one of the outfits Muddy Madam made me wear during our geeky getaway. The things I do for love!

Tech ’n’ stuff

Genesis have packed so much tech in vehicles it’s difficult to know where to begin. There’s the usual adaptive cruise control, lane assist, rear blind spot collision assist, forward collision assist, intelligent speed limit assist and the list goes on. It also has the blindspot camera set-up, which shows you a rear view from the side mirrors in the instrument panel when you turn the indicators on.

The shooting Brake’s 10.25” touchscreen works well in the car, and you can sync your phone easily for Android and Apple connectivity.

Have I mentioned the internet-based connected services that are on offer? You get live traffic info, local fuel prices and where the nearest bit of parking is. Unfortunately it wasn’t something managed to take advantage of as I didn’t have the time to scour the owners manual!

Conclusion

Of course, there are estates with larger boots, but the Shooting Brake offers you something a little bit different. It adds extra practicality and versatility with decent load carrying capacity, without sacrificing the sleek and elegant design.

Website - https://www.genesis.com/uk/en/index.html

Price of vehicle £40,700 + options £50,020