2023 Genesis GV60 vs 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5: Compare Electric Cars

I expected the 2023 Genesis GV60 to be the brand’s first crossover dud. Instead, Genesis keeps undermining established luxury brands with arresting style, breathtaking acceleration, and a loaded standard feature set that marinates into that most delicious oxymoron—a luxury value. 

It almost seems unfair. The 2022 GV70 compact crossover won The Car Connection’s Luxury Car of the Year award, one year after the larger GV80 three-row crossover SUV won that honor. 

My doubts about the brand’s first electric vehicle came on the other end: what could possibly make it $12,000 better than the related 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5? 

2023 Genesis GV60 Performance

Both models share an electric vehicle platform with the Kia EV6. With the Ioniq 5, the clean sheet approach remade what was possible in the compact crossover space, earning it a high TCC Rating of 8.4 out of 10. The retro hatchback vibe with futuristic lighting elements make it look simultaneously familiar and fresh, and the Z-shaped crease over the doors dares to be different. Inside, the Ioniq 5 opens up into something altogether new, with a wide open cabin, a sliding center console, a fixed glass roof, and twin 12.3-inch screens on the dash. A slim band of touch-sensitive climate buttons keeps the dash spartan, but physical buttons would be more welcome. A spokeless, flat-bottomed steering is not the only differentiator between the Ioniq 5 and the GV60.

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

Genesis embraces circular and elliptical design elements throughout the cabin, and covers them in knurled metallic surfaces gentle to the touch. The center console bridges the difference between the EV6 and Ioniq 5 with a band of drive mode buttons down by the armrest, leading up to a crystal globe. The globe illuminates until startup, when it rotates into a gear dial ringed with finger slots so as not to confuse it from the smaller infotainment dial nearer the edge of the console. Small things such as a glove box that slides open like a drawer, and power buttons on the inside of the passenger seat side to easily move it for the driver or rear passengers amount to luxury.

2023 Genesis GV60 Performance

2023 Genesis GV60 Performance

2023 Genesis GV60 Performance

The exterior design carries distinction as well. A Z-shape adorns the GV60, too, but it’s a subtle rear window kink connecting the rear door with the liftgate. Short overhangs round out the squat hatchback design. It doesn’t look like any other car on the road, even without the lurid color options, split headlight design, or custom wheel choices.  

Yet the two could never be mistaken for one another. This is platform sharing done right. 

Both vehicles use a 77.4-kwh battery pack stretched below the floor and between the axles. Hyundai offers a single-motor rear-drive base model, but I tested the Limited AWD with a motor on each axle and an output of 320 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque. All that instant torque makes for shiftless acceleration, with a 0-60 mph sprint in about five seconds. The Genesis GV60 Performance trims the time to 4.0 seconds, perhaps even quicker, due to its output of 429 hp and 516 lb-ft. A boost mode button on the steering wheel gooses another 54 hp in 10-second bursts that pins you back in your seat. It’s a hoot. 

The suspension tuning on each leans to the soft side, however, despite the lower center of gravity enabled by the low-set battery. Bounding over road humps feels more natural in the taller Ioniq 5, with its front struts and five-link rear suspension. The GV60 Performance employs a more sophisticated active suspension guided by cameras that forecast road changes and adjust the tuning. Yet, it feels squishier in corners, with noticeable understeer, and a bounciness over road seams that gives it a much looser feel than its powerful motors would suggest. In short, it’s more out of character, and tuned more for comfort than performance. 

Both models use convenient paddle shifters with several regen brake settings, including a one-pedal option down to a stop. The GV60 Performance weighs about 200 lb more than the Ioniq 5 Limited AWD, and it shows up in the range of 235 miles and 256 miles, respectively. Both have an 800-volt charging architecture for DC fast-charging at up to 250 kw, which enables a 10% to 80% charge in just 18 minutes. It’s the quickest affordable EV charge time on the market. 

2023 Genesis GV60

2023 Genesis GV60

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5

By the numbers, the Ioniq 5 stretches about five inches longer and offers up more interior space with a wheelbase of 118.1 inches compared to 114.2 in the GV60. The Ioniq 5 has nearly two inches more leg room at 39.4 inches, and its roomier feel in back is backed by specs that state 5.0 cubic feet more passenger volume. Same goes for cargo room behind the reclining 60/40-split rear seats, with the Ioniq 5 stretching out to 27.2 cubic feet, or 59.3 with the seats folded flat (the GV60 measures 24.0 and 54.7 cubic feet, respectively). Clever storage spaces abound, especially in the door pockets and under the center consoles, but the briefcase-sized frunk can only store the charge cord. 

The Hyundai advantage over other makes is a loaded feature set, and Genesis extends that advantage even more over luxury brands. Driver-assist features on the Ioniq 5 include automatic emergency braking and active lane control, while top trims add blind-spot monitors and camera displays, a surround-view camera system, and an advanced adaptive cruise control system that can automatically change lanes during limited hands-free driving. The GV60 has all this standard, plus a head-up display. Even luxury makes charge extra for many of those features. 

2023 Genesis GV60 Performance

A 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty extends to 10 years or 100,000 miles for the EV components, which is another industry-leading advantage for both. Both models showcase a sharp 12.3-inch instrument cluster and 12.3-inch touchscreen under a single pane of glass curved toward the driver; it’s easy to use once set up and acclimated to the layers, and the voice commands are excellent. The loaded Ioniq 5 has heated and cooled front seats with a massaging driver seat, but the GV60 adds a Bang & Olufsen 17-speaker sound system, nappa leather, a heated steering wheel, and heated rear seats, in addition to a facial recognition system to enter the car without key fob or phone, and a fingerprint scanner to start it. 

Ultimately, buyers will be swayed by the style and character more than the $12,000 difference. Or it might come down to patience: the Ioniq 5 is sold in most states, while the GV60 launches in only four EV states, to start. I’d wait, but I’m easily swayed.