Cold Weather Makes Winter Travel a Challenge in the 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70Cold Weather Makes Winter Travel a Challenge in the 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70

We still enjoy the Genesis GV70, but its combination of short cold-weather driving range and slow charging leave room for improvement.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

February 3, 2025

5 Min Read
The stylish Genesis Electrified GV70 is a comfortable travel companion if you don't have far to go in the winter.
The stylish Genesis Electrified GV70 is a comfortable travel companion if you don't have far to go in the winter.Genesis Motors

At a Glance

  • The 2025 Genesis Electrified GV70 fell well short of its EPA-rated 236-mile range while driving in winter temperatures.
  • The DC fast-charging rate was less than half the claimed capability.
  • There is no support for remote start while plugged in, missing the opportunity to warm the car on grid power.

The Genesis Electrified GV70 is an attractive, comfortable luxury two-row crossover SUV that is an enjoyable driving companion, as we documented during our review of the 2024 model.

But during a recent cold snap, we had the chance to experience long-range driving and DC fast-charging in the Electrified GV70, aspects of the ownership experience that went untested in the previous review. We experienced some significantly cold weather, but when the day for the trip came the weather had moderated, at our morning departure for a 170-mile drive, the ambient temperature was 30 degrees and it rose to 42 degrees by the time we reached our destination.

So it was cold, but not COLD. Everyday wintertime stuff. Comfortingly, the instrument panel display predicted 226 miles of driving range. That compares to the EPA’s estimated driving range for the GV70’s 77.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack of 236 miles. EVs are sensitive to aggressive and fast driving, so because our trip was entirely on rural Interstate highways, I resolved to employ the car’s adaptive cruise control set at the 70-mph speed limit the whole way to maximize range.

It didn’t help, and we did not get to the destination before needing to stop after only 154 miles, with the computer estimating there were 8 miles of range remaining. The EVgo station was rated at 350 kW and there were no other customers at any of the other charging stations, which can slow charging from its theoretical peak if the on-site infrastructure is insufficiently robust.

Related:Genesis Makes a Compelling EV Case with the GV70 Electrified

The 2025 Electrified GV70 employs the familiar SAE Combined Charge System charging plug, which is why we went to the EVgo station. The refreshed 2026 version, which arrives in showrooms this summer, will adopt the Tesla-style North American Charging System charging plug, providing access to Tesla’s Supercharger network.

Charging_Genesis_GV70_at_EVgo_station.jpeg

Superchargers are rated to a maximum charging level of 250 kW, compared to the EVgo’s 350 kW, but because our test vehicle got nowhere close to that level, the difference is apparently irrelevant. It took 29 minutes to boost the battery from 5-percent state of charge to 75-percent state of charge.

The session transferred 58 kWh of power to the battery for $32.33. While the electrons in the battery put there using my home charger only cost me $0.12 per kilowatt-hour, this refill on the road set me back $0.56/kWh. For comparison, my own V6-powered Chrysler Town & Country minivan would have gotten at least 25 mpg in this situation. With gas averaging about $3.00/gallon, that same drive would have cost $18.48 in a ten-year-old minivan and it wouldn’t have required a half-hour top-up. The return trip was similar, with a 32-minute stop at a 350-kWh Electrify America station, again with no other cars charging at the time, transferring a paltry 51 kWh for $28.44.

Related:Genesis Moves To the ‘Next Level’ With the Neolun Electric SUV and Magma Hot Rods

At the EVgo station, the charge rate peaked briefly at 151 kW and then settled back to 133 kW, nowhere near the 350-kW rate of the charger and the car. Electrify America was even slower, but that was because I charged to a 95 percent state of charge instead of a 75 percent state of charge that time.

Charging speed slows dramatically at levels higher than 80 percent and the EA charger throttled back to just 31 kW when I stopped the charging session. It was 137 miles from that charger to home and the car used 143 miles of its estimated 188 miles of range at a 95 percent state of charge to get there.

Genesis_GV70_EA_Charge.jpeg

The GV70’s 700-volt electric architecture is claimed to provide faster charging than that of its 400-volt rivals. We saw no such advantage. Charging was less than half the advertised rate in spite of the fact that I made certain to enter the destination charging station into the car’s navigation system so that it knew we were going there to charge and it could pre-condition the battery to optimize charging speed.

Related:Hyundai Develops Automatic Snow Chain Tech

Fast charging speed is especially crucial for vehicles that come with smaller-than-usual battery packs, as is the case here. Smaller batteries are the key to reduced weight and lower prices for EVs, but at $75,750, the GV70 is no bargain. One of the changes for 2026 is a slight increase in battery capacity to 84 kWh.

Another problem with the GV70 is that, while the vehicle has a remote start function, it does not work when the car is plugged in. So where other EVs remote start on shore power to warm the battery, defrost the windows, heat the cabin, and engage seat and steering wheel heat while plugged into the grid so that they preserve battery power, the Electrified GV70 disables this function when plugged in.

A Genesis spokesperson explained that this “is a safety feature to prevent any possibility of driving away while the vehicle is still plugged in and charging. When one of our EVs is charging, you cannot enter into READY mode, only ignition ON/ACC mode.” But other manufacturers’ EVs with remote start will start while plugged in. They just prevent the driver from shifting the car into gear to drive away while the cable is connected.

Genesis_GV70_charging_port.jpeg

When the battery is smallish, every bit helps so I can’t help wondering if I’d have made it to my destination without stopping if the car had been pre-heated. It is obvious that even with the Hyundai Group’s acclaimed 700-volt EV powertrain technology that EV makers still have a lot of room to improve if drivers are going to be able to use their cars for normal winter driving activities like a 170-mile each-way day trip. Imagine the outcome of this test if the temperature had been 20 degrees colder, as it was only days earlier, and if I didn’t have the luxury to spend an hour stopped at DC fast chargers reading the Sunday paper.

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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