Genesis G70 Shooting Brake Review & Prices

The Genesis G70 is proof that estates really can look better than the saloons they’re based on, and given that the G70 saloon is really handsome, this G70 Shooting Brake is properly gorgeous. 

That said, it’s not as practical as it ought to be, so it’s a bit like one of those gorgeous, tailored jackets which only come with fake pockets, so you can’t spoil the lines with bulky stuff like phones, wallets, playing cards… A BMW 3 Series Touring or Mercedes C-Class Estate might not be as handsome, but they’re both much bigger inside. 

As with the saloon, the G70 Shooting Brake has a kind of junior-Bentley vibe about the styling, with those cool bisected headlights and a sense that it’s less aggressive looking, especially compared to the BMW 3 Series.

That Bentley style is carried over to the interior, especially if you go for the optional quilted leather seats, while the quality of the cabin and the choice of materials is simply top-drawer. Standard equipment levels are good, but you’ll have to pay extra for tech to match the Germans.

Still, it’s not exactly bare inside the G70. You do get heated seats and steering wheel, and keyless entry and ignition too.

There’s a standard 10.3-inch digital infotainment screen, while as standard the driver gets two gorgeous analogue dials with an 8.0-inch screen in between them. As an option, there’s a full 12.3-inch digital instrument panel. Some of the displays and systems look a touch dated — the G70 has been around for longer than you’d think — but there is standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so that helps.

Anyone thinking that the G70 Shooting Brake is a practical family car is going to be… disappointed. The rear seats are really cramped, and even though there’s more headroom than in the G70 saloon, there’s not enough space for adults to get comfy in the back.

The boot is also surprisingly tight. At 465 litres, it has more space than the G70 saloon but that’s not saying much. A BMW 3 Series Touring stretches to 500 litres, while the Mercedes C-Class Estate offers 490 litres. Only the new Audi A5 Avant is comparably cramped, with 475 litres. 

A lack of space could be forgiven if the G70 Shooting Brake was a proper, focused driver’s car, but again it slips up a bit here. The big problem is that even on the standard adaptive suspension, it’s not smooth enough, reacting too sharply to bumps in the road compared to BMW and Mercedes. 

There’s light steering, which is good around town but less so when you get to a twisty road, where it’s too vague to be fun. A 3 Series Touring is far better to drive. At lower speeds, the G70 Shooting Brake feels better, and has good visibility, but if you want the clever blind-spot monitoring (which pings up a view of the blind spot on the driver’s instrument display) you’ll have to pay extra. 

There’s also not much choice in the engine lineup. By ‘not much’ we mean none, actually, as a 245hp turbo petrol engine is the only choice. It drives the rear wheels through a very smooth eight-speed automatic gearbox, but a combo of too much thirst for petrol and too-high emissions make the G70 Shooting Brake a tough car to justify if you’re being sensible. 

If you’re not being sensible at all, then it’s much easier — this is a great-looking estate with a great cabin, and very high quality. Plus, Genesis will come and pick it up from you (and drop it back again) when it’s servicing time, which is a treat you’ll never get from the German alternatives. 

That’s a great gimmick, but is it enough to convince you to switch out of the usual German options? If so, check out the latest Genesis G70 Shooting Brake lease deals or browse the best new car deals available through Carwow. You can also browse used cars from our network of trusted dealers, and when it’s time to sell your current car, Carwow can help there, too.

The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake is sharply priced at its basic level, coming only in Sport trim for a price that’s a close match for the likes of the BMW 3 Series Touring and the Audi A5 Avant, and quite a bit cheaper than the pricey Mercedes C-Class Estate. However, items which the others offer as standard — such as digital instruments — cost extra in the Genesis, and the sensible initial price must be balanced against likely higher depreciation, and higher running costs. 

Easy-going around town, but the G70 Shooting Brake lacks the precision of rivals on twisty roads 

In town

At low speeds and on urban streets, the G70 feels pretty happy. The steering is fairly light and the view out of the front is good. The view out of the back is better than it is in the saloon, as this estate simply has more rear glass area, plus there are standard parking sensors and a reversing camera. If you want an all-round camera system, though, that’s going to cost extra. 

The eight-speed automatic gearbox is really refined, and it’s more responsive than that of an Audi when pulling out of tight junctions. However, the G70 Shooting Brake doesn’t ride over bumps particularly well, even if you have the adaptive suspension set to Comfort, so you’ll get to know every road imperfection around town, especially speed humps. 

On the motorway

Wind noise is well-controlled in the G70 Shooting Brake, and the 2.0-litre turbo engine is decently quiet too, but there’s quite a bit of tyre roar and road noise, and that’s worse here in the Shooting Brake estate than in the saloon, as the full-length roof acts as a bit of an echo chamber. Still, on those comfy front seats and as long as you avoid any really bumpy routes, the G70 Shooting Brake is a relaxed long-haul companion. 

On a twisty road

The G70 Shooting Brake does have a Sport mode, and that tightens up the suspension and makes the steering a bit heavier. Unfortunately, the steering isn’t any sharper as a result, and so it can be hard to get a proper feel for what the front end is up to as you’re turning into a corner. A BMW 3 Series Touring is far more incisive on the twisty road, while the G70 Shooting Brake’s ride quality comes back to hurt it again, especially on a bumpy British B-road. 

It’s fine up front, but the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake has practicality issues in the bac

The front of the G70 Shooting Brake is actually quite practical. Oddment storage in the front is at a bit of a premium, but there is a pair of big cup holders, some storage at the base of the dashboard that’s home to a wireless phone charger, and a decent storage area under the front seat armrest. The door pockets are on the small side, though, and are only really useful for holding a small bottle of water.  

Space in the back seats

The Genesis G70 Shooting Brake does better in terms of back seats space than the G70 saloon, chiefly because the roof stays higher and goes further back, removing some of the claustrophobia that you’d find in the four-door. Even so, legroom is really quite compromised, and there’s a big transmission tunnel in the middle of the floor, so anyone getting into the back of the G70 Shooting Brake is going to be fairly unhappy at the lack of space. 

Boot space

Boot space in the G70 Shooting Brake is improved compared to the saloon version, but it’s still very, very far from class leading. Up to the luggage cover, there’s 465 litres of available space, and that expands to 1,535 litres if you fold down the back seats. The rear seats are split 40:20:40, which helps with all-round practicality but they don’t fold fully flat, and there’s quite a high load lip that you’ll have to lug heavier items over. Equally, the actual boot opening is really quite small, so larger items are going to prove a real struggle. It’s all a bit lacking compared to the hugely practical BMW 3 Series Touring, and well behind less expensive estate offerings such as the Skoda Superb Estate. 

The G70 Shooting Brake’s cabin is beautifully made, but you have to pay extra for modern tech

There’s no question that Genesis has got the quality levels of the G70 Shooting Brake just right. Everywhere you look there’s soft leather (either man-made or real), expensive-feeling plastic, or nice brushed metal. The overall design looks a bit old (rather like that of 2010s Audi A4 actually) but the whole thing is just beautifully built. To make it look even more enticing, the cabin can be specified with Bentley-style quilted leather.

In the centre of the dash is a 10.3-inch touchscreen, which perhaps looks a little small compared to what you get in a new 3 Series or C-Class, but which is actually simple and easy to use, even if some of the graphics look a bit old-fashioned. It’s to Genesis’ credit that the G70 has kept proper physical controls for the air conditioning and heating, which takes some operating pressure off the touchscreen, and which feel really good to use. That said, the touchscreen could use more in the way of shortcut buttons to help you get through the menu system a bit quicker. 

The main instruments, as standard, are handsome analogue dials with an 8.0-inch digital screen between them, but if you want a full 12.3-inch digital instrument screen, you’ll have to pay extra to get the expensive Innovation Pack, which includes the screen, a head-up display, and the clever blind spot monitoring system that uses cameras under the door mirrors to show you what’s in the blind spot.

With only a single 245hp 2.0-litre petrol engine available, the Genesis G70 Shooting Brake’s economy and efficiency figures aren’t particularly enticing. At a time when alternatives can offer hybrid and plug-in hybrid options, the G70 Shooting Brake struggles to beat 35mpg, and has relatively high emissions that saddle it with expensive Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax rates for company car buyers. 

Back in in 2021, Euro NCAP put the G70 through it’s tough safety and crash tests, and it performed well, taking home a five-star rating, with an 89% score for adult occupant protection; 87% for child occupant protection, 76% for vulnerable road user protection, and 88% for its electronic safety systems.

As standard, all G70 versions come with adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping assistance, lots of airbags, and emergency calling services. If you want a blind-spot monitor, that’s part of the pricey Innovation Pack. 

Genesis hasn’t sold many cars in the UK yet, and few of them are G70 Shooting Brakes, so it’s rather difficult to get a real hold of just how reliable, or otherwise, it is. However, there are some good signs, such as Hyundai’s good performance in the Driver Power ownership survey — Genesis is owned by Hyundai and it’s the Korean giant’s luxury brand — and the fact that the company knows that it has to perform well in these areas if it’s to challenge the Germans and the likes of Lexus. All Genesis models come with an impressive five-year, unlimited mileage warranty, which is considerably better than anything offered by the luxury German brands.