Long haul star
I finished off my 10,000 mile test (yeh that’s right, I’ve done 10,000 miles in an EV in six months, that’s how much I live on the roads haha) with a road trip to Sunderland! From Sussex, to Sunderland and back again worked out as roughly a 700 mile round trip. A proper long journey test.
I preconditioned the battery before leaving. This is where you set your time that you want to leave in the infotainment screen and it’ll precondition the car and the battery while its plugged into the home charger. It’s the best way to make the most out of the battery. As I jumped in there car it said it was at 100% and has 259miles of range. Hmmmm even though its spring, yes its still bloomin’ cold in England right now, but I assumed it would’ve been higher than that with the preconditioned battery.
Stage one of my journey was 3.5 hours of M25, M40 & M1 driving until I reached my first charging point. Weirdly all 3 roads had no traffic, this has NEVER happened to me before! Great start! Efficiency wise, well, perfectly ok! 3.3 miles per kWh. For motorway driving! With no traffic! That was in comfort mode and with region breaking turned up to the max. I’ve heard people say that they find the GV60 to be inefficient, but I don’t get where they’re coming from at all. In the six months I’ve had it, its been perfectly fine! It only really dips if I’m in sport mode or trying to win at every traffic light (which is always fun to do). Around country roads id always get 3.8-4.2 miles per kWh, so for 3.3 on a motorway trip, that’s not bad at all.
Charging challenges (but I don't blame the car...)
Okey, first charger. I stopped at an Applegreen 180kW charger at Woodall services, not far from Doncaster. 180kW?…. nope! Nowhere near! 62kW maximum. That’s was 100% a charger issue and not a car issue. Less than half the speed it claims?! That’s not good enough is it? I was there for 50 mins compared to the 20 mins it should’ve been. The genesis can charge fast, I know it can, so bad chargers are quite frustrating sometimes.
You’ll be pleased to know that on. The way back I found an Instavolt 120kW charger and it charged at full speed! HURRAY! A quick wee and a Costa latte (in that order) and I was ready to go again.
But here’s the important bit, did I get a numb bum? Considering I had been driving for seven hours on the Monday, then another seven hours the next day…NO! My bottom was perfectly happy. Such comfy seats. So easy to drive. So satisfying knowing that there’s a click wheel and I don’t have to reach and tap a screen all the time.
Genesis GV60 - the verdict
Overall, I’m fully aware that this is not a cheap car, but is it worth the money? Do you know what? I think it is. Everything worked. No issues. 10,000 miles of comfort cruising, with the occasional heavy footed fun. So yes, I’m gutted to hand it back. If this is a car on your shortlist then absolutely take it for a test drive, I guarantee you’ll love it.
Now onto my next long term test….the BYD Dolphin. Watch this space.