‘It’s got everything you want and more!’

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The Genesis GV70 (which, starting at £39,450, is the Korean marques’ leading seller) is a mid-size SUV that attracts the eye both outside and in its interior.

Particularly in the spacious cabin, there are so many touches that illustrate what can be achieved by, well, artists of design. My favourites are the door panel appliqués, repeated on the central console.

Of course, most cars current in 2022 have also benefited from the talents of individuals and teams; Genesis as a company is right up there in this respect.

So: comfortable, too. Yes, very. Given softly-firm seats; a supple ride that copes with even the worst surfaces, and makes the car feel super-strong; and a particularly quiet ambience, the GV70 is well on the way to proving to be a highly satisfactory purchase.

As a driver’s car to enjoy, the test car’s 2.2-litre, 207 bhp )diesel engine gives plenty enough oomph off the line — 0-62 in 7.6 seconds is almost surprisingly brisk. (The GV70 is also available with a 2.5-litre petrol turbo engine that really does go some: 62 mph in 5.4 seconds.)

Stopping power is equally impressive, with the brakes pulling up from high speed smoothly and progressively. With imperceptible 8-speed auto gear-changes, the basics are complete to a very high standard.

Drive modes are Eco, Comfort, Sport and Sport+; this last includes Launch Control. Do we really need it? I suppose given that it’s not so difficult to build in, why not?

All-Terrain mode is what it says, but I had no chance to try it out. The car is all-wheel-drive with an electronic limited-slip differential and electronically controlled suspension. Let’s hope that all these electronics continues to be as reliable as can be expected in a product of the Korean car industry.

Pottering along in town, the diesel GV70 is smooth and almost silent; at 70-plus it’s much the same: negligible wind noise and (on the test car’s Michelin tyres) quite well-muted road noise at 70 mph. Even so, the harsh surfaces on parts of the M25 created enough noise to drown out the satnav voice guidance.

The steering wheel has a nice smooth, softish feel which sort-of sets the tone, as though the rest of the cabin follows: refined and pleasant to travel in; and so it is.

The steering itself had some autonomy and you can feel it helping if you stray too far off line. This might prove a touch disconcerting to anyone who’s not experienced; I, for one, have learnt to appreciate it as a useful safety feature…in fact, one of the many driver aids on board.

The latest in-car technology includes the two main instruments, the speedo and rev-counter becoming rear-view cameras for, respectively, the left- and right-turn indicators: as well as having the rear-view mirrors, you get the rearward view from a lower perspective. In theory, this could prove useful if something is particularly close in to you, but, generally in my week in the car, it wasn’t necessary apart from keeping my eyes in a more forward direction as I turned whichever way; at speed on motorways, the camera picked up less than the mirror; for instance, in daylight, the headlights of following cars. However, it’s at all not a bad idea and does hint at the thought that’s gone into Genesis design. The mirrors all auto-dim at night.

Indeed, there are a plethora of features aiming to make life easier for driver and passengers and more controlled for the driver. Lots of these are standard issue in premium cars (although they don’t all have, for example, both heated and ventilated front seats for driver and passenger), against which the GV70 competes. Worth mentioning is that all the minor controls for these are a pleasure to use and look attractive…once again a nudge to the perception that so much detailed thought is evident in this car.

Fuel consumption indicated at the end of my 480 miles in all traffic conditions was 37.9mpg; the official WLTP figure is 38-40 mpg. I had a best of 47mpg on one hundred-mile, predominantly motorway, journey. The range, thanks to the 17.4-gallon fuel tank, could approach 600 miles.

As a load carrier, it has what you’d expect: a decent-sized boot with some underfloor spare compartments where in the good old days the spare wheel would have been.

The tailgate opens via the key fob and is closed by a switch…of course.

Into the New Year, test drives were available in the London and the South East, Bristol, and Leeds areas. Genesis says that its continuing expansion is rapid.

Owners benefit from the Genesis 5X5 care plan, all free of charge. This includes, for five years: a warranty; scheduled servicing; roadside assistance; over-the-air updates; and a free courtesy car of at least the same specification…Genesis uses transporters for this.

The test car was in Havana Brown — given the mixed reaction I got from people observing the car, maybe it should have been called Marmite Brown!

All-in-all, Genesis offers a novel, exciting even, experience, both in the purchase and ownership of its cars, but, most importantly, an excellent, stylish product in the first place.