Charging. It’s a core part of the electric car ownership experience and it’s something that, up until now, I’ve only been able to access via the public network. However, I’ve recently had a development which should make life with the Genesis GV60 even easier.
It’s the installation of a new home charger. I’d been pondering the move for ages – a local village 7kW charger had been proving more than handy enough – but it finally felt like time to make the plunge. Not only am I testing an ever-increasing number of electric vehicles, but I feel that in order to get the best from the GV60 I’ll need to be able to plug it in each night.
So with a new Ohme ePod all hooked up to the house, the Genesis experience has transformed overnight. Sure, the village charger was handy enough, but it still meant that I had to walk for 20 minutes back home after I’d dropped the car off. Now, I can simply hook it up and come back to it the next morning fully charged up. I’m about to get set on a new energy tariff which should make things more cost-effective but, given that I’m getting well over 200 miles of range, I’ve been finding that one full charge a week is more than enough for the kind of local journeys I’m often doing.
It also means that the Genesis app is proving even more useful. It’s one of the best car-based smartphone apps that I’ve tried and gives you loads of information about all sorts of things. I can see the rate of charge, how long it’ll take for the batteries to be fully topped up and even where the car is at any given time. I’m also able to remotely lock and unlock it, which has come in handy from time to time.
Speaking of locking and unlocking, I’ve also got the GV60’s face recognition system all set up. It’s all a bit futuristic, in truth; the car required a scan of my face and fingerprint – a bit like you do on some smartphones – and now it’s all plumbed in, I can simply walk up to the side of the car, press a button on the door handle and the car will automatically detect my face and unlock. Once inside, I press my thumb on the in-car scanner and it starts. It still feels a bit nervy leaving the house without a key but I’ve learnt to trust it – it’s very handy when I’m heading to the gym and don’t want the key jangling around in my pockets.
What’s the rest of the GV60 experience like, then? Not bad at all. There’s quite a firm edge to the ride which is making a drive over the potholed roads locally quite wince-inducing, but aside from this, the Genesis feels altogether very pleasant to drive. It’s almost too fast, in truth, and I’d probably opt for the standard GV60 over this Sport+ version to get some more range, but it has worked to shock quite a few passengers who haven’t expected this understated EV to outpace many sports cars.
The build quality is something that really impresses me on a day-to-day basis. It’s rivalling German-made cars inside the GV60, with loads of spot-on materials. The main screen is clear and easy to use, though I’d like to have wireless Android Auto – you can only get it by connecting your phone to the car with a USB cable and that’s something I’m often forgetting.
I have been finding the lack of a rear windscreen wiper a bit of a pain, mind you, particularly how wet the UK has been recently. It’s a common feature on a lot of new EVs – and the latest Polestar 4 doesn’t even have a rear window whatsoever – and while I can see that it helps in terms of both efficiency and styling, on a more practical level it’s just a bit of a pain. I find that wiping the rear window with a cloth and then spraying it down with cleaner does help, but I’m not likely to pull over and do this when I’m travelling along the A34 on a rainy Tuesday.
As the weather improves I’m getting more and more range from the GV60, so I’m looking forward to squeezing every last mile from the battery as the temperatures climb – here’s hoping!