The Genesis G70 sports sedan will lose its manual transmission option for the 2022 model year as part of a planned mid-cycle refresh.
While 2022 will be the official end of its 6-speed manual, the chances of finding a 2021 G70 manual "will be very slim," according to Genesis spokesman Kevin Smith. The only available cars will likely be ones "already in the pipeline," Smith said, "which could be zero."
The 6-speed manual transmission is only available with the base 252-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4, and only with rear-wheel drive. If you want all-wheel drive or the 365-hp 3.3-liter twin-turbo V-6, an 8-speed automatic is already mandatory.
2022 Genesis G70 facelift spy shots - Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Genesis chose to eliminate the manual option due to slow sales, according to Road & Track, which reported that the Hyundai luxury brand only sold around 100 manual cars for the 2020 model year. That's around 0.8% of total G70 sales in its 2019 launch year.
The 2022 G70 is expected to get updated styling to bring it in line with Genesis' current design language, already used on the G80 sedan and the GV80 crossover. The changes will include Genesis' quad-element lighting theme, with each light cluster visually split into four individual elements front and rear, as well as a large pentagonal grille.
In addition to the refreshed G70, Genesis is working on two crossovers that likely will be smaller than the GV80. One may be the GV70, which will serve as a crossover counterpart to the G70 in Genesis' model hierarchy. A mid-size coupe and compact hatchback are also expected, possibly with battery-electric powertrains.
