Comments from very senior management gives us hope.
The Hyundai luxury offshoot Genesis has not yet found its footing in markets outside of Korea and North America, and as a result they’re keen to streamline its product offering as much as possible to reduce costs as it breaks into new territories like Australia.
With the G70, a compact rear-driven luxury saloon that would like nothing more than to upset the dominance of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3-Series in this segment, there have been calls to make available a variant with a manual transmission. The G70 has already been confirmed to offer no less than two engines, namely a 3.3-litre biturbo V6 (272kW/510Nm) and a 2.0-litre turbo-4 (190kW/353Nm), though both utilise an eight-speed automatic gearbox as standard in right-hand drive markets.
However, a six-speed manual is available in Korea and the US, which is something that driving enthusiasts sizing up the G70 would definitely want to option on. To that end, our friends at CarAdvice cornered brand VP Manfred Fitzgerald, who had this to say:
“Yes, I know there are talks right now [about offering the 6-speed manual in RHD], so I’ll do my best. I think it’s going to be cool. I drove [the manual G70] and it’s a lot of fun.” — Manfred Fitzgerald, Senior Vice President (Genesis Division), Hyundai Motor Corporation
So while previous official commentary on the matter shot down the possibility of a four-pot manual G70 for countries like ours that drive on the correct side of the road, maybe, just maybe, there’s hope in it yet.
For more information on Genesis, visit the Hyundai showroom.
