What We Learned After Testing a BMW M3 Over 40,000 Miles | Car and Drive

Welcome to Car and Driver. You might be familiar with our long-term test. But if you aren't, it's where we test a vehicle for around a year or so and aim to put on 40,000 miles. This aggressive driving cycle includes cross-country road trips and driving in real Michigan winters. It should tell you what your new car is like to live with every day and highlight any potential issues you might experience during the first few years of ownership. We did just that with this 2022 Genesis GV70. In this video, we're going to go over what it was like to live with, what we liked, what we didn't like, and what you should expect if you were to buy one. We skipped the base turbocharged four-cylinder because why have 300 horsepower when you can get 375 courtesy of a twin-turbo V6? Now, the engine upgraded also included other features like adaptive suspension, a leather interior, and a panoramic sunroof. But on top of that, we also got the Sport Prestige package that added 21-inch wheels and electronically controlled limited-slip differential, among other features. Now, while Genesis has plenty of interesting colors to pick from, this car was built during the great supply shortage of a few years back, so we had to settle on this white color, which still cost $500. Altogether, this car's as-tested price was around $64,000. Driving this car from Michigan to California and back and all around the rest of the country, that money buys you an exceptionally competent luxury SUV, one that's very happy putting on a lot of miles. It's quick, too. When we first got this, we recorded 60 miles an hour acceleration in 4.6 seconds. And at the end of our test, that increased to 5 seconds. Like any modern fun-to-drive vehicle, there are a ton of drive modes, from throttle sensitivity to exhaust sound. You can even adjust the brake sensitivity, although we didn't notice much of a difference when going through those modes. But overall, to set the expectations appropriately with regard to driving dynamics, one editor said it best when they said that this was exactly halfway between a Porsche Macan and a Lexus RX. And let's face it, that's a happy balance for most drivers out there. The adaptive dampers balance ride quality really nicely, despite having 21-inch wheels. And we also appreciate, too, that after a long drive, after a couple hours behind the wheel, the seat massage function comes on automatically to just re-engage you. These are 16-way adjustable seats, by the way. And they also do a pretty good job of holding you in place, as much as you can expect from, again, this kind of luxury SUV. As for fuel economy, we averaged 20 mpg over the course of our test, which is 1 mpg shy of the EPA combined average. Some astute viewers might notice that we attached a trailer hitch and did some towing. In fact, one of our team members even drove this from California back to Michigan with a U-Haul attached. And while they only got 13 mpg, that trip didn't significantly affect our overall average. The real highlight is the interior, which still looks fantastic, even at the end of our test. Genesis really swung for the fences here. One comment in the logbook said that this is a $100,000 interior in a $60,000 vehicle. Other praise the detailing and, quote, the artistry of the design. What's crucial to point out, though, that this is a really nice-looking interior that still retains physical switchgear. Let that be a note to other automakers out there. You don't need to sacrifice usability to get high style, because here you get both of them. We have two very small annoyances, though, that I'll point out because, for lack of anything major, one is that the dial that controls the touchscreen, this guy right here, and the dial that controls the transmission right here, they're too similar in size and too close together. So there were a couple of people on staff who accidentally grabbed one when they meant to grab the other. Nothing ever bad came of it. It's something you could learn if you own the vehicle. And the screen still works as a touchscreen, so you can largely ignore this dial. That's fine. The other complaint was that there's no wireless Apple CarPlay. That's it. Another feature worth covering is this smart posture care system, where what you do is you enter in your measurements, your height, your inseam, and your weight into the ranges that they give you on this display here. And when you hit posture analysis, it looks at your current seating position and then suggests a seating position that's more appropriate to what it thinks it should be based off your measurements. My personal experience and a couple of the people on the team found that it misses more than it hits. But I guess if you're not sure about where to start with when it comes to seat adjustment, this isn't a bad baseline to start from. Something to note about the exterior design. Most people on staff really liked the way the GB70 looked. But this swoopy tail end can limit cargo space, but not by a whole lot. In fact, it's a really small amount. When we did our standardized interior measurements, we were able to fit seven carry-ons behind the rear seat back. And that matches what we were able to get out of the comparatively boxier BMW X3. Just know that a vehicle like the Cadillac XT5, that can fit 10. The maintenance side of the story is pretty uninteresting. Well, we had one moment where the GB70 went to some kind of reduced power mode, but we were never able to reproduce it, and it never happened again. We went to five service visits for oil changes, oil filter changes, tire rotations, that kind of stuff. Together, that cost us $700. But because Genesis covers service for the first three years for 36,000 miles, we only had to pay $98 for the last visit. The only other thing we had to pay for out of pocket was a set of wiper blades for $50. Totally uninteresting, but that's kind of what you want with your new car. Same story goes for winter. We installed the set of factory-sized Michelin Cross Climate IIs, and that set us back, or that would set you back about a little bit less than $1,400 if you were to do that now. We installed those tires on the factory 21-inch wheels, and it's worth pointing out that these 21-inch wheels survived a year and 40,000 miles of Michigan roads. That's impressive, especially for us and our history with long-term vehicles. I will point out, though, that these wheels do have some rash. That's our fault. But what isn't is there's some clear coat peeling on these wheels, that two of the four wheels. You can see it right here. Also, the trim around the windows is looking pretty haggard. We went to the dealership to ask them why this is. They told us the issue with the wheels is that we drive through car washes too many times, too frequently, and the chemicals cause that damage. I don't buy that answer. And if we were keeping this vehicle longer, we'd be pursuing replacements for all this stuff under Genesis's very generous five-year, 50,000-mile warranty. If this report was unsurprising and maybe a little bit boring, remember that's a good thing with a new vehicle, especially a luxury SUV like the GV70. This thing easily passed our test, aside from a few minor cosmetic issues. In fact, our main takeaway is that, well, from evaluating other versions of the GV70, you probably don't need to get this top-spec sport prestige like this. The entire lineup is strong throughout. And that's exactly what makes it an MVP.