In October, Genesis unveiled the urban luxury SUV GV70. It has received a lot of attention for its luxury and dynamic design. In particular, the unconventional interior elements indeed drew a lot of attention. How was GV70's interior design born? Here’s what Kim Chung-won, a senior researcher at the Genesis Design Team, had to say about the charm and designing process of the interior.
The interior of the GV70 was completed under the Genesis’ design theme, ‘Athletic Elegance'.
Q. GV70 has received a lot of attention for its innovative interior. What is the concept of interior design, and where did you get your inspiration from?
The interior design of the Genesis GV70 was completed under the Genesis’ design theme, 'Athletic Elegance'. As it is the sportiest SUV among Genesis models, it also contains dynamic design elements in the interior. The interior was inspired by the simple and organic shape of the aerodynamic design of the aircraft. The interior designed to surround the driver creates a sporty atmosphere while securing a sense of space.
Q. A unique design elements from the GV80 clearly stand out. What are the unique features of the interior?
The biggest difference is the sporty sensibility that matches the powerful driving performance. The GV70 is smaller in body size than the GV80, but it looks more sleek and dynamic; this is well reflected in the interior. For example, the crash pad (dashboard) of the GV70 is designed in a driver-oriented structure to maximize the sporty driving sensibility. In addition, it contains the beauty of the white space and luxurious atmosphere that Genesis aims for, through its simple yet beautiful structure and volume.
The independent driver's seat and the passenger seat with voluptuous curves simultaneously realize the beauty of white space and a sporty image.
Q. What attempts have you made to realize the beauty of white space and sporty image at the same time?
The beauty of white space and the sporty image is the most striking features of the GV70 interior. For the harmony of the two, we designed the cabin to maximize the simple molding and emotional volume. For example, the crash pad has a driver-centered structure to emphasize the sporty driving sensibility, but the rest of the passenger space is composed simply yet beautifully. The console also has a floating structure that separates the driver's seat from the passengers'. The armrests of both doors have dynamic design elements just like those between the body and the wing of an airplane. On the other hand, a slim air vent that covers the entire cabin maximizes the visual space.
The slim air vent that runs horizontally across the interior is a key design element of Genesis.
Q. Are there key design elements of the Genesis brand, too?
The arrangement of the digital instrument cluster, wide display, and the shape and position of the various controllers would be the iconic design elements of the Genesis brand. It is optimized for the user convenience that we learned through GV80. The slim air vent that extends horizontally is also one of Genesis' signature design elements. And in GV70, the visual effect was further emphasized with a silver line. In addition, it is designed to maintain the design identity and architecture of the Genesis brand; so that the luxury and dynamic looks do not change over time.
Different oval designs are one of the characteristic design elements, by carving a large sphere in a sophisticated way.
Q. The oval shape commonly applied to the interior looks quite attractive. What are the characteristics of oval molding and what does it mean?
The beauty of white space comes from the empty space left over, after using letters, drawings, or objects. In order to emphasize the beauty of this white space, we tried to find a simple yet unique format, and as a result, we used an oval shape for the interior to stimulate the formative beauty. This oval design is the most characteristic shape in the GV70 interior. The oval design, which naturally emerges when a large sphere is elaborately carved out, expresses an elegant and pure formative beauty and also gives a sense of unity throughout the interior.
Throughout the cabin, the elliptical design elements highlight the elegant and pure form.
Q. What did you consider when applying oval molding to the right places?
Genesis' design philosophy is to show an easy design format so that anyone can easily understand. And based on this philosophy, the simple shape of the crash pad was cut around the driver, and as a result, a unique oval design was born. These oval forms house both simplicity and dynamic looks, and effectively express the image GV70 pursues.
The GV70 cockpit is full of design elements with a high-tech image, such as a 14.5-inch wide display and climate control on the center fascia.
Q. What are the high-tech image and emotional elements that the driver can experience?
The interior of the GV70 is full of elements that allow you to enjoy cutting-edge technology. The 14.5-inch wide display located at the top of the center fascia, the Genesis integrated controller that recognizes fingerprints, and the dial-type electronic transmission (Shift-By-Wire, hereinafter SBW) are the key interior elements that feature a high-tech image. In addition, a modern seamless black hidden display is applied to the climate control on the center fascia, maximizing concise and luxurious sensitivity and driver's convenience.
The dial-type electronic transmission (SBW) and the Genesis integrated controller remind us of finely crafted jewels.
In addition, GV70 enhances the sense of luxury by completing the delicate design with an emotional design. The SBW and Genesis integrated controller on the center console reminds us of elaborately crafted jewels, and the mood lighting applied to the center fascia enhances the oval design elements, which is the unique sculpting of the GV70.
The intuitive and convenient climate control of GV70 was made possible using hybrid touch technology.
Q. The interior of a car should also consider aesthetic factors and utility. Are there ergonomic design elements reflected in the interior of the GV70?
GV70 definitely satisfies Genesis' technical design standards, while reflecting Genesis' design theme as much as possible; and at the same time, we put a lot of effort into the ergonomic design in order to provide a convenient user interface. A good example is climate control; GV70 realized a luxurious and high-tech image at the same time, by offering a touch display and buttons. In addition, a hybrid touch button was applied for intuitive control while driving. For better accuracy, the hybrid touch button works only when the user touches and pushes the button at the same time, providing a sophisticated image and convenient use.
In order to secure enough space, the GV70 lowered the seat height and allocated passenger space at an optimal ratio.
Q. What are the characteristics of the GV70's interior space?
The GV70 offers a pleasant interior space in a low body and dynamic proportions. First of all, it secured a wide passenger space through optimal interior space allocation. GV70 offers overhead space by lowering the seating ground clearance (height of the seat cushion) and realized sedan-like comfort. In addition, the visual sense of space was maximized by reinforcing the connection between the crash pad and the door in the front seat.
The reclining (backrest) angle of the rear seats was enhanced, and the width of the backrest was widened to allow passengers to take a comfortable posture. In addition, it can be seen that in the armrests designed to look concave in secure space; Genesis carefully considered even for small things.
The GV70 sports package maximizes sporty sensibility by applying an exclusive steering wheel and interior trim.
Q. What attempts have you made to express the sporty sensibility unique to the sports package?
The GV70 sports package highlights the steering wheel and interior trim to enhance a sporty sensibility. In the case of the sports steering wheel, Genesis' luxurious crest grille design is applied to the horn cover to emphasize the brand image of Genesis, and the silver trim surrounding it maximizes elegance and sportiness. In addition, the steering wheel control buttons are applied with hybrid touch buttons to deliver a high-tech feel. You can feel the sporty feeling even on the pedals with metal materials and G-Matrix pattern.
The cabin of the GV70 sports trim has a dynamic yet luxurious sensibility.
Above all, the biggest attraction of the GV70 interior is that, depending on the trim, it provides both a sporty and luxurious sensibility. GV70 expands the range of customer choices and reflects the preferences of customers, through a simple and modern general trim and a sports package trim with a dynamic and sporty atmosphere. We hope that you can experience both the dynamic and luxurious sensibility that many customers expect from the GV70 interior space.