RIP, Genesis G70 Manual Transmission
Photo: Genesis
In North America, it’s getting harder and harder to find vehicles equipped with manual transmissions — and now the 2021 Genesis G70 is making that task even more of a challenge.
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According to recent reports, stick-shift aficionados will most likely be out of luck if they want to row their own gears in the award-winning sport sedan. The manual G70 isn’t officially gone for 2021, but it might as well be.
Genesis told The Drive that a tiny number of manual-equipped 2021 G70 models might be available, but they’ll be extremely hard to find. For the 2022 model year, the manual G70 will be formally discontinued.
For 2020, the G70 was available with a six-speed manual transmission, but it could only be paired with rear-wheel drive and the model’s standard 255-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo engine and not its more muscular twin-turbo V6. The manual G70 also came equipped with performance features like sport exhaust, a limited-slip differential, and Brembo brakes.
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Photo: Genesis
Ultimately, the decision to discontinue the manual G70 was an easy one for Genesis. Although the premium brand did its best to make the model attractive to enthusiasts, CarBuzz reports that fewer than 100 of them were sold for the 2020 model year. The vast majority of Genesis customers simply prefer the G70’s eight-speed automatic transmission.
With the demise of the manual G70, stick-equipped cars are becoming even more of a rarity. Other than a few BMW and Porsche sports-car models, manual transmissions have almost entirely disappeared from the lineups of Genesis’ luxury competitors.
Customers hoping to get behind the wheel of the 2021 Genesis G70 should have a chance to do so soon. The G70 is rumored to be in line for a facelift, but it’s not clear whether that will happen for the 2021 or 2022 model year. Either way, one thing is clear — it won’t be available with a manual transmission.
A longtime editor/writer and recently transplanted Hoosier, Caleb Cook lives in Xenia, Ohio. His favorite activities are reading and listening to music, although he occasionally emerges from the heap of books and vinyl records in his basement to stand blinking in the sunlight. Once fully acclimated to the outside world again, he can be observed hanging out with his wife, attempting a new recipe in the kitchen, attending movies, walking the dog, or wandering into a local brewery to inquire about what’s on tap. See more articles by Caleb.