The era of manual transmissions has seen a decline in popularity, with even electric vehicles outselling three-pedaled models in 2019. This seemed to signal the fading days of this traditional yet captivating transmission style. Nevertheless, the manual sedan persists, refusing to fade away silently; it will fight against the waning light for at least one more year, thanks to Genesis and its G70 sedan.
In the 2021 model year, the Genesis G70 will maintain its optional, class-exclusive six-speed manual transmission that customers can choose with the 2.0-liter engine instead of an eight-speed automatic. This information was verified by the Environmental Protection Agency’s database for vehicle fuel economy, listing the manual 2.0-liter G70 as part of the brand’s 2021 lineup. Currently, only the fuel economy ratings for the 2.0-liter 2021 G70 have been released, with details on other 2021 G70 variants, as well as the larger G80 sedan, G90 sedan, and GV80 crossover, yet to appear in the EPA database.
fueleconomy.gov
With the arrival of the 2022 model year, the G70 will undergo a mid-cycle update to align its appearance with the rest of the Genesis lineup. There are expectations for a station wagon concept based on the refreshed G70 to be revealed in 2021, although the future of the six-speed transmission post-refresh remains uncertain. While there is no confirmation of its discontinuation yet, given its limited popularity, it would not be surprising if Genesis decides to remove this less sought-after powertrain option.
The Drive reached out to Genesis for a statement regarding the future of manual transmissions in its lineup, and we will provide updates as soon as we receive a response.
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h/t: Motortrend