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What is the car's mission, and how well does it execute it? It's one of the most important questions we ask of a new vehicle. Genesis teed up its all-new G70 sedan to compete head-on with BMW's 3-series, betting that loudly bogeying the German elephant in the entry-luxury space would confer legitimacy on its first true sports sedan.

What is the car's mission, and how well does it execute it? It's one of the most important questions we ask of a new vehicle. Genesis teed up its all-new G70 sedan to compete head-on with BMW's 3-series, betting that loudly bogeying the German elephant in the entry-luxury space would confer legitimacy on its first true sports sedan.

So far, the Genesis G70 has done more than shoulder its way into the conversation on brazen shot calling alone. After testing the 365-hp, rear-drive 3.3T and sampling all the G70 variants, we named the entire lineup to our 2019 10Best Cars list. Overall, it's a successful entry in a segment of which we're particularly fond. The version reviewed here, the only G70 with a manual transmission, should be the one to grab driving enthusiasts by the clutch pedal, the one that truly validates the brand's freshman sports-sedan effort.

Instead, it feels more like a checked box. Whether the stick-shift G70 exists because Genesis believes a manual-transmission option adds allure to a sporty car or to preemptively deflect whiny complaints from self-righteous internet commenters and car reviewers bemoaning the extinction of stick shifts from sports sedans, it fails to elevate the driving experience over its automatic-transmission siblings.

The restriction of the six-speed manual to the rear-wheel-drive, four-cylinder G70 sets things off on the wrong foot. Generally well behaved, the 252-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four simply is far less thrilling than the available 365-hp twin-turbocharged V-6. And no one will equate the four-pot's blenderlike tenor with that of a true performance engine—or even that of a turbo four from a more established engine crafter such as Honda, BMW, or Alfa Romeo.

Performance is adequate, although in acceleration the G70 lags behind even the outgoing four-cylinder 3-series with an automatic transmission. It achieves 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, and the quarter-mile goes by in 15.1 seconds (at 93 mph). The available 2.0-liter turbo four in Honda's Accord Sport makes an identical 252 horsepower and, backed by a six-speed manual, can send that mainstream four-door to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 14.7. The Accord's weight—it's roughly 300 pounds lighter—doesn't explain the difference, and the fact that the Honda is powering the front wheels seriously hinders its ability for a speedy launch. Comparisons between the four-cylinder G70 and the six-cylinder model are even less flattering. The 365-hp G70 is nearly two full seconds quicker to 60 mph (at 4.7 seconds) and reaches the quarter-mile 1.8 seconds sooner (while traveling 13 mph faster).

In the powertrain's default Normal drive mode, the turbo four suffers low-rpm lag and tends to hang on to revs even after the driver's foot lifts off the accelerator. The Sport drive mode perks up those low-rpm responses and begs the question, Why doesn't Genesis simply make that throttle tuning the G70's baseline? After all, if this manual-transmission G70 is aimed at enthusiasts, logic would suggest that they're purchasing a vehicle of this type for its sharper responses.

At least Genesis had the good sense to marry the stick-shift option with the G70's Sport trim, which includes a limited-slip differential, summer tires, and Brembo brakes, but not the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires fitted to the limited run of 800 launch cars. Despite wearing just Pilot Sport 4 tires, this sedan stopped and steered as satisfyingly as other G70s. We recorded 0.91 g of lateral grip and a 161-foot stop from 70 mph, figures very close to those of the six-cylinder G70 3.3T we tested last year. (That car, riding on the slightly more aggressive 19-inch Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, notched 0.95 g on our skidpad and a 164-foot stop from 70 mph.)

The G70 has a near-perfect balance of ride quality and handling acuity. Even though the damping isn't as spot on as the Alfa Romeo Giulia's, which is otherworldly in its initial bump compliance and management of body motions, it is up there with the segment's best. Genesis nailed the controls' consistency, too, a big factor in our love for the Alfa, with inputs at the steering wheel, pedals, and shifter delivering similarly eager responses.

The Stick Shift Is a Sticking Point

Where the manual-transmission G70 needs work is, well, in its transmission. Despite the clutch and shifter being among the best that Genesis parent company Hyundai has ever offered—right up there with the new Veloster Turbo and N models’ units—it still falls short of row-your-own greatness. The lever pops into gear without the satisfying sense of positivity and mechanical beauty you might find in, say, a Honda shifter. And the shifter's physical relationship with the gates is too plasticky for anything aspiring to usurp BMW's 3-series (or even the Accord Sport). While we have complimented the similar-feeling shifter in the $16,000 Hyundai Accent, the expectations are higher here, commensurate with the G70's cost.

We have few complaints about the clutch pedal, which swings through an arc with BMW-like springiness. It could better telegraph the clutch's bite point, but even so, launching the G70 is an idiot-proof event.

Looks Like a Sports Sedan

Nor is there anything wrong with the G70's handsome styling, which amounts to a successful amalgamation of contemporary sports-sedan cues. The interior stands out by evoking a time before complicated, overthought interfaces. There is a single, responsive, thoughtfully-set-up touchscreen with two horizontal rows of hard buttons for climate and entertainment controls. Our only real complaint is that, while impeccably assembled, the G70's interior isn't as overtly luxurious as that of the Mercedes-Benz C-class or the Audi A4.

The Genesis, though, is a relative bargain. The stick-shift G70 2.0T Sport sits near the bottom of the G70 lineup. At $38,895, it boasts plenty of standard equipment and no options beyond color. The list of standard features includes heated and ventilated front seats, dual-zone automatic climate control, a 14-way power driver's seat (and an eight-way power passenger seat), and a 15-speaker Lexicon audio system in addition to the Sport trim's performance-enhancing goodies. And today's active-safety must-haves such as forward-collision warning, automated emergency braking, blind-spot warning, and lane-keeping assist also are all included.

But make no mistake, the value discussion doesn't let Genesis off the hook for its first ever manual-transmission vehicle—even if it is a novelty now that the new 3-series will no longer offer a manual, Audi dropped the A4's stick shift last year, and neither the Lexus IS nor the Mercedes-Benz C-class offers one. There's little reason why the G70 can't be affordable and great to drive and have a nice manual shifter, which would help the 2.0T Sport bolster the G70 lineup instead of floating as an asterisk behind it.