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Note: I believe Donald Trump has done unthinkable damage to our country and to our relations with other countries. I was sadly disappointed when Elon Musk supported his run for reelection in spite of Trump getting in bed with fossil fuel companies. Musk’s behavior as leader of the DOGE agency with the goal of cutting government spending was horrifying. Trump is now doing everything he can to negate any clean energy initiatives the country is taking.

However, Musk was more instrumental starting the world’s switch to electric vehicles with Tesla than any other single person. He has also built four huge factories in California, China, Germany, and Texas that build nothing but electric cars that help the revolution continue. He has also been instrumental introducing two other technologies that also help mankind. SpaceX has greatly decreased the cost of space launches by figuring out how to get huge first-stage rocket boosters to land on their tails so that they can be reused instead of dumping them in the ocean. SpaceX has also beaten Boeing by several years in servicing the International Space Station. Additionally, Starlink has used the reduced cost of SpaceX space launches to launch thousands of satellites for a system that enables a global internet service that works anywhere on the planet. In short, Musk has introduced technologies that have been a tremendous benefit to our country and the world. I purchased my Tesla Model 3 long before Musk’s recent behavior and I am still amazed at its technology. I still support those millions of us who have purchased Teslas.

The story: A few weeks ago, my wife was driving our Tesla Model 3 on 6-lane State Street here in Northern Utah. A car coming the opposite direction hit a deer, which it threw under our car before my wife could react. If she was driving a Cybertruck or a big honking Chevy Silverado, there would have been no damage. However, with the low riding aerodynamic Model 3, there was extensive damage to the front bumper (facia), left rocker panel, driver’s door, and the plastic panel under the car, among other things.

My Model 3 is now at Fix Auto, an excellent collision shop in Provo, Utah, that handles Tesla repairs, and my insurance company is covering the cost of a rental. My insurance company uses Enterprise Car Rental Inc. to handle transportation for their customers while repairs are done. I have rented cars on travel recently and I had not made an effort to rent an electric car. Unless it was a Tesla rental, charging could be iffy and how could I make sure that the car had the same state of charge when I returned it. However, this time I could have charged the car in my garage and I am totally familiar with driving electric in my own neighborhood. Unfortunately, after a conversation with Enterprise, they informed me that they had some EVs available at the airport but none available for insurance rentals.

There was a gorgeous 2025 Genesis GV70 with a ¾ full tank already at Fix Auto when I dropped off my Tesla, so Enterprise Car Rental transferred the car to me. I was aware of the Genesis brand but didn’t know that it is from the luxury arm of Hyundai Motors. The car is larger than my Model 3 and has a large automatic liftgate. It also has a display bigger than most but not as big as the one on my Tesla. I has smart cruise (speed control), steering assist, and Apple CarPlay capability. The GV70 also warns you when there is a car beside you or behind you. The rearview camera gives an excellent view on the moderately large display screen.

However, that’s where the pleasure of driving the GV70 ends. It has the following downsides compared to my Tesla Model 3 with Full Self Driving and even compared with my 2018 Nissan Leaf that I owned 8 years ago:

• I couldn’t fill up in my garage, but had to go to a gas station and pay probably 3 times as much for the same miles as I pay with my Model 3 in my garage.
• The smart speed control is pretty dumb. It only works when a car is fewer than 50 feet in front of you. Approaching a car waiting at a stop light at 45 mph, it would plow right into it. If you are following a car 30 feet in front of you, it will stop dead behind it at a light. However, when the car ahead of you accelerates, it requires you to flip a switch or push on the gas pedal to follow. If there is no car in front of you, it won’t stop at the light. Tesla’s FSD was better than this 4 years ago.
• The steering assist is really lame. Even on a straight road, your car wanders in the lane so you are constantly worried that it will sideswipe something. If you come to a moderately sharp curve in the road or a rotary, forget it, the steering assist turns off. My 2018 Nissan Leaf was better and Tesla’s FSD is rock steady in the center of the lane and will perfectly negotiate sharp turns and rotaries.
• Apple CarPlay is very good and it shows well on the moderately large screen. However, it only works when your phone is plugged into the correct USB-A port. This means that you are constantly plugging in and unplugging your phone if you are doing a lot of short errands. The Apple CarPlay controls on my iPhone and the Genesis are inscrutable. It takes quite a bit of fiddling to get it to work.
• The car senses the presence of the key fob and unlocks the driver’s door. However, you need to open the driver’s door or push a button on the key fob to open the other doors.
• Pressing the brake allows you to start the engine, unlike the Tesla which doesn’t require the motor to be started.
• You have to manually lock the car when you leave, unlike the Tesla which locks automatically when you are ~15 ft away from the car.
• You have to keep a hand on the steering wheel to keep steering assist engaged. Not true for Cadillac and Tesla that have a camera looking at your face to ensure that you are looking at the road. For a couple years now, you haven’t had to keep a hand on the wheel in a Tesla with FSD.
• Going up a hill in the GV70 with smart cruise activated, the car automatically downshifts and the engine roars while it valiantly tries to maintain the speed you have set. In my Tesla there are two motors with a total of ~450 hp which let you maintain speed with only a whisper.
• No towbar receiver. I frequently need to transport my e-bikes and I can’t use my bike rack with the Genesis GV70 rental.

Summary

Enterprise Rental and Hyundai Motors offer the GV70 as a luxury replacement for the insurance customer’s vehicle. On the surface the GV70 appears to be a luxury car with the latest technology. However, only a gas car owner who has never driven a Tesla with Full Self Driving is going to be satisfied. Above, I list 11 reasons why I am not satisfied with the rental and wish that Enterprise had offered me the option of renting a Tesla. The most annoying is item #3 above, about the steering assist that is grossly inferior to Tesla’s FSD and is not even as good as the steering assist on my 2018 Nissan Leaf from 8 years ago.

Referral Program: If you find any of my articles helpful to you and you are buying a new Tesla, please use my referral link: https://ts.la/arthur73734 (be sure to use it when you make your order). If you are buying a new Tesla and use my link, you’ll currently receive $1,000 off the purchase price of a Model S or X or Cybertruck, or 3 months of complimentary FSD with a Model 3 or Y.