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Will facial scanners and fingerprint readers replace the humble car key? That’s the question posed by the Genesis GV60, which is the first car in the world to be sold with both biometric security systems fitted as standard.

I briefly tried the facial scanner at a car show when the technology was launched in 2023. But now that I’m living with a Genesis GV60 for six months, I felt it was time to give the system a proper workout.

The feature is called Face Connect and it works in a similar way to the facial scanners that most of us use to unlock our smartphones. Then, once you’re in the car, a fingerprint reader (pictured above) is used to confirm your identity again, and only then will the car start.

Configuring

I’ll admit, the system was set up for me by the nice gentleman at Genesis who delivered the GV60 to my home. Actually, that wasn’t just politeness. The setup process required both car keys to be present, and since journalists are only given one key, it was now or never.

With both keys in the car, it’s a matter of navigating to the Face Connect system on the dashboard’s touchscreen, then getting out and looking at the camera. Located on the driver’s side B-pillar just behind the door, the camera is accompanied by a set of LED lights that spin in circles and flash different colors to indicate its status.

Of course, the system failed to scan my face correctly on the first try – and during those few painful seconds, you better believe I felt a little silly, staring at the side of my car, with passers-by wondering what the hell I was doing. . Fortunately, it worked on the second try; I stood a little closer this time, giving the camera a better view and further convincing my neighbors that I had indeed lost ground.

Face saved (you can add up to four people), it was time to go in and register the fingerprint. The small circular reader is located on the center console. Placing your finger on it feels (and looks) much more natural than looking at the B-pillar, that’s for sure. As with a smartphone, you have to repeatedly press your finger on the sensor until a full scan of the print is performed. Anyway that’s it, I can now unlock, start and lock my GV60, all without a key – and without a phone, as this car also has an app that works as a key. More on that next month.

Does Genesis Face Connect really work?

Yeah, no, but – confession time – after I completed the setup and said a cheerful goodbye to the delivery driver, I had no idea how to lock the car without a key. Maybe it locks itself when you exit and close the door? I did that, left…and came back an hour later to find the car was still unlocked. Whoops!

No harm done, and a quick Google search confirmed that you have to touch a button on the driver’s door and look at the camera to lock the car as well as unlock it.

Lesson learned, I’ve used Face Connect a few times since then, but I’m still not convinced it’s a true replacement for wearing a keychain. It’s not as fast as an iPhone’s FaceID system, and just today I had two failures on two separate occasions before it finally unlocked the car. With such a simple interface – a room surrounded by lights that turn red when they fail – it’s hard to understand what went wrong. Was I too close? Was it affected by the rain on the lens? I don’t know.

As I write this, I’m sitting in my car at a public charger. The key is at home, and my phone isn’t (yet) set up to act as a replacement, so I’m relying entirely on biometrics. It’s clever technology, but I’m honestly not sure what problem it solves. Normally, leaving the car fob at home would mean leaving my house keys too, as they are attached. Since I don’t have a smart lock, leaving the keys behind is a one-way trip to call a locksmith for help.

The fob doesn’t take up space in my pocket, which is nice, but it’s often in my backpack or my pocket already has my house keys in it, so there’s little to gain. I saw a post on the GV60 owners forum about a driver who liked being able to move his car in and out of the garage without getting the key first. A nice little perk, but hardly life-changing, and perhaps a useful reminder that this feature is free on all GV60 models. It’s a nice thing, but it doesn’t offer enough to be worth paying a premium for.

Trial and error

It’s hard to tell exactly where to sit when looking at the camera. I’ve found that it often fails twice (alarmingly when you’re away from home, as I am as I write this), then works on the third try. I moved a little closer, then a little to the right, then to the left, and finally it worked.

Besides looking a little weird, you’ll also start to look like a car thief looking for his next target. At least that’s how it felt, with my finger on the doorknob, seemingly peering through the tinted glass at what goodies might be lurking inside. You’ll also look a bit silly blocking it if it doesn’t work the first time.

The fingerprint sensor is much more reliable and so far has failed on the first try maybe five percent of the time. It once hung me up after a few failed print reads, pictured above, and asked me to wait a minute before trying again. Since the key was at home and I had a flight to catch in a few hours, this minute sure felt like a long one.

I’m willing to live with the occasional hiccup, and every time I unlock my GV60 with my fingerprint, I feel like I’ve protected the machine with an extra layer of security. Living in London, where car theft is a common occurrence, it’s hard to put a price on it.

Finally, housekeeping. After two months with the GV60, I’ve driven almost 700 miles and, like last month, the average efficiency remains at 3.0 miles per kWh.