Last updated on April 8th, 2020 at 08:23 pm
Performance
The sense that this is a sensible family saloon is sealed when you get behind the wheel of the Ioniq. It does have three modes to suit different driving moods – Eco, Normal and Sport. Hyundai claims a 0-62mph time of 9.9 seconds in Sport mode, which isn’t exactly hot-hatch-quick, but acceptable. This drops a little to 10.3 seconds in Normal mode, and presumably a bit further in Eco mode, although Hyundai doesn’t say by how much. In practice, you can sense quite a bit more acceleration urgency with Sport compared to Eco, but this is more from the immediacy of action when you hit the accelerator. In practice, this isn’t a particularly quick EV, although the top speed is a reasonable 103mph.
Overall, the driving experience is pleasant enough, with relatively precise steering and the smooth response that is characteristic of a pure EV. The response does feel a bit muted in Eco and Normal modes. The regenerative braking makes the brake pedal feel a bit soft. You can choose three different levels of this, but whichever you select you will need to stamp hard to stop, although you can alter the regenerative braking on the fly with the steering wheel paddles, which is a bit odd if you’re used to using these for gear changes.
Running Costs
We’ve already mentioned that this car is a bit more expensive than you would expect for its specification, and it’s more expensive to insure than previous versions too. The Premium and Premium SE are insurance groups 21 and 22 respectively, similar to the entry-level LEAF. However, these are considerably higher than the Hybrid or Plug-In Ioniq versions, and notably higher than the previous generation, which was 16 and 17 for the two trim levels respectively. The five-year unlimited mileage warranty is on par with other EVs, with a service interval of one year or 10,000 miles. However, the battery has an eight-year warranty with a 125,000-mile limit.
However, compared to fossil-fuel vehicle, the Ioniq still benefits from zero benifit-in-kind (BiK) as a company car like any EV. Over a three-year period of having the Ioniq Premium as a company car, a 40 per cent taxpayer would only be looking at a tax bill of £395.40 in total for a car registered in 2020-21, compared to over £10K for a fossil-fuel equivalent, and a 20 per cent taxpayer would be charged half that.
Range
Hyundai claims the 38KW battery gives a range of 194 miles, but during testing we discovered that 160-170 miles is more realistic for everyday driving. That will be a bit more in practice than the latest Nissan LEAF. However, that’s the basic LEAF, which is around £6,000 cheaper than the Ioniq Electric. The LEAF e+ is similarly priced and has both a longer range and greater performance, making the Ioniq look expensive in comparison.
Using a 7kW charger, which includes the plug-in home unit, you can fill the battery up in six hours and five minutes. However, the Ioniq also supports 50kW fast chargers, which will supply 80 per cent capacity in just 57 minutes. The basic LEAF is a little faster for the latter, and the e+ supports 100kW chargers as well, although good luck finding one at the moment.
Safety
You get a decent level of safety features as standard with the Premium, including front, front side, curtain and driver’s knee airbags. The E-call system calls emergency services automatically if the airbags have been deployed. The ABS has autonomous emergency braking, there’s electronic stability control as standard and Hill-start Assist Control. When motorway driving, Lane Departure Warning will tell you when you're straying from your course, whilst Lane Keep Assist will help you stay on it. There’s tyre pressure monitoring with individual tyre pressure displays. This is a five star NCAP-rated vehicle for crash safety, too. The SE adds a Blind Spot Detection system, Lane Follow Assist, and Rear Cross Traffic Alert.
Discussion about this post