Hyundai has just come up with the Ioniq which will spearhead its campaign in the burgeoning EV space. However, while the new Ioniq comes across as a decent packaged EV in the midsized segment, critics are divided if the car is exciting enough to warrant its £29,000 price tag, before government incentives factor in.
Power, Range, and Braking:
First off, the Ioniq with its 118bhp power and 218Ib ft of torque rating can do the 0 - 62 mph run in a shade below 10 seconds. That makes it quite a decent city performer. Power delivery is smooth and silent though the feel-good factor here gets nullified by road noise that makes it to the cabin. Wind noise too can be a concern with most of its pilfering into the interior.
Range cited is 174 miles though much like fuel efficiency, more here is always welcome. The Ioniq also features regenerative braking with the energy saved here further add to the range. That said, the regenerative aspect does need some getting used to given that it is nowhere near as linear as say the Nissan Leaf. For instance, higher settings that would allow for greater energy saving also leads to sudden braking and so on.
Also, while still on brakes, that's another area of concern if it can be so said. As Autocar reported, initial response might be sharp but might need to be pressed really hard to introduce appreciable deceleration.
Driving:
First things first, the Ioniq has never been designed to thrill with its speed. Rather, it's largely a city commuter and is more suited to those who are more oriented towards achieving efficiency. Perhaps that also explains the use of what Autocar referred to as economy-biased tyres that might be well off during moderate driving but needs assistance on a wet surface.
Interiors:
If its familiar territory here then that's because the dashboard seems to have been taken directly from the Tuscon. An 8-inch touchscreen serves as the infotainment system while overall, the switches and gears seem well sorted out.
As a nice touch, the usual gear selector has been replaced with switches for the Park, Neutral, Drive/Reverse functionality. On the whole, it is roomy and cheery on the inside with enough storage spaces around.
Conclusion:
The Ioniq is much like the Toyota Corolla which is not the most exciting car to drive but still appeals with is reliability and endurance. And this factor did ensure the Corolla has a sizeable fan following of its own. The Ioniq too can emerge to be the same though that would also depend on how Hyundai markets the car as well.
At £29,000, the Ioniq does not come cheap either. It is also not the best option in the price range with other petrol or diesel versions often offering more for the buck. That said, the Ioniq has its own positives, the primary being that its electric driven. As such, there are savings to be made on fuel and maintenance costs while damage done to the environment is nil.
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