Hyundai IONIQ Plug-in Hybrid 2019 Review

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the Hyundai IONIQ is perceived in a few years from now.

Will it come to be regarded as the car that finally switched Australians on to electric vehicles? Or will its presence be reviewed as inconsequential? Most likely, the reality lies somewhere in between.

The Hyundai IONIQ is not just one medium-sized five-door hatchback; it’s a three-model range. There’s a petrol-electric IONIQ Hybrid we’ve already driven on local soil earlier this year.

There’s also a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid (IONIQ Plug-in) and the pure battery-electric vehicle (IONIQ Electric) that we’ve driven overseas as far back as early 2017, giving you an idea of how long the Hyundai IONIQ has taken to get here.

Those are the two versions we’re assessing here. Primarily though, it’s the EV that is occupying our attention. That’s because Hyundai Australia reckons it will account for 50 per cent of sales.

Many of them will go to government and private fleets, but some IONIQ EVs will also land in the hands of pioneering private buyers. Brave or foolhardy? Good question.

One thing they won’t be is ripped off on pricing. We’ve gone into is a fair bit of detail here. At $44,990 the Hyundai IONIQ Electric is the cheapest EV you can buy in Australia today, undercutting the smaller Renault ZOE.

It’s still not cheap, but remember an EV unshackles you from the petrol bowser and instead you refuel with much cheaper electricity. And if you opt for green power it’s a clean fuel too.

At $40,990, the IONIQ Plug-in is the cheapest in its segment too, ahead of the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV SUV.

There are cheaper hybrids, but the $33,990 IONIQ Hybrid undercuts its most obvious competitor, the Toyota Prius. Of course, all these prices are plus on-road costs.

All three Hyundai IONIQ models are offered in Elite (the prices we have been quoting) and Premium equipment specifications, the latter adding between $4000 and $5000 depending on the powertrain.

Elite equipment levels are impressive, including seven airbags, a suite of driver assist systems including autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot detection, lane-keep assist and rear cross-traffic alert, plus a reversing camera, satellite-navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility and dual-zone climate control.

PHEV and EV IONIQ Elites swap from 15 to 16-inch alloys, while the EV adds an electric park brake (to replace a foot park brake – very 20th Century) and stop and go for the smart cruise control, but downgrades to single-zone climate control.

Premium additions include a sunroof, leather trim and wireless smartphone charging, while Premium PHEVs and EVs add LED headlights.

The Hyundai IONIQ comes with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, an eight-year/160,000km battery warranty and capped-price servicing for all three models with service intervals set at 12 months/15,000km.

The EV costs just $160 per service out to 60 months, while both hybrids cost $265 for four of their five services and $465 at 48 months.

The IONIQ will initially be available through just 18 Hyundai dealers – there are 170 nationwide – but that is expected to grow over time.

So, let’s get stuck straight in to the driving. The beauty of an EV is the mechanicals are pretty straight-forward.

The Hyundai IONIQ Electric powers its front wheels via an 88kW/295Nm permanent magnetic synchronous motor and because it generates max torque instantly it only requires a single reduction gear. Press the ‘D’ button and away you go.

That instant torque characteristic delivers terrific step-off and mid-range acceleration. It’s perfect for green-light grands prix and the cut and thrust of city traffic. Need to slip into the right lane before that truck? Hit the indicator and go. The IONIQ zaps across.

So, what about range? A 28kW/h Lithium-ion polymer battery sitting under the boot and rear seat offers a theoretical range of 280km and a claimed real-world range of 230km.

That’s based on local driving by Hyundai over nine recharging cycles. That’s nothing special these days, reflecting the way battery tech has progressed over the last two years. Next year’s Kona EV should have a range beyond 400km.

I took off on a drive with 190km distance-to-empty showing in the instrument cluster, drove 130km on urban and suburban roads, highways and freeways and up and down some pretty steep sections, returning the car with 60km range still left.

So that adds up.

You’ve still got to plan though. The theory is you recharge at home overnight or during the day while at work. But if you’re not close to a fast-charger, take your kindle (no IONIQ owner would read a book!) because this thing can still take hours to fill up.

There are some tricks to extending the range. You can nominate Eco, Normal or Sport mode and the more conservative you are the more kinetic regeneration via braking you get. You can also apply various levels of brake regeneration via the flappy paddles on the steering wheel.

Yep, they look like gearshift paddles and can be used on the same way. Set regeneration at 0, 1, 2 or 3 and the higher the number the more regeneration and drag. Pile into a corner and toggle to 3 to get engine braking … without an engine.

It’s a real challenge to see how rarely you can apply the brake pedal. It’s also fun to add charge and range using the paddles on a downhill run.

Speaking of fun, yes the IONIQ Electric is exactly that to drive. No, you’re reading that right. This is a Hyundai and it’s electric and it’s fun. Sport mode emphasises that by releasing the full 295Nm and sharpening up the throttle (among other things). You really notice that from a standing start.

Body control and ride is especially impressive. The Hyundai IONIQ manages to sit stable and flat without being thumpingly hard on your posterior. It makes for a nice compromise at home in town or on a winding road. The local dynamic tuning team has done a great job.

The let-down is the electric-assist steering. It lacks feel and it’s so quick you’ll be cutting corners more than you intend! You adjust to the latter but it would be nice if a few layers could be tuned out of the system to aid the former.

Much of the Hyundai IONIQ Electric experience translates to the IONIQ Plug-in hybrid. Again, there’s a nice dynamic balance.

In fact, considering the hybrid’s use independent rear suspension while the Electric has a more compact torsion beam, the local tuners deserve congrats for making them feel so similar.

Like the EV, the hybrid’s steering could be better and when in electric mode that quiet urge is a real winner.

It stays in that mode quite determinedly too -- much longer than the Prius (which in non-plug-in and stays in EV mode for only a couple of kays, while Hyundai claims 63km for the IONIQ Plug-in).

You appreciate just how quiet life is rolling on EV power alone with only some tyre rumble, suspension thump and body vibes to keep you company. But once the 1.6-litre petrol engine kicks in it’s back to orthodoxy; it’s not raucous, just noticeable.

The petrol engine’s power curve is an instant reminder of just how all-encompassing electric drive is. In fact, the standard six-speed dual-clutch transmission’s obvious hesitation changing from first to second in the plug-in we drove was unacceptably coarse. But it was still preferable to the Prius CVT.

Apart from the gear selection buttons the IONIQ Electric’s interior is entirely orthodox. It’s not like a BMW i3 with its suicide doors and all-round spaceship persona.

Sure, some trims are made from recycled materials including sugar cane and there’s a power meter rather than a torque counter. But there’s a still a steering wheel (manual reach and rake adjustable with a sporty flat-bottom), a throttle pedal and a brake pedal.

The dashboard and instrumentation doesn’t look overly modern let alone science fiction from the driver’s seat. The infotainment screen is quite small and embedded in the dash, rather than a tablet floating above it.

One thing you can’t do is split the screen between navigation and EV performance to see range and battery percentage at the same time as the map screen. However, the range always presented somewhere in the instrument panel.

The centre lidded bin is large, but door pockets – front and back – are small. The trim varies from quite nice piano-black in some places to an icky cheap ungrained plastic on the door armrests.

There are other issues for IONIQ; the aerodynamic body slips through the wind, but the slope of the roof also impinges on headroom. Knee room isn’t sensational for a 180cm adult behind an 180cm adult either.

The front seats are generous in size but offer little support. It would be great if the rear air-con vents were climate- and fan-speed adjustable. There’s no spare tyre as there’s no room under the floor to fit it in. Bummer.

The battery also means luggage space isn’t outstanding. The Electric offers 350 litres and the Plug-in 341 litres. Still it’s better than a Mazda3 hatch, which is the same length and wheelbase. The smaller Holden Astra is slightly more efficient than IONIQ.

More like a surprise really. In a good way. The IONIQ Electric still isn’t cheap and still doesn’t allay range anxiety fears altogether, but it is a convincing small car.

With its everyman origins it qualifies as the first EV available in Australia that someone other than an over-funded early-adopter or science geek would consider buying.

Considering it’s only a few thousand dollars more than the less-impressive Plug-in I’d be going all-electric all the way. Maybe that 50 per cent sales split isn’t so optimistic after all.

Whether the Hyundai IONIQ end ups iconic or ignored we aren’t going to know for a while. And maybe it doesn’t matter. With more EVs coming our way soon, IONIQ simply represents the start of something big.

How much does the 2018 Hyundai IONIQ Plug-in Premium cost?
Price: $45,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol
Output: 77kW/147Nm
Motor: Permanent magnet synchronous electric
Output: 44.5kW/170Nm
Combined system output: 104kW/265Nm
Transmission: Six-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel: 1.1L/100km
Electricity: 94Wh/100km
CO2: 26g/km
Safety rating: N/A

How much does the 2018 Hyundai IONIQ Electric Premium cost?
Price: $48,990 (plus on-road costs)
Motor: Permanent magnet synchronous electric
Output: 88kW/295Nm
Transmission: Single speed reduction gear
Electricity: 115Wh/100km
Safety rating: N/A