Hyundai Ioniq PHEV Elite

Sean discovers that you don’t have to work at Westpac to enjoy fuel savings afforded by a plug in electric hybrid from Korea.

That sounds like a cheap shot and implies the Hyundai Ioniq is exclusively the preserve of a prominent banking establishment, which it clearly is not. Nor am I likely to get a reduced rate on a Hyundai Ioniq because I’m a busy little Westpac customer – might be worth a try though…

Actually, the larger percentage of

Hyundai Ioniqs I see in the greater Auckland region – and their shape is distinctive in a pleasant way – do seem to pull double duty as Westpac billboards, but I’m sure there are some private buyers out there.

And the reason is part of the Ioniq’s appeal – it’s a real car with a real price tag. Even at full RRP, you could land an Ioniq for under $ 47,000, which is reasonable given the tech in even the entry level models.

And with the price of petrol making public transport look attractive, you’ll likely be recouping that smidge over a conventional petrol equivalent soon enough anyway.

But if you could run to it, the Ioniq Elite would definitely be the way to go – an all chocolate and no calories sort of a deal, with lugzurious levels of appointment like heated seats fore AND aft, heated leather steering wheel with voice recognition, eightspeaker sound system, wheel-mounted controls for audio and cruise control functions, eight-inch touchscreen, 10-way drivers seat adjust with electrical lumbar support and memory function, wireless phone charging, and more besides.

Then there’s the super high tech whizzy cool stuff for safety, mostly including vehicle stability management system to supplement the electronic stability program and traction control system.

Plus, you have the contemporary overwatch safety equipment: lane keep assist, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert and tyre pressure monitoring along with autonomous emergency braking.

But what is it like to drive? Well, the Ioniq, like most new hybrid fuel misers I suspect, promotes considered driving habits. I found myself keeping an eye on the battery system, where the power was going, how it was being used and so on.

The Ioniq has a pure EV range of around 50kms, but that’s 50 on the flat, which is generally all most will need it for going to and from work. If you do have to switch to petrol – the car will do it for you – you will notice the engine cut in, but that’s only because the drive under electric is so quiet.

In fact, there is a little button on the right by the driver’s leg, which engages a virtual sound system, just for the reassurance that an engine is running.

A low centre of gravity gives the Ioniq an excellent on road feel, but your newly found hybrid driving habits will not inspire thoughts of street racing ála Vin Diesel, no matter how slippery the car feels on the open road.

You do feel you are making a meaningful societal contribution driving an Ioniq, which is interesting. Today in our selfish world of headphones and smartphones and Interwebby connections where its all about me, driving an Ioniq engenders a sense of being part of something bigger in society. Maybe that’s a good enough reason to buy one from a company perspective – with fuel saving as an added bonus.