HWM (Singapore)

Hyundai Ioniq Electric

Hyundai Ioniq Electric

- By Kenny Yeo

“Is this thing running?”, I said as I pushed the start engine button. The status indicators showed that the car was running but there was no noise to be heard or vibration to be felt. And then I remembered the car I was in was the Hyundai Ioniq Electric, one of the few full electric cars on sale in Singapore. By full electric, I mean this car only has batteries and an electric motor. There’s no petrolpowe­red range extender that kicks in when you run out juice.

From the outside, the Ioniq Electric looks just like the Ioniq Hybrid I tested about a year ago. The only telltale sign is the smooth and permanentl­y closed off front grille since there’s no need for air intakes. Otherwise, the two look identical.

It is much the same story on the inside. The cabin is immediatel­y familiar to me and the biggest changes are the infotainme­nt display (it is larger) and the center console (more space for keeping stuff).

The touch-enabled infotainme­nt display is now a more respectabl­e 8-inches in size. The Ioniq Hybrid had a tiny 5-inch display, which looked out of place and was hard to read. Missing from the center console is a traditiona­l gear lever and selector. In its place are buttons for the usual PRND driving modes. Simply select your desired mode and off you go.

The Ioniq Electric is a markedly different car to drive from the Ioniq Hybrid and any other petrol car, in fact. It is eerily quiet at typical cruising speeds. The electric motor only makes a faint whining noise if you are pushing it hard. It is appreciabl­y quieter than other cars in its class.

A super-efficient car but the lack of infrastruc­ture means it is not for everyone.

That said, it isn’t dead silent since there is a fair amount of wind and road noise especially at higher speeds.

And because it uses an electric motor, it has signi cantly more torque than any other petrol-powered rival. The end result is that the Ioniq Electric is surprising­ly nippy. The sprint to 100km/h takes just under 10 seconds and because maximum torque is available almost instantly, there is a sense of immediacy that you just don’t get from any other family car.

However, the most different thing about driving the Ioniq Electric is coming to terms with its regenerati­ve braking. The Ioniq Electric recovers energy whenever you take your foot off the accelerato­r and users can choose from four levels. In the lowest setting, the car is free to coast and this is recommende­d for highway driving. On the highest setting, the car brakes quite aggressive­ly whenever you lift your foot off the gas to recover as much energy as possible. This is recommende­d for driving in heavy city traffic. Obviously, managing and getting used to the regenerati­ve braking is paramount if you want to get the maximum range out of the car.

Hyundai claims a maximum range of 280km with the Ioniq Electric. With my heavy right foot, I managed an efficiency of 8km/kWh, which translates to a range of around 224km since the Ioniq Electric’s total battery capacity is 28kWh. Even though this down from its official claim of 280km, it is still more than enough for the average driver in Singapore and will allow drivers to cover the length of Singapore more than four times over. For owners who charge their Ioniq

Electric daily, range anxiety shouldn’t be an issue. Speaking of which, the Ioniq Electric will come with a wall box charger, which owners can install in their homes and will charge the car from zero to 100% in about 4.5 hours.

However, if access to a charger is a problem. You might want to reconsider about getting the Ioniq Electric or any other electric car for that matter. As of now, public charging spots are sparse and I encountere­d issues when I was trying to use one during my test, which meant I couldn’t charge at all.

For owners who have unrestrict­ed access to a charger, the Ioniq Electric might make sense. It is comfortabl­e and practical, and though it has a pretty high sticker price, you could end up saving more in the long run especially if you travel quite a bit. Based on the electricit­y tariff at the time of writing, a full charge will only set you back about $6.20, which, based on my usage, means every 100km costs just $2.76. In other words, the Ioniq Electric will be significan­tly cheaper to run than any petrol-powered car.

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 ??  ?? CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
 ??  ?? The cabin is well furnished and a comfortabl­e place to be in.
The cabin is well furnished and a comfortabl­e place to be in.
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 ??  ?? The center console has a built-in Qi wireless charging pad, which means leaving the wired mess at home with modern mobile devices that have wireless charging capabiliti­es.
The center console has a built-in Qi wireless charging pad, which means leaving the wired mess at home with modern mobile devices that have wireless charging capabiliti­es.
 ??  ?? The instrument panel is made up of a 7-inch TFT LCD display.
The instrument panel is made up of a 7-inch TFT LCD display.

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