Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in
MODEL TESTED: Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid Premium SE PRICE: £26,795 ENGINE: 1.6-litre 4cyl petrol/electric, 139bhp It’s cheaper and very well equipped, but can Korerean hatchback get better of Prius this time round in plug-in form?
THIS plug-in Hyundai Ioniq offers even greater efficiency than the standard hybrid version. A greater all-electric range thanks to a bigger battery pack promises impressive efficiency. Combined with the Ioniq PHEV’S attractive £26,795 list price in Premium SE trim tested here, is it a hybrid hero?
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
THE Hyundai Ioniq comes in three variants: a conventional hybrid, an all-electric model and this plug-in. All three share the same platform because the Ioniq was designed to accommodate a range of powertrains. The PHEV version uses the same 1.6-litre four-cylinder naturally aspirated engine as the regular hybrid, only here the electric motor is stronger, delivering 61kw alongside a more energy-dense 8.9kwh battery.
That battery pack is mounted underneath the rear seats, giving the car an advantage over the Prius, because there’s less of a compromise when it comes to boot space. It can be charged in around six hours using a conventional three-pin socket, but plug in to a 7kw fast charger and this drops to just two hours 15 minutes. With a full battery Hyundai claims the PHEV has an all-electric range of 39 miles.
That is delivered by the electric motor sandwiched between the petrol engine and the six-speed dualclutch gearbox, which can work on its own or in conjunction with the 1.6 unit to boost performance.
There’s lots of other tech and equipment on offer, too. This top-spec Premium SE model has climate control, Bluetooth, sat-nav, wireless phone charging, parking sensors and a reversing camera, heated and vented seats, LED lights and plenty of safety kit. Given the price and the equipment you get, it looks better value than the Prius.
DRIVING
BUT you’ll have to decide if that’s worth the compromise, because the Hyundai doesn’t drive as sweetly as the Toyota. Its ride is too firm, with the wheels springing back harshly over lumps and bumps; the Prius is smoother over the same surfaces.
Also, the Ioniq isn’t as comfortable as its Japanese rival because the chassis feels more unsettled and nervous compared with the more forgiving Toyota. There’s also more road noise in the Ioniq, but it did deliver decent performance at our test track.
The Hyundai accelerated from 0-60mph in 9.1 seconds, helped by the electric motor’s torque boost off the line. This instant shove from the electric motor meant the Ioniq’s in-gear figures were also strong, accelerating between 50 and 70mph in top gear in 13.2 seconds, showing the extra oomph delivered by the battery and motor set-up.
These figures aren’t comparable with the CVT Prius. In the Ioniq you get the option to select a gear or use the kickdown mode, where the Hyundai was also quicker from 30 to 50mph and 50 to 70mph, taking 3.6 and 5.3 seconds respectively.
The gearbox’s six ratios mean the Ioniq feels more like a conventional car to drive, and although it’s a dual-clutch unit, it doesn’t shift with the snappiness you might expect from such a transmission. It’s mostly smooth enough, although we did experience a few jerks and shunts from the gearbox around town in EV mode. At least the punchy EV performance means quick getaways are okay.
It’s relaxing to run around in EV mode, but the steering isn’t quite as nice as the Toyota’s because the weightier set-up feels more resistant to your inputs. The regenerative braking also isn’t quite as polished, with a little more jerkiness when stopping. Neither is perfect due to the lack of feel from the pedal.
PRACTICALITY
THE Hyundai has the Toyota covered when it comes to flexibility, because the Ioniq’s 341-litre boot is much larger than the Prius’ poor 191-litre offering. There isn’t anywhere to store the charging cables, but at least they come in bags, so they don’t clutter the boot.
While the load bay is larger, the Ioniq isn’t quite as roomy in the rear. There’s not as much headroom, but legroom is on par with the Toyota; it’s the lower roofline that makes it feel more claustrophobic. Yet storage is good because there’s plenty of space for trinkets thanks to a range of cup-holders and trays.
OWNERSHIP
THESE two brands were evenly matched in our Driver Power 2017 satisfaction survey. Hyundai beat Toyota by one place with a result of 10th overall out of 27, but its dealers lagged behind, ranking 10th out of 26, compared with seventh for Toyota’s network.
The cars aren’t far apart when it comes to Euro NCAP’S safety scores, either. The Hyundai achieved a full five-star rating and Premium SE spec gets lots of kit, including autonomous braking, lane departure warning and lane-keep assist, blindspot detection and rear cross-traffic alert. There’s no extra safety kit, but everything you’d want is included anyway.
RUNNING COSTS
PLUG-IN hybrids have to deliver decent efficiency and the Ioniq had the better figures at the pumps. Helped by the plug, it returned an average of 71.1mpg, which means you’ll spend £907 per year on fuel. That’s a £50 saving over the Toyota, which gave a still-respectable 67.4mpg.
Although the Prius emits less CO2 (22g/km vs 26g/km), both cars fall into the lowest nine per cent Benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax bracket. Due to the Hyundai being significantly cheaper than the Toyota, it’ll cost higher-rate business users £86 less in company car contributions, at £1,053 per year.