Hyundai reimburses electric charging costs to Ioniq drivers
I have made no secret of my affection for electric cars.
Seduced by their smooth, strong, silent motors, and the promise of never visiting a gas station again, the battery electric vehicles represent a real promise for a future of petroleum-free motoring.
But not everyone agrees with me. Despite increasing numbers of choices, plug-in electric cars still represent below 1 percent of annual U.S. car sales. Through May of this year, American car buyers purchased only 35,406 pure electric vehicles out of 6.9 million vehicles sold, according to the Electric Drive Transportation Association.
To attract reluctant drivers to the electrified world, Hyundai has a new policy: Lease a plug-in Ioniq, and they’ll pay for the juice required to run it. The company estimates that a commuter driving 30 miles a day would see his lease rate drop by $41.40 a month.
The gambit is similar to one used by companies selling or leasing hydrogen fuel cell cars — such as Toyota’s Mirai, Honda’s Clarity or Kia’s Tucson, all of which come with a free fuel allowance.
That makes sense for fuel cell cars, because retail hydrogen fuel stations are few and far between, and the fuel itself is pricey.
But electricity isn’t expensive, or hard to find. So, will cost-free charging drive anyone into an Ioniq?
The question would be immaterial if the Ioniq weren’t such a good car.
Hyundai’s only pure electric car — the company does sell plug-in hybrid versions of other models — is a sturdy, solid hatchback.
Its electric motor scoots the car around town and accelerates comfortably on the freeway. It does so free of vibration and in near silence; Hyundai engineers have gone to great lengths to dampen the sound inside the cabin.
The Ioniq produces little wind noise and not too much tire noise, which heightens the pleasure of using the phone or listening to music. (The phone charger is wireless, though it doesn’t adapt to iPhones.)
Visibility is fair, marred somewhat by the horizontally split rear window glass.
The simple dash and welldesigned cockpit make everything easy to see and easy to reach. The seats are designed for ease of egress and ingress and are comfortable enough for a long-distance drive.
The Ioniq Electric is sold or leased in two trim lines, the base model and the Limited. Those retail for $29,500 and $32,500, respectively, before taxes and delivery charges. They are available for lease at $275 a month for the base model, $305 a month for the Limited, and $365 with the Unlimited Package. (Those numbers don’t include the electricity “reimbursement” Hyundai promises, by which the company tracks the number of miles the car has been driven, calculates the cost of the electricity needed to drive that distance and automatically deducts that amount from the next lease payment.)
The Electric Limited trim line, which I drove for a week, included heated front seats, leather upholstery, blind-spot detection, power driver’s seat and power side mirrors.
It also included the Unlimited Package, a $3,500 upgrade, which included a sunroof, “smart” cruise control, automatic braking, lane departure warning, the wireless phone charger and an improved sound system.
I really liked it, and could happily have hopped on the highway and headed for Vegas.
But I wouldn’t have gotten there. The Ioniq’s battery-only range is only 124 miles.
For some prospective buyers, that will be a deal-breaker.
They may love the car. They may like the $275-amonth lease rate and the promise of having their charging costs reimbursed.
They may long to qualify for the state and federal rebates that go to EV buyers — not to mention the carpool lane access they get as zero emission vehicles.
They may be attracted by the idea that electric vehicles, having very few moving parts, need almost no maintenance.
They may be warmed by the thought that they’re saving the environment, or what’s left of it. They may boast about the estimated 136 miles per gallon equivalent fuel economy they’ll get in the car, per the Environmental Protection Agency.