More pizzazz in upgrade
Forget any model of Tesla, when it comes to sales, the Hyundai Ionic is New Zealand’s top new electric vehicle. David Thomson slips behind the wheel of this quiet achiever, which has been substantially upgraded for the current model year.
What’s new?
Turn back the clock to 2017, and the arrival of the firstgeneration Hyundai Ionic EV in Dunedin caused quite a stir. So much so, that I spent just a couple of days behind the wheel of the car supplied for appraisal before handing it over to Otago Daily
Times features editor and EV early adopter Tom McKinlay.
McKinlay set out from Dunedin for Timaru, a trip of a shade under 200km that might just have been within the realworld range of the original Ionic, but we never found out: McKinlay wasn’t prepared to risk being stranded and stopped in Oamaru for a 15 minute topup.
Such prudence shouldn’t be required with the pure electric version of the Series II Ionic, which boasts a 37% rise in battery capacity (from 28kWh to 38.3kWh) alongside a power boost that lifts its electric motor system’s peak output from 88kW to 100kW.
Other power systemrelated changes in this midlife upgrade include a faster onboard charge system, and air flaps either side of the central badge on the grille that open as needed to provide additional cooling for the motor.
The Series II Ionic range includes two hybrid options, standard and plugin, as well as the pureelectric. All three are offered at two specification levels, Entry and Elite.
The test car was the entry version of the pureelectric Ionic. Priced at $65,990, it is $6000 more than its equivalent model in the preupgrade Ionic lineup was at launch, and $12,000 more than the equivalent spec plugin hybrid Ionic. But it is also $6000 less than the flagship Electric Elite.
What comes as standard?
The Electric Entry has a reasonable features list, including keyless entry and push button start, rainsensing wipers, auto lights, heated mirrors, singlezone climate and digital dash. Operating in conjunction with a sixspeaker audio, the infotainment system’s home base is an eightinch centre touchscreen. There is easy Bluetooth connectivity for audio and phone functions, and the system also offers Android Auto and Apple Car Play connectivity.
The safety package includes radar cruise control with stopgo functionality, active lanekeeping assist, forward collision avoidance and tyre pressure monitoring. A reversing camera and rear parking sensors also are fitted.
The Elite picks up a swag of extra kit. These include LED headlights, a 10inch touchscreen, wireless phone charging, satellite navigation, and an eightspeaker audio. The Elite also features leather trim, poweredoperated and heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, front parking sensors, blind sport warning and rear cross traffic alert.
What’s it like to look at?
‘‘Oh, I thought it was a Prius,’’ was the comment offered by an observer as I unplugged the test car from the EV rapid charge point. Set aside the locational error (not even a plugin hybrid Prius uses a rapid charge facility), the error was forgivable, at least insofar as the Prius and Ionic are similarly proportioned.
But overall the Ionic is more conservatively styled, even though its Series II makeover adds a little more pizzazz to the model. This is especially so around the nose, where the uninspiring matt grille of the original Ionic is replaced by a textured unit with those active air flaps. New, too, is the inclusion of dual LED daytime running lights on the lower corners of the front bumper. There are also LED rear lights, along with new aerodynamically efficient alloy wheels.
‘‘Electric’’ badging and the absence of an exhaust pipe are the only clues to the Ionic Electric’s pure EV status from the rear, and even then it is possible to be fooled because the flap that gives access to the vehicle’s charge point is mounted in the exact place you’d expect to find a conventional fuel filler cap.
What’s it like inside?
Opening the rear hatch reveals a wide, long but relatively shallow boot, with the space under the boot floor occupied by batteries. A repair and inflate ‘‘tyre mobility kit’’ is provided in place of a spare tyre.
The boot’s standard 357litre capacity under the load cover is almost 100litres shy of what the hybrid Ionic musters. That’s still not bad by class standards and carrying capacity can be boosted to more than 1400 litres by folding the rear seats forward. On the other hand, forget about augmenting boot space with a trailer; the Electric Ionic is not rated to tow.
Backseat passengers get small door pockets and a folddown centre armrest incorporating cupholders. Rear legroom is fine, but the plunging roofline impinges on head space.
Up front there is a pleasingly cohesive look to the dash and ample softtouch surfacing. As an environmental bonus, sugar cane by products, biofabrics and recycled materials feature in many of the trim surfaces.
Manually adjusting for height, as well as rake, the driver’s seat is comfortable. There is decent forward and side visibility from this position, but the view to the back is impacted by the spoiler running across the rear window. The main instrument cluster is clearly presented, and the centre touchscreen and air conditioning controls that sit beneath it in the same glossblack panel are easy to use.
There are plenty of storage options in the front, including a large open bin at the base of the centre console.
EVs are gearless, so a conventional gear lever is replaced by a cluster of four buttons, one to go forward, one to go back, one to select neutral, and one to engage park. As before, the shift paddles tucked behind the steering wheel alter the aggressiveness of the car’s regenerative braking system.
What’s it like to drive?
Within the bounds of a dynamic setup focusing on providing few surprises rather than engagement and sparkle, the Ionic Electric is a decently mannered machine.
Aroundtown motoring is smooth, refined and fuss free. Excellent ride quality is a notable characteristic at city and open road speeds, but it is a shame that New Zealand’s coarsechip surfaces impair aural refinement during main highway travel.
There is a clear performance difference between the eco, normal and sport modes, with the latter dialling up a far stronger swell of torque. Sport is certainly the mode for any attempt at presson driving, and handy for snappy passing, too. However, driving an EV without trying to be frugal is tough psychologically, so it is just as well that the Ionic’s eco and normal modes are completely fine.
Hyundai provides the WLTP standard cycle estimate of a 310km range on a full charge, whereas the alternative EPA standard cycle estimates a 274km maximum. My own estimate is that the Series II Ionic, driven in an everyday manner at highway speeds in this part of the world, will consume about 15.0kWh/ 100km. This equates to a likely maximum realworld range of around 240km250km.
Home charging will always be the most costeffective option, but commercial DC rapid chargers are what is needed on the move and — the Catlins and western Southland aside — the network of such facilities in the lower South Island is now close to comprehensive. A 40minute boost on a Chargenet unit gave the Ionic a 20.78 kWh tonic, raising the battery charge from roughly 25% to 70% of capacity, and adding about 140km of range.
Verdict
Like any relatively new technological frontier, the world of electric motoring is evolving at pace, and nowhere more so than in respect of the EV range. This upgrade of the Ionic doesn’t represent a new bid for class leadership, but it is a respectable evolution of a vehicle that has already played its part in shaping our current EV world.