Car Review: Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid
Discussion
Hyundai are a company that’s diligently worked at their perceived weak points over the years, and driving their latest Ioniq Hybrid, this shows. Does this car stand out though? Or is it like the weather today or my photos of the car: nothing special, a bit dull, but gets the job done?
First impressions are good: the Ioniq is a car packed full of tech and a slightly premium feel. The seats are supportive and adjustable, and along with the adjustable steering wheel for rake and reach, most people will find a good driving position. Rear leg room is good and the boot is reasonable, although not very deep (perhaps due to the batteries) and also suffers in height from the Ioniq’s plunging roofline. The driver interface is a combination of buttons and a large touchscreen. I’m not convinced by the safety of touchscreens in cars, but thankfully here none of the main driving controls are on the touchscreen; it exists mainly for navigation and entertainment. However, the buttons for those main driving controls are sadly placed quite badly, usually needing you to move around to see them whilst driving, and they have no shape or texture to identify them whilst keeping your eyes on the road. We’ll return to the tech in this car later, because whilst it all works well, much of carries some serious flaws.
On the move the Ioniq impresses immediately, pulling away silently under electric drive like its main competitor, the Toyota Prius. In my time with the car, the battery never took on any meaningful charge during driving, so unless you’ve plugged the Ioniq into the mains, the 1.6 litre four cylinder engine will then fire up as you increase speed. You won’t miss this happening, because sadly the petrol engine is quite rough and unrefined. The electric motor alone gives 43bhp, which doesn’t sound like much in a 1500kg car, but for general driving around town or on slower country roads, it’s perfectly adequate. After a full plugged in charge, the EV range for me was slightly over it’s quoted 37 miles, which is enough for most people’s local journeys. At our standard electricity rate, this is equivalent to 73mpg, so not the huge cost saving you might be imagining. The petrol engine delivers just under 100bhp, giving a total power output of 139bhp – again not much, but adequate. 0-60 comes up in 10.8 seconds, so this is not a nippy car, but is fine for most normal driving and well-sighted overtakes. You can switch between full EV and full petrol modes, or let the car automatically switch as it sees fit, which works well. In any mode, full kickdown gives you full power from combined electric and petrol motors.
The ride of the Ioniq is beautifully judged and avoids the floaty, underdamped nature of many modern hatches in this class. Here instead, spring rates and dampers are slightly on the firm side and control the body well over a range of surfaces and undulations. Together with the sensibly specced tyres with a decent sidewall, nobody is going to complain about the ride in this car. Handling is unfussed, undramatic and ultimately unpleasing, but if you just want A to B transport, it hides no problems. The unusual thing is that although this is a front wheel drive car, it doesn’t drive like a typical one due to the weight of the batteries at the rear of the car balancing everything up front. It almost has the balanced feel of a front-engine rear-drive car such as a Mercedes, but of course it’s still pulled from the front. It also avoids the overly high centre of gravity of many of its competitors. The end result is curious handling which will surprise keen drivers used to more conventional cars. Fun though? Interesting? Exciting? No, not in the slightest. Whilst I welcome the lack of the horrible “everything at the front” feeling from a conventional hatchback, rivals such as the Focus at least offer some interaction with this staid balance. The Ioniq, in contrast, drives how I guess that kids imagine cars to drive – it just goes around corners, with no drama, no involvement and no interaction. Steering too is light on weight and feel, and rather artificial; although to end on a positive note the steering lacks the horrible rubbery compliance (dead zone) that many modern cars have, notably recent Peugeots.
So, how about those awkward features I mentioned earlier? Well, whilst the level of accessible tech in Hyundai is impressive, much of it needs work. Lane assist is switched on every time you drive the car, and personally I’m not convinced by the safety of it. You can over-ride it by forcing the car over the central white line in a road; but at high speed, for example avoiding a motorway incident in front of you, it’s not ideal to be putting in the jerky steering inputs that this forceful over-ride results in. Lane assist also discourages gentle movement around road objects such as bricks, animals etc; or the standard advanced driving technique of moving out over dotted white lines for better visibility approaching corners. Lane-assist is switchable, but you’ll need to do it every time you start the car. What else? Well, when you power-off the car, the seat moves back a foot to help short drivers get out. This leaves taller drivers practically in the back seat and having to clamber out of the front door! I haven’t had a chance to see what it does to the legs of rear passengers. Lastly, unlike other keyless cars (BMWs for example) you can’t just get out and lock the car with the keyfob; you have to power down properly first, which can be confusing, especially in the silence of electric mode. If you try and jump out and lock the car, it shrieks at you, which is rather unpleasant. Despite all this tech, the automatic gear-shifter is an old mechanical one like you used to get years ago, which is out of character with the rest of the car and feels clunky after driving a typical modern car. So yes, ergonomically flawed, but to be fair besides these things the Ioniq is a well-engineered car in other ways. Lots of the tech works well, such as the reversing camera and the variable charging when you back off (adjustable with paddles on the steering wheel).
In summary then, this is a decent car that I’d recommend as A to B transport for someone not interested in driving. It stands up well against the competition and is certainly worth a look as an alternative to a Prius, or other similar cars. For someone like me who loves driving though, it holds no great joy or interest.
First impressions are good: the Ioniq is a car packed full of tech and a slightly premium feel. The seats are supportive and adjustable, and along with the adjustable steering wheel for rake and reach, most people will find a good driving position. Rear leg room is good and the boot is reasonable, although not very deep (perhaps due to the batteries) and also suffers in height from the Ioniq’s plunging roofline. The driver interface is a combination of buttons and a large touchscreen. I’m not convinced by the safety of touchscreens in cars, but thankfully here none of the main driving controls are on the touchscreen; it exists mainly for navigation and entertainment. However, the buttons for those main driving controls are sadly placed quite badly, usually needing you to move around to see them whilst driving, and they have no shape or texture to identify them whilst keeping your eyes on the road. We’ll return to the tech in this car later, because whilst it all works well, much of carries some serious flaws.
On the move the Ioniq impresses immediately, pulling away silently under electric drive like its main competitor, the Toyota Prius. In my time with the car, the battery never took on any meaningful charge during driving, so unless you’ve plugged the Ioniq into the mains, the 1.6 litre four cylinder engine will then fire up as you increase speed. You won’t miss this happening, because sadly the petrol engine is quite rough and unrefined. The electric motor alone gives 43bhp, which doesn’t sound like much in a 1500kg car, but for general driving around town or on slower country roads, it’s perfectly adequate. After a full plugged in charge, the EV range for me was slightly over it’s quoted 37 miles, which is enough for most people’s local journeys. At our standard electricity rate, this is equivalent to 73mpg, so not the huge cost saving you might be imagining. The petrol engine delivers just under 100bhp, giving a total power output of 139bhp – again not much, but adequate. 0-60 comes up in 10.8 seconds, so this is not a nippy car, but is fine for most normal driving and well-sighted overtakes. You can switch between full EV and full petrol modes, or let the car automatically switch as it sees fit, which works well. In any mode, full kickdown gives you full power from combined electric and petrol motors.
The ride of the Ioniq is beautifully judged and avoids the floaty, underdamped nature of many modern hatches in this class. Here instead, spring rates and dampers are slightly on the firm side and control the body well over a range of surfaces and undulations. Together with the sensibly specced tyres with a decent sidewall, nobody is going to complain about the ride in this car. Handling is unfussed, undramatic and ultimately unpleasing, but if you just want A to B transport, it hides no problems. The unusual thing is that although this is a front wheel drive car, it doesn’t drive like a typical one due to the weight of the batteries at the rear of the car balancing everything up front. It almost has the balanced feel of a front-engine rear-drive car such as a Mercedes, but of course it’s still pulled from the front. It also avoids the overly high centre of gravity of many of its competitors. The end result is curious handling which will surprise keen drivers used to more conventional cars. Fun though? Interesting? Exciting? No, not in the slightest. Whilst I welcome the lack of the horrible “everything at the front” feeling from a conventional hatchback, rivals such as the Focus at least offer some interaction with this staid balance. The Ioniq, in contrast, drives how I guess that kids imagine cars to drive – it just goes around corners, with no drama, no involvement and no interaction. Steering too is light on weight and feel, and rather artificial; although to end on a positive note the steering lacks the horrible rubbery compliance (dead zone) that many modern cars have, notably recent Peugeots.
So, how about those awkward features I mentioned earlier? Well, whilst the level of accessible tech in Hyundai is impressive, much of it needs work. Lane assist is switched on every time you drive the car, and personally I’m not convinced by the safety of it. You can over-ride it by forcing the car over the central white line in a road; but at high speed, for example avoiding a motorway incident in front of you, it’s not ideal to be putting in the jerky steering inputs that this forceful over-ride results in. Lane assist also discourages gentle movement around road objects such as bricks, animals etc; or the standard advanced driving technique of moving out over dotted white lines for better visibility approaching corners. Lane-assist is switchable, but you’ll need to do it every time you start the car. What else? Well, when you power-off the car, the seat moves back a foot to help short drivers get out. This leaves taller drivers practically in the back seat and having to clamber out of the front door! I haven’t had a chance to see what it does to the legs of rear passengers. Lastly, unlike other keyless cars (BMWs for example) you can’t just get out and lock the car with the keyfob; you have to power down properly first, which can be confusing, especially in the silence of electric mode. If you try and jump out and lock the car, it shrieks at you, which is rather unpleasant. Despite all this tech, the automatic gear-shifter is an old mechanical one like you used to get years ago, which is out of character with the rest of the car and feels clunky after driving a typical modern car. So yes, ergonomically flawed, but to be fair besides these things the Ioniq is a well-engineered car in other ways. Lots of the tech works well, such as the reversing camera and the variable charging when you back off (adjustable with paddles on the steering wheel).
In summary then, this is a decent car that I’d recommend as A to B transport for someone not interested in driving. It stands up well against the competition and is certainly worth a look as an alternative to a Prius, or other similar cars. For someone like me who loves driving though, it holds no great joy or interest.
Bahnstormer said:
Good review,
I wonder if EV's will ever capture the fun of older cars or if they will wver be anything more than just transport !
:
Thanks I wonder if EV's will ever capture the fun of older cars or if they will wver be anything more than just transport !
:
I think Lotus will capture as much of that fun as possible, maybe even enhance it.
However, I think companies like BMW and Porsche, making dailies with a hint of fun, will use the opportunity to take a leap in the direction they've been slowly moving for years now and be more like the Hyundai...
My experience of the Ioniq was marred by the automatic emergency braking system. It would beep like mad with lights flashing on the dash if it didn't like the way I drove past a parked vehicle. The totally unnecessary emergency stop in the middle of Sainsbury's car park was embarrassing (I think it was spooked by a rogue trolley). But when it decided - without any justification - to anchor up on the M25 with a van right behind me, I came to the conclusion that I would be more relaxed completing the journey in an old Lada. The van driver luckily had very good reactions and was understandably very pissed off.
MrGTI6 said:
My experience of the Ioniq was marred by the automatic emergency braking system. It would beep like mad with lights flashing on the dash if it didn't like the way I drove past a parked vehicle. The totally unnecessary emergency stop in the middle of Sainsbury's car park was embarrassing (I think it was spooked by a rogue trolley). But when it decided - without any justification - to anchor up on the M25 with a van right behind me, I came to the conclusion that I would be more relaxed completing the journey in an old Lada. The van driver luckily had very good reactions and was understandably very pissed off.
I've not experienced that yet. We had a guy at work whose car would do an emergency stop everytime he drove up the small ramp into our building, because the car saw concrete in front of it. 
I'll seek out some parked cars later if there's nothing behind me!
RobM77 said:
MrGTI6 said:
My experience of the Ioniq was marred by the automatic emergency braking system. It would beep like mad with lights flashing on the dash if it didn't like the way I drove past a parked vehicle. The totally unnecessary emergency stop in the middle of Sainsbury's car park was embarrassing (I think it was spooked by a rogue trolley). But when it decided - without any justification - to anchor up on the M25 with a van right behind me, I came to the conclusion that I would be more relaxed completing the journey in an old Lada. The van driver luckily had very good reactions and was understandably very pissed off.
I've not experienced that yet. We had a guy at work whose car would do an emergency stop everytime he drove up the small ramp into our building, because the car saw concrete in front of it. I'll seek out some parked cars later if there's nothing behind me!
Had a couple of similar incidents with other cars. The Volvo V40 in particular is hyper-sensitive when pulling up to a parked car or stationary object, and I had a new-shape A-Class do the same. The only car that's tried to kill me in this way though was the Hyundai!
RobM77 said:
I’ll look for an “AEB off” button I think...
Sounds like a safe bet, apologies for taking your review off on a tangent, very well-written and an interesting read.I think the Ioniq is more attractive than the Prius inside and out, although I have found the Prius to be more economical and so smooth for driving around town, not least because everyone gives you a wide berth because they think you're an Uber driver! The biggest problem with the Prius for me was the equivalent Auris, which took the impressive drive train and put it in a conventional-looking car.
The new Corolla takes it a step further. It looks great, is available with more body styles, and is also available with a more powerful 2.0-litre engine. Provided it doesn't perform sporadic emergency stops, I'd be looking at one of those if I was in the market for a mid-sized hybrid. Having said that, I suspect a decent spec'd one would be nudging £30k.
MrGTI6 said:
RobM77 said:
I’ll look for an “AEB off” button I think...
Sounds like a safe bet, apologies for taking your review off on a tangent, very well-written and an interesting read.I think the Ioniq is more attractive than the Prius inside and out, although I have found the Prius to be more economical and so smooth for driving around town, not least because everyone gives you a wide berth because they think you're an Uber driver! The biggest problem with the Prius for me was the equivalent Auris, which took the impressive drive train and put it in a conventional-looking car.
The new Corolla takes it a step further. It looks great, is available with more body styles, and is also available with a more powerful 2.0-litre engine. Provided it doesn't perform sporadic emergency stops, I'd be looking at one of those if I was in the market for a mid-sized hybrid. Having said that, I suspect a decent spec'd one would be nudging £30k.
Yes, I'm a big fan of the ICE Auris and Yaris (as normal A to B cars), they're amongst the best I've driven. I'd like to try a hybrid, especially now I've tried the Hyundai. Toyota: if you're listening I'll do you a full review online!
This review seems to be for the Plug in Hybrid, not the Hybrid.
I have had one for the last year so can add some thoughts.
I have a 25mile daily round trip to work so it will easily do that on battery without ever starting the engine, not to mention all the trips to the shops, ferrying the kids about etc. 35 miles is achievable on battery if you avoid high speeds. The OP has expensive electric as Ev mode is about 1/3 the cost of running it on petrol for me, and it will do 60mpg+ all the time in hybrid mode unless you rag it, power source is switchable - you choose, until you run out of electric then it becomes a hybrid.
The plug in has a more powerful motor (60BHP) than the hybrid as it's intended to function as an EV whereas the hybrid will use its engine for every journey at some point, and that compensates for the extra weight of the heavier battery.
Performance wise it's obviously not fast, but in sport mode using both power sources it will zip away from the lights quite smartly and is quick to 50mph, beyond that is isn't.
I have not had any uninvited auto braking, but maybe my system is switched off, but it does beep at you if you get a bit close, eg it somebody is turning off the road infront of you and you catch up.
Most of what the OP says I would generally agree with, car has a lot of toys and is a nice bit of tech, it's the only newish thing I've driven recently but heated and cooled seats, carplay, and heated steering wheel are all nice, do all cars have those now?
The boot is shallow but as long as an estate and my road bike goes in easily in seconds with the seats down, no dismantling required.
Reliability has been fine.
I bought it as an EV with no range issues as I do a twice a month long business related journey with no convenient destination charging. When you do get stuck in slow traffic, it's so nice not to have something going "dag dag" all the time when doing 0-5mph.
It seems to be depreciating quite quickly unfortunately so I may have to keep it for a while, I want to go full EV but until somebody makes a battery powered estate car that does 200+ miles, will tow, has functional roof rails, and isn't hideous or 6 feet tall or £50+grand, I will buy that.
I have had one for the last year so can add some thoughts.
I have a 25mile daily round trip to work so it will easily do that on battery without ever starting the engine, not to mention all the trips to the shops, ferrying the kids about etc. 35 miles is achievable on battery if you avoid high speeds. The OP has expensive electric as Ev mode is about 1/3 the cost of running it on petrol for me, and it will do 60mpg+ all the time in hybrid mode unless you rag it, power source is switchable - you choose, until you run out of electric then it becomes a hybrid.
The plug in has a more powerful motor (60BHP) than the hybrid as it's intended to function as an EV whereas the hybrid will use its engine for every journey at some point, and that compensates for the extra weight of the heavier battery.
Performance wise it's obviously not fast, but in sport mode using both power sources it will zip away from the lights quite smartly and is quick to 50mph, beyond that is isn't.
I have not had any uninvited auto braking, but maybe my system is switched off, but it does beep at you if you get a bit close, eg it somebody is turning off the road infront of you and you catch up.
Most of what the OP says I would generally agree with, car has a lot of toys and is a nice bit of tech, it's the only newish thing I've driven recently but heated and cooled seats, carplay, and heated steering wheel are all nice, do all cars have those now?
The boot is shallow but as long as an estate and my road bike goes in easily in seconds with the seats down, no dismantling required.
Reliability has been fine.
I bought it as an EV with no range issues as I do a twice a month long business related journey with no convenient destination charging. When you do get stuck in slow traffic, it's so nice not to have something going "dag dag" all the time when doing 0-5mph.
It seems to be depreciating quite quickly unfortunately so I may have to keep it for a while, I want to go full EV but until somebody makes a battery powered estate car that does 200+ miles, will tow, has functional roof rails, and isn't hideous or 6 feet tall or £50+grand, I will buy that.
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