Update: All three versions of the Ioniq are now revealed and can be seen together in the photos below or in the video. The EV model is the only one with a blocked out grille.
The second version of the Hyundai Ioniq has been revealed today in Korea and is not exactly what we expected. Instead of a plug-in hybrid that has a bigger battery than the hybrid, the automaker made a pure EV.
The Ioniq Electric features slightly different headlights and a few other touches. But the design is 99% the same. What's not the same is the battery, which has grown in capacity by about a dozen times, reaching 28 kWh.
So what do we think? Well, it's okay, but people were expecting much more. Early rumors suggested this car would be able to travel 155 miles or 250 kilometers per charge. But the real numbers are 105 miles or 169 kilometers. The best way to explain why the Ioniq EV is disappointing would be to look at the Kia Soul EV, which gets 148 km/92 miles with a tall crossover body. Also, the 2016 version of the Nissan Leaf packs a 30 kWh battery and does two more miles per charge than the Ioniq. It's almost as if Hyundai just doesn't want to compete and made an unimpressive EV to scare people into buying regular gas guzzlers.
The Ioniq Electric certainly doesn't win any power battles either. At 117 horsepower, it's got about one-sixth of the output of a Tesla Model S P90D. We don't know how long 0 to 60 takes, but it should be around 10 seconds with a top speed of only 150 km/h (93 mph). The regular hybrid model will arrive in America during the third quarter, while the EV version comes in Q4. Prices for the Korean market have already been set at 40 million won ($32,400) for the standard Electric and 43 million ($34,800) for the premium Q model with the leather seats.
We suspect prices will drop in coming years, and an all-new battery with twice the range will come out. However, as things stand, Hyundai's estimate of only 5,000 sales in the first year seems reasonable. One thing this car has in its favor is the fact that the bespoke platform features aluminum and high-strength steel. Sharing it between several Kia and Hyundai models will reduce costs in the long run. Most people will also agree that it looks better than the Prius and Leaf.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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