Back in April Mark-m kindly suggested I write a review of our experiences with our 2020 Hyundai Ioniq Premium (full) electric car, after seeing my protest about the rapacious price of a replacement can of tyre sealant. Well this is it.
Why the Hyundai Ioniq?
Several reasons. Firstly, for environmental and practical reasons we were keen to get an all electric replacement for our 11 year old Toyota Corolla. So a modest, but practical size was a key factor. At the time and in our view, there were four cars in the mix – Nissan Leaf, Tesla 3 (though its wheelbase is more the size of the Toyota Camry rather than the Corolla), Hyundai Ioniq and Hyundai Kona. Several Australian and international multi car reviews gave the Hyundais very good overall ratings, so we test drove both the Kona and the Ioniq and felt the Ioniq rode better than the Kona, was a little bigger with better overall space utilisation and more rear seat room. The 2020 model had a bigger battery than the previous models – though not as large as the Kona – giving a “real world” range of 311kms (not 310 or 312 but 311kms). Something we felt we could easily live with, especially as it was replacing our “second” town car.
We bought the Premium model because it had a few more safety features and an electric driver’s seat. It also has an electric sunroof which we could well do without and would not have paid for were it not part of the Premium package. The electric seat gives better, more finely adjusted back support than manual, in our view, and has a 2-position memory function – hers and his. Excellent. Just a pity the rear-view mirror position isn’t captured as part of the memory.
After just 6 months, we have driven nearly 9,000 kms – so much for a town car. It is so comfortable and quiet – something nearly every passenger comments on – and drives so easily that it has become our main car. No repairs or mishaps other than one puncture and we’ve nearly got used to having no gear lever – just buttons to engage drive, reverse and park.
Safety features .
Front and rear sensors and a rear camera are a must for us, especially in crowded car parks. The windscreen wipers have an automatic setting which is not bad but lacks some sensitivity, so when it raining we sometimes go manual. The automatic setting on the headlights works well and day time front running lights ensure you can be readily seen. The park brake is also automatic going on when Park is engaged and the engine turned off and releasing when reverse or drive is engaged.
For many years I have been a fan of cruise control and the Ioniq’s adaptive cruise control coupled with its lane centring technology make driving – anywhere but particularly on country trips – so much easier and less stressful. I was amazed at how good the technology is on our first trip in murky weather to the Hunter Valley. Despite mist, wet and dark roads where lane markings were hard to see, and a fair bit of traffic, it did not miss a beat. Some people do not like the adaptive cruise control because it seamlessly slows you down to the speed of cars in front of you and you can find that instead of sitting on 105 or 110 on a freeway you are down to 90 or 95 at a safe distance behind the car in front. But change lanes and the car returns to its set speed.
Battery charging
No review would be complete without talking about battery charging and range or “range anxiety.” Let’s get battery charging out of the way first. It seems every EV owner has a view about how much, how little or how often to charge, how much buffer is built into batteries, battery management systems etc etc. Having said that, the vast majority of our battery charging is done at home, overnight using off-peak power with the supplied charger in a standard power point in our carport. Occasionally we’ll plug in during sunny days to use our own solar. We charge when we have about 100kms “in the tank” – our lowest so far is 8% and 35kms – and go to 80% or around 250-280 kms. Only when a trip is imminent do we charge to 100%.
On our trips we’ve mostly used the NRMA provided fast chargers – which are free at present – and also Chargefox chargers, which also give a discount to NRMA members. I have an account with another charging company but have not used it so far. Most charging companies have online registration and phone apps to control the whole charging process. In my experience they are pretty good but not yet “bulletproof”. On a recent trip to Canberra we found numerous chargers installed by the ACT power authority and government which apparently only work with a physical “credit” card which takes a week or two to arrive after ordering. Not so friendly for tourists!
Range and “range anxiety”
For me having a car with a range of around 300kms, coupled with relatively few fast chargers, is rather like “Back to the future”. My first car, a 1958 Morris 1500, had a very similar range, so I’d have to fill up in Newcastle if travelling from Sydney to Port Macquarie. An interesting experience back then on a Friday night with very few petrol stations open!
So it does take planning to avoid the anxiety. And that comes to range.
I still have not really got my head around all the factors which influence range and by how much. From my experience, however, as with petrol-driven cars, speed and hills seem the biggest factors. Going “down” to Mittagong, Goulburn or Canberra from Sydney is actually going “up”. Mittagong is around 630 metres above sea level, Goulburn about 700 and Canberra 660. Such climbing does affect range. So, I doubt we could make Canberra (about 300kms) on a full charge, but I’m pretty sure we could do the return trip with just a little to spare.
A recent trip to from Sydney to Mittagong would have equated to a total range of 260-270 kms, but the average for the return trip would have equated to a total range of around 400kms. What a difference going “downhill” rather than “uphill” makes!
Regenerative braking is another factor which markedly affects range. Braking, the adaptive cruise control keeping you to the speed limit when going downhill or using the wonderful braking “paddles” just behind the steering wheel all put charge back into the battery.
In practice when planning a trip and taking into account all these factors and the still limited availability of fast chargers, I’m looking to charge at around the 200-250kms mark. A good time to stretch the legs and have a tea or coffee.
No spare tyre
I started this journey by complaining about the fact that there was no spare tyre and only a “tyre mobility kit” – some sealant and a cute little compressor which runs off the cigarette lighter fitting. Since I discovered that to replace the 200ml can of sealant with genuine Hyundai would cost $240+, I have bought a tubeless tyre repair kit, a $15 pressure pack can of sealant and a jack and I’m more than $150 better off as well as being better equipped for another puncture.
GPS
The GPS surprises me, especially bearing in mind that Hyundai has been selling cars in Australia now for many years. It is quite idiosyncratic – for example, occasionally telling you no address exists (even when you are parked out the front of it) and also warning you about non-existent speed cameras and associated speed zone changes (and these are places where speed cameras have never been located and where the speed zone has not changed). Fortunately, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay you can easily access friendlier and more intuitive phone maps: something we have had to do on a few occasions.
Not rated for tow bar
This is my final whinge. As a cyclist I regularly carry a bike or two on the rack on our other car, but the Hyundai is apparently not rated for a tow bar (or roof racks I believe) so no available tow bar. And with a glass-edged hatch I am not brave enough to try one of the hatch-mounted racks. After-market tow bars and bike racks are available in the US but who knows what effect they may have on warranty.
Are we happy with our purchase? Yes. Would we buy the car again? Yes, and we’re looking forward to the next step in our E-vehicle journey on our up-coming road trip to Queensland.
