2019 Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, plug-in and electric priced for Australia
The 2019 Hyundai Ioniq will launch in Australia this month, complete with a full range of Prius-style petrol-electric hybrid, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and electric vehicle (EV) model grades.
Priced from $33,990 plus on-road costs for the Ioniq Elite, and $38,990+ORC for the Ioniq Premium, the hybrid teams a 77kW/147Nm 1.6-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine with a 32kW/170Nm electric motor fed by a 1.56 kiloWatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, for system outputs of 104kW/265Nm.
Driving the front wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, the 1375kg five-door liftback boasts a 456-litre boot volume and combined-cycle fuel consumption of 3.4 litres per 100 kilometres (with the Elite’s 15-inch alloy wheels) or 3.9L/100km (with Premium’s 17s). It can even run on 91RON/E10 unleaded and costs $265 to service for each of the first three annual or 15,000km checks.
The Ioniq PHEV costs $40,990+ORC for the Elite and $45,490+ORC for the Premium, featuring an identical engine and electric motor (though the latter moves to 44.5kW, system outputs are unchanged).
However, a larger 8.9kWh lithium-ion battery pack enables up to 63km of electric-only driving, lowering combined-cycle fuel consumption to 1.1L/100km. That in turn reduces luggage space to 341L, and ups weight to 1495kg, though servicing costs remain the same. Hyundai also claims that it can be recharged in as little as two hours and 15 minutes using the onboard 3.3kW AC charger.
Finally, the Ioniq EV asks $44,990+ORC for the Elite and $48,990+ORC for the Premium, which uses an 88kW/295Nm electric motor only, fed by a three-times-larger 28kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Hyundai claims a ‘real world’ driving range of 230km on a single charge, although the official claim is 280km.
A 6.6kW AC charger enables full charge in four hours 25 minutes, and the local division of the South Korean brand says that Jet Charge is its preferred installer of home charging that can enable that sort of brisk recharge time. Via a household 240V AC outlet, it takes 12 hours to recharge the 1425kg liftback.
The Ioniq EV even gets a 350L boot, and the ask for its first five services is just $160 each – whereas the Ioniq hybrid and Ioniq PHEV each require a major four-year or 60,000km service at $465, before returning to the $265 charge of the first three services at the five-year or 75,000km mark.
Hyundai has also thrown in plenty of convenience kit and active safety technology as standard.
The Ioniq Elite hybrid gets seven airbags, forward collision warning with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitor, lane-departure warning with active lane-keep assistance, reversing camera with rear parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, 15-inch alloy wheels with a full-size spare wheel, automatic on/off headlights, keyless auto-entry with push-button start, dual-zone climate control with rear air vents, leather-wrapped steering wheel, and an 8.0-inch touchscreen with digital radio, satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring technology, colour trip computer display and eight-speaker Infinity audio.
The Ioniq Elite PHEV adds 16s and a tyre mobility kit, losing the full-size spare, while the Ioniq Elite EV features a silver front grille sans air intake, an electric parking brake, adjustable driver’s lumbar support, auto on/off wipers, 7.0in driver display, and electric-fold door mirrors, though only single-zone climate.
The Ioniq Premium hybrid then adds 17s, front parking sensors, bi-xenon headlights, electric-fold door mirrors, electric sunroof, leather trim, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel, 7.0in driver display, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, auto on/off wipers, wireless smartphone charging and steering wheel-mounted paddleshifters.
The Ioniq Premium PHEV steps back with 16s and gets a tyre mobility kit, but includes low-beam LED headlights, while the Ioniq Premium EV only really adds to that with an electric parking brake.
On paper, the six-tier range should have not only the Toyota Prius worried, but also Nissan with its delayed (until mid-2019) Leaf. Those models are hybrid- and electric-only respectively.
We’ll have first drive impressions of the 2019 Hyundai Ioniq hybrid, PHEV and EV soon, so stay tuned.
