Hyundai is fast becoming synonymous with reasonable price and good quality. The latest offering from the Korean car manufacturer to reach Malaysian shores is proof of this. Selling at just above RM110,000, the Ioniq is a well-equipped car for the price.
First revealed in South Korea in January, its official debut took place in March at the Geneva Motor Show. In November, it was unveiled to the Malaysian public at the 1Utama Shopping Centre, where it was officially launched.
When it was released globally, Hyundai introduced three variants, namely, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle, and the Electric Vehicle.
However, in Malaysia, only the HEV variant is available as it is not practical to introduce the Plug-in Hybrids and fully-electric variant here, as the infrastructure and charging bays are not easily available around the country.
Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd organised a media test drive to Putrajaya and we drove the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid HEV Plus variant.
Assembled in Kulim, Kedah, this version of the Ioniq is powered by a 1.6 litre Kappa GDI four-cylinder Atkinson cycle direct injection engine, hooked to a six-speed dry dual-clutch automatic transmission (DCT) and a permanent magnet synchronous electric motor.
Its internal combustion engine produces 105hp at 5,700rpm and 147Nm of torque from 4,000rpm, while the electric motor gives 44hp and 170Nm of torque. The electric motor is powered by a 1.56kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack located under the rear seats.
The Hyundai Ioniq HEV Plus is 4,470mm in length, 1,820mm in width, 1,450mm in height, and weighs about 1,370kg. It has a 45-litre fuel tank capacity and a boot space of 535 litres.
Hyundai claims the EEV-certified Ioniq is able to sprint from standstill to 100kph in 11.1 seconds with a top speed of 195kph. In terms of fuel efficiency, the Ioniq consumes about 3.4 litres of petrol per 100km.
The chassis of the Ioniq benefits from the use of ultra-high strength steel, which is 53.5 per cent tougher than other steel, as well as aluminium to allow a lighter weight and to keep the Ioniq’s centre of gravity as low as possible.
Hyundai said they managed to save 12.6kg by using these lightweight materials. The high strength steel is also a factor that helped the Ioniq score a full five stars on its Euro NCAP safety tests.
The Hyundai Ioniq HEV Plus comes with HID bi-xenon headlamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, LED positioning lamps, LED rear taillights, LED daytime running lights, electric side mirrors, 15-inch ventilated disc brakes for the front, 14-inch disc brakes for the rear, leather seats, eight-way adjustable power driver seats, 7-inch TFT-LCD digital instrument cluster, 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system, Qi wireless charger and keyless smart entry with push to start button.
It also has an electro-chromic rearview mirror, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, rearview camera, rear air-conditioning vents and blue ambient lights.
The Ioniq is equipped with seven airbags, anti-lock braking system, brake assist, hill-start assist, vehicle stability management, blind spot detection, autonomous emergency braking system, lane keep assist and an adaptive cruise control as its core safety features.
It is priced at RM110,828 excluding insurance, while inclusive of Goods and Services Tax. The Hyundai Ioniq comes with Hyundai’s Care Plus package, which includes a five-year or 300,000km warranty, and a Safe Drive 24/7 roadside assist.
Hyundai is offering an eight-year unlimited mileage warranty on the traction battery. There is a guarantee that the cost of the battery replacement will be below RM10,000, if it needs to be replaced after the warranty period.
The Drive
A total of 24 journalists took part in the Hyundai Ioniq drive to Putrajaya. The convoy consisted of eight media cars, a lead car, sweeper car, support car and photographer car.
We clocked around 200km through highways, city, urban and rough road conditions. We find that the Hyundai Ioniq’s DCT transmission is smooth and far better than many similar gearboxes with no jerkiness at low speeds and little hesitation. The transmission shifts seamlessly and picks its gears intelligently from the six ratios.
In Eco mode, acceleration is a bit sluggish, but this improves tremendously when in Sport mode, with better responsiveness from the engine. The steering is weighted when you shift to Sport mode, to improve steering feel and accuracy.
Wind and engine noise is hardly perceptible at low speed, but tyre noise is. The engine, too, becomes very noisy when it is revved hard.
On high-speed corners, the car sits firmly on the road, despite its soft suspension settings. This can be attributed to the low centre of gravity on the Ioniq, which reduces body roll.
With a plethora of safety features, the Ioniq feels safe and reassuring to drive.
The blind spot detector keeps the driver alert when there’s a vehicle in the Ioniq’s blind spot by lighting up a warning light located on the side mirrors.
With the automatic emergency braking, the car will slow to a halt if it detects an obstacle in its path.
Some of our fellow journalists even tried cruising on the highway without holding the steering wheel with the lane-keeping assistance activated. Of course, this safety feature is not meant to be abused, as it is a feature to assist and save lives in emergencies.
The Hyundai Ioniq HEV Plus comes with adaptive cruise control that is very useful, especially on the highway, and a feature that is quite astounding given its price point. Set and activate the cruise control and the car will accelerate on its own to cruise at the designated speed. If there is a vehicle in front, it will slow down and match the vehicle’s speed while keeping a safe distance.
After two hours of driving on a mixture of highway, city and urban roads, we finally reached our lunch venue. The convoy then headed to the Putrajaya Recreational Airstrip after lunch for a gymkhana run, where the participants thoroughly tested the handling of the Ioniq with braking and acceleration tests. The Autonomous Emergency Braking System and the Rear Cross Traffic Alert systems were also thoroughly tested.
At the end of the drive, we headed back to Kuala Lumpur, with the fuel economy gauge showing a reading of 6.1 litres per 100km with a distance to empty of more than 700km.
We were surprised that, despite the aggressive driving and hard acceleration, the Ioniq had consumed very little fuel. We expected to see closer to nine or 10 litres per 100km.
Overall, we were impressed with the performance, design and features in the Hyundai Ioniq HEV Plus. There is still some room for improvement, as the Ioniq is short of head and leg room in the rear passenger seats. Six footers are unable to sit on the rear seats without having their head touch the roof of the car.
Another aspect of the Ioniq that can be improved is the rear air-conditioning vent, which should come with a separate blower, and temperature controls instead of relying on the front settings.
Other than that, the Ioniq is a decent car at a decent price, and proof that Hyundai is driving in the right direction.