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2020 Hyundai Ioniq Premium Plug In Hybrid: Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: Hyundai’s tilt at a mainstream PHEV or plug in hybrid vehicle. It sits below the purely electric Ioniq and above the standard hybrid.
How Much Does It Cost?: The Ioniq PHEV starts at $46,734 and ranges to $52,530 driveaway. The standard hybrid has $39,084 as a starting price and tops out at $45,510 driveaway, with the fully electric version ticking a box that says $53,446 to $58,726.
The car driven, the PHEV, comes in two trim levels, being Elite and Premium. Five colours add to the mix, with Fluid Metal, Amazon Grey, Intense Blue, Polar White, and Fiery Red.
Under The Bonnet Is: A combination of a 1.6L petrol Atkinson Cycle engine producing 77kW & 147Nm, and an electric motor with 44.5kW/170Nm. The combined total is 104kW & 265Nm. The battery is rated at 8.9kWh and 360 volts. Charging timer is 2 1/4 hours using a Type 2 charger. Economy is rated as 1.1L/100km for the combined cycle but we average more like 5.0L/100km but on a more urban focused drive. The transmission fitted is a six speed dual clutch auto. The Ioniq PHEV Premium weighs 1,495 kg dry.
On The Outside It’s: A sleek looking five door hatch. It’s more a liftback in look than a “traditional ” hatch, with a shortened tail in a coupe style. In overall presence it’s around i30 in size but has little obvious physical resemblance to it. The wheels have a turbine blade design to them to help funnel air and aid aero. They’re 205/55/16 in size, with rubber from the Michelin Energy range.
Lighting front and rear is LED, with a three chevron motif at the rear. The front lights are a slimline design and bracket a familiar but different Hyundai grille. In profile it evokes the “grandfather” of hybrid hatches, the Prius.
The battery charge port is up front on the left with the fuel tank port on the left rear flank. Fuel tank capacity is 43L.
On The Inside It’s: A startling mix of high tech and basic Hyundai. For example, the buttons around the gear selector are standard Hyundai. The tiller looks the same, and comfort comes from the heated and vented front seats. The touchscreen is standard Hyundai, however it includes a cool looking display for the way the petrol and battery systems work together to distribute power.
The touchscreen also displays the nearest charging stations, plus has DAB, Android and Apple apps. For the driver, the display is a full width and full colour LCD affair, and looks fantastic. It eschews the traditional speedo and tacho look for a more contemporary and modern look.
Piano black plastic suits the look of the Ioniq, with the 10.25 inch touchscreen and aircon surrounds clad in it. The aircon controls themselves are more of a tactile soft touch which adds to the semi-futuristic look of the Ioniq.
On the left is the usage indicator, as in whether the engine system is charging or running on battery power. To the right is the battery and petrol levels. Front and centre is the extra information such as speed, or eco usage. There are paddle shifters on the column but these don’t change ratios, instead they change the amount of resistance for regenerating power harvested from the braking system.
Interior room is good, with space approaching the i30. 341 L is the starting size, with a maximum of 1401 L. Head room measurements are 970 mm & 951 mm respectively, with the crucial leg room distances at 1073 mm & 907 mm.
Front and rear rows each feature a pair of cupholders and each door has bottle holders, plus the rear seats have a centre armrest that folds out.
On The Road It’s: Not quite the whipcracking performance expected. The Dual Clutch Auto feels more like a CVT, a constant variable transmission, and comes across as the same when driving. There’s even no typical DCT lag when going from Drive to Reverse and back. It’s sluggish, swallowing power just as a CVT does. However, the integration of petrol and battery on the drive is seamless.
Gentle acceleration has the pair working together nicely, if slowly, whereas a hard shove of the throttle brings more life but still not as zippy as expected. In context, Toyota’s Corolla, the most logical competitor, sees a better and quicker response due to the slightly different CVT fitted. Unlike the Corolla and indeed Toyota’s hybrid system where the electric engine cuts in at 20kph even with EV Mode selected, the Ioniq’s system is more battery oriented. It really only switches to the petrol when that extra urge is needed or when the battery is well down on charge.
The petrol engine winds up easily and it’s a quiet unit to boot. Although actual drive response may seem slowish the pedal does elicit a quick response from the engine itself, making it a willing revver. The whole package is super quiet too, even on the coarser chip tarmac roads.
The Ioniq has two drive modes as such too, and both are to do with how the engines work. HEV or Hybrid are the two modes and one, HEV, charges the battery system on the go. The touchscreen display also shows the various ranges and charge levels as the Ioniq goes about its business.
Ride quality is on the taut side for the Ioniq Premium PHEV. Driven on the freeway it flattens out the usual imperfections well enough, but hit some of the road joins and it’s a bit more bang crash. It rides as if the compliance is more on the bottom end and compresses a little too quickly otherwise. The rear is a multi-link setup which for the most part ensures the grip levels are high, but it will skip occasionally on corners with road joins.
What About Safety?: Name it and it’s here, and across the range. Blind-Spot Collision Warning, Driver Attention Warning, Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist (FCA) – City/Urban/Interurban/Pedestrian, High Beam Assist, Lane Following Assist, Lane Keeping Assist – Line, Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning andSmart Cruise Control with Stop & Go. There is also Parking Distance Warning – Reverse (PDW-R) with 4 sensors and with guidance display, Rear View Monitor with Parking Guidance, and individual wheel tyre pressure monitoring. Airbags? Seven, thank you.
What About Warranty And Service?: Hyundai offers a pre-paid service plan. Warranty is five years and unlimited kilometres and the battery in each model has eight years or 160,000 kilometres.
At The End Of The Drive. It’s a solid if unspectacular performance from the Ioniq PHEV. It’s got enough to titillate the technical and eco minded, enough Hyundai-ish to make it relatable to the family, unlike the overblown and overdone Kona Electric, and drives well enough to not frighten people unfamiliar with the technology. But buyers of this would be familiar enough anyway. Here is where you can find out more.
2019 Hyundai i30 N Fastback: Car Review.
This Car Review Is About: Hyundai’s foray into the hot hatch arena. It’s not quite a hatch though, with its five door liftback/coupe styling, a body shared with Kia’s Cerato range. It’s the N badge that sets it apart from its lesser brethren.
How Much Does It Cost?: Hyundai’s list price is $41500 plus on roads. The website lists it as $46,133 to $49,781 drive-away, depending on seeing the Luxury Pack (as tested) inside or not.
Under The Bonnet Is: A potent 2.0L petrol fed and turbocharged four cylinder, mated to a super slick six speed manual. In N spec it’s good for 202kW and a hefty 353 torques. There is an overboost facility that provides 378Nm. “Normal” torque is available from 1,450rpm to 4,700rpm. Overboost is 1,750rpm to 4,200rpm. They’re delivered in a very linear fashion, rather than a lightning bolt kapow. It makes for an extremely flexible drivetrain.
Economy around town reflects the performance aspect though, with urban assaults seeing numbers north of 10.6/100km. That’s pretty much on the money for our drive. Hyundai quotes 8.0L/100km for the combined cycle. Our lowest figure was on the highway, not unsurprisingly, and clocked 7.5L/100km. That’s still above the 6.4L/100km from Hyundai’s official figures. Final overall was 9.4L/100km. Tank size is 50L and recommended fuel is 95RON.
On The Outside It’s: A somewhat subdued look. There are red painted brake calipers with the N logo clearly visible. A small rear spoiler sits above a curvaceous rump and lights that evoke Mercedes-Benz coupe and fastbacks. The front has a discreet N in the gloss black grille which sits between a pair of swept back headlights. Underneath is a chin spoiler that is perhaps too low. Every care was taken entering and reversing from the drive and it still scraped.
Wheels are 19 inches in diameter and have a distinctive spoke design. Rubber is from Pirelli, they’re P-Zero and 235/35 are in size.
Paint is metallic red and highlights the longer than the i30 hatch body. The hatch is 4,335mm with the fastback getting 4,455mm. Maximum height is 1,419mm and that’s lower than the hatch. This means a slipperier, more aerodynamic profile.
On The Inside It’s: An opportunity missed to stamp the N as a sports oriented vehicle. The air vents have red piping to the surrounds and that’s largely it in comparison to the largely otherwise unremarkable interior. The steering wheel has red stitching, and there is subtle red stitching in the seats. The look is subdued and dare we say, generic with unremarkable plastics, the standard looking touchscreen interface bar the N tab, and analogue dials where a full width LCD screen would have been better optioned.
The Luxury Pack is comprehensive. Push button Start/Stop, synthetic suede and leather seats (which are bloody comfortable and supportive) that feature a subtly embossed N logo, with both the front pews and steering wheel getting heating. There is a two position memory function for the driver’s seat plus 12 way power adjustment. Both front seats have extendable squabs for extra support available as an option. A wireless charge pad for compatible smartphones is also standard. Front sensors for parking and puddle lamps are part of the package too, as is privacy glass for the rear seats. The wing mirrors are powered and auto-dip for reversing.
There is no tab for the central locking. This precludes anyone outside opening the door whilst the engine is running, meaning it has to be powered off to allow someone to get in. It’s a small but noticeable niggle. However Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, as is DAB audio. Curiously, the audio lacked bass, even with the equaliser moved up to full for that part of the sound stage. Mid-range and treble are clear and overtake the bass in in presence.
The tiller has the drive mode switches; one for Sport/Normal/Eco, and one for the N performance package. The Sport engages the throaty rumble mode for the exhaust whereas the N selection firms up the steering and suspension, and offers a preset or customisable set of settings for exhaust, steering, engine and more via the touchscreen. Standard look is showing power, torque, turbo boost, and g-force readings, plus lap timings for track days.
Inside the 436L cargo area is a brace bar to provide extra torsional rigidity. The cargo section itself opens up to 1,337L with the rear seats folded. A cargo net is standard, as is a space saver spare. A glass roof is an optionable extra. Shoulder and leg room, is fine and even rear seat leg room is good enough.
On The Road It’s: A sleeper. Left in Eco and Normal mode it’s…normal. There’s a typical feel to the whole package in acceleration, noise, handling. The clutch is curiously heavier than expected and resulted in more than a few stalls. Hit the Sport mode and there’s a change of attitude. The exhaust suddenly gets more snarl, there’s an extra sense of weight to the steering, and sharper handling.
N mode lights the candle. There’s an extra depth to the anger of the exhaust and especially on up and downshifts. There’s a crackle, a sharp and hard edged note that’s evident on even light throttle. Go hard and the length and volume of the growl becomes longer thanks to some electronic assistance. Launch Control is standard and that’s activated via the disabling of the traction control system. Hold that button down, wait until a couple of lights flash to say things are happening, and then push down the clutch. Floor the throttle and somewhere around six seconds later it’s freeways speeds.
There is torque steer but the electronic or “e-diff” makes a great fist of smoothing that out. Although hydralic in nature, the electron brains behind the scenes distrubute torque as per where the sensors say it should. It makes for a pretty much arrow straight line on a hard launch, and keeps both front wheels in contact with the ground. Steering is super precise and is just two turns lock to lock. This means input results in instant response. Rev-matching works on getting the engine to be in a rev range suitable for the cog selected on downshifts.
It’s slick and smooth, and gets the rumble and snarl from the rear happening. The selector itself is light, with Hyundai saying the actual feel was built in for “enthusiastic drivers”. For us, it felt accurate in throw, perhaps a little long, but also disconnected and remote from the driving experience. Braking is the complete opposite, with one of the best sensory experiences available. Think about where the pedal needed to be and it was, with instant response from the lightest of touches.
The N mode makes, as mentioned, for harder suspension. It’s noticeably different in quality and brings forth a benefit. That’s every corner, as firm as they become, being able to provide to the driver a picture of every ripple, every dent and ridge on a 20c coin without a feeling of being overly tight and taut. It’s a superbly tuned package and one honed by 500 laps of The Nurburgring. The torque spread makes for easy freeway driving, and overtaking is as simple as either squeeze and go, or drop a cog or two. There are shift lights and a shift indicator notification in the LCD screen in the driver’s binnacle.
What About Safety?: There is no stinting here. The full Hyundai SafetySense package is available, with Forward Collision Avoidance, Driver Attention Warning, and Lane Keep Assist. The DAW in the liftback was overly enthusiastic, saying a break should be taken after just a few minutes worth of travel time. Quad sensors front and rear provide accurate parking measurements as does the clear view from the reverse camera which includes guideline assist. On the passive safety front there are seven airbags including the driver’s kneebag. Hill Start Assist was welcomed due to the vagaries of the clutch point.
What About Warranty And Service?: Hyundai have done track day drivers a huge service here. Under most warranty guidelines, issues found to be as a result of track days aren’t covered. Hyundai disagree with that and do offer that coverage. Also, cars delivered by December 31, 2019, will have seven years warranty, instead of five. Service costs are capped (check with your Hyundai dealer) and items such as satnav updates can be done when a car is booked in for a service.
At The End Of The Drive. We must thank Hyundai Australia for the opportunity to drive the liftback version of the i30 N. It timed out well in one respect, one not made mention of This is your link for more information.until now. the car had well over twelve thousand kilometres on the clock when picked up, and there’s no doubt many of those would have been hard driven ones. No rattles, no squeaks, no unnecessary noises at all, indicating a very high level of build quality in the tolerances.
It’s an excellent all-rounder, family and enthusiast friendly, and bar the downmarket look and surprising lack of low end in the sound system, provides a wonderful environment in which to spend time in. Outside the liftback looked resplendent in red but didn’t visually yell it was an N spec. A matter of personal taste, one would suggest. This is your source for more info.
Kia Goes Back To Black And Offer More Protection.
Kia Motors Australia has added a pair of distinctive Special Edition models to its showrooms, providing standout options to Sorento and Stinger buyers. The Sorento Black Edition offers outstanding value to buyers wanting to make a bold styling statement with their lifestyle-choice large SUV. Sitting on 19-inch gloss black alloy wheels the Sorento Black Edition also boasts a gloss black grille, gloss black roof racks, dark chrome door garnish and black side mirror covers. There are distinctive “Ice Cube” LED fog lights, black front and rear skid plates, panoramic sunroof and privacy glass to complete the street-wise look.
Available in both 2.2 diesel ($52,490 drive away) and 3.5-litre petrol ($48,990 drive away) the Black Editions are trimmed to sit between SLi and GT-Line. They are available in four colour options: Clear White, Silky Silver, Aurora Black and Snow White Pearl.
For Stinger, the Carbon Edition, based off the 3.3-litre bi-turbo GT, brings a deck of exclusive carbon fibre exterior trims to set the Special Edition model apart from its siblings. With carbon fibre door mirrors, grille surround, fender vents, rear skid plate and hood vent the Carbon Edition is easily identifiable as something special. For the interior there is a special Carbon Edition badge ahead of the gear lever and a sporty Alcantara steering wheel. At $67,990 (drive away) the Carbon Edition is available in the new Neon Orange, Micro Blue, Hichroma Red, Snow White Pearl and Aurora Black.
All models benefit from Kia’s industry-leading 7-Year Warranty, 7-Year Capped Price Service and 7-Year Roadside Assist program.
KIA is also leading the charge to improve the customer purchase experience with Australia’s first vehicle protection products sold as a genuine factory branded accessory. The KIA branded range will provide customers the opportunity to protect their new and pre-owned vehicles with the highest quality surface protection using ceramic coatings developed exclusively for KIA. KIA have partnered with MotorOne, Australia’s leading aftermarket supplier, to ensure their customers get the most technologically advanced protection formulas coupled with a comprehensive lifetime warranty.
The ceramic exterior surface coating is sourced from Korea, using state-of-the-art technology to protect the vehicle’s paintwork whilst maintaining the showroom shine without the need for waxing and polishing. Available only from dealerships, the treatment is professionally applied to new or used vehicles up to five years old. The treatment is especially important for car users that are plagued by the effects of bird and bat droppings when parking their car outside.
The complete interior surface protection formula uses an advanced polymer technology that maintains the condition of leather, vinyl, carpet and fabric surfaces. The treatment creates a dirt and liquid repellent coating, protecting the vehicle’s interior from stains and marks. KIA, in conjunction with the MotorOne product development team, has undertaken extensive product durability testing on all vehicles in the KIA range to ensure customers experience outstanding performance, durable protection and a vehicle that stays cleaner for longer.
Each KIA dealership is undertaking comprehensive training for the sales teams, covering education and treatment of paintwork and interior fabrics and, more importantly, extensive product application training for the technical team to ensure a premium delivery on every vehicle fitted with KIA Car Care products.
Hyundai Has A New Venue.
Hyundai’s bold new Venue SUV marks a fresh entry point to the Hyundai range. It’s available very soon and will have a starting price from $19,990 (Manufacturer’s list price). Venue will become the Hyundai SUV entry point to a broad small car range, offering the road presence and interior space of an SUV, combined with the parking ease, economy, and manoeuvrability of a light car.
A three-grade line-up provides a new Venue to suit every customer, each with a flexible and economical 90kW, 151Nm 1.6-litre engine, front-wheel drive, and a choice of six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmissions depending on the model grade. A two-stage variable intake system is fitted and designed to maximise low-end torque and drivability. The three grades are: Go, Active, and Elite.
The Venue Go auto starts from $21,990 plus costs. The Active starts from $21,490 for the manual, and the auto steps up at $23,490. Elite kicks off from $25,490, and metallic paint is a $495 option.
Hyundai’s SmartSense safety suite is standard in every Venue, and incorporates Forward Collision-Avoidance Assist, Lane Keeping Assist, Driver Attention Warning, High Beam Assist and tyre-pressure monitoring. The range-opening Venue Go also features dusk-sensing headlights, hill-assist control system, cruise control and six airbags. Headlining an array of standard equipment in new Venue is an 8.0-inch touchscreen multimedia unit featuring Bluetooth streaming, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as a reversing camera.
The Venue Active adds Rear Parking Distance Warning (PDW-R) system, LED daytime running lights, powered folding exterior mirrors with LED side repeaters, alloy wheels, and leather appointed steering wheel and gear knob. Stepping up to the Venue Elite, customers also get Blind-Spot Collision Warning (BCW) and Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning (RCCW) systems, climate control, LED taillights, 17-inch alloy wheels, and a distinctive two-tone roof.
A Drive Mode system in Venue automatic variants allows customers to choose a powertrain setting that best suits their driving style. In addition, an all-new Traction Mode system offers unique traction control calibrations suited to snow, mud or sand driving. Venue benefits from a comprehensive Australian-specific chassis tune that delivers playful dynamics together with ride sophistication that is more commonly associated with larger vehicles. Exhaustive suspension testing and tuning by Australian engineers took place both at the Hyundai Namyang Research and Development Centre in Korea as well as a range of harsh and challenging Australian roads.
Venue applies Hyundai’s signature cascading grille and stacked headlight design to convey a bold road presence. Exaggerated wheel-arches build on the frontal styling to create a squat and athletic stance that is enhanced by strong character lines. An intuitive, practical and robust interior design complements Venue’s rugged exterior image. The cabin is headlined by a large tablet-style 8.0-inch multimedia display, and provides a sophisticated ambience through the use of black, grey and denim-coloured interior trim combinations. Venue provides the high level of practicality that SUV buyers demand, with an abundance of clever solutions that help maximise the use of interior space, and allow a generous 355-litre luggage space.
“The new Venue is ahead of the curve, offering customers a high level of value in a practical and well-equipped compact SUV. As our new range-entry model, the Venue combines the rugged looks and practical benefits of an SUV and a light car, with advanced safety technology at an attractive price point,” said Hyundai Motor Company Australia Chief Executive Officer, JW Lee said.
Head to Hyundai’s website for more information.
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