Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

Definitely a competitor. They are actually designing this electrified platform to have versions that compete with the prius, volt, and leaf.

I think what you really are thinking is you don't think it will take market share from the prius. That is likely true, for non engineering reasons. The insight was also billed a competitor, and although it never did well in the US it took share in toyota's home country. The aqua/prius c effectively killed the insight, and today the aqua is best selling car in Japan.

Definitely a competitor, not enough inforation to know if it will do well. IMHO it isn't likely to take more than a 20% share away in hybrid form, but this is the first car that really goes straight at the prius for the US market.

hyundai doesn't really have to do much to be carb compliant, they don't sell that high of a percent of cars in california, and have the most efficient fleet in the US other than tesla. They could just buy credits from tesla or nissan.

Hyundai though wants to grow big, and is being a follower (can't say it is fast, this car is 19 years after the first prius). It wants to have as good of technology as the leader, it just takes longer.

Here the engine is a little different than the prius engine, but follows almost exactly (with the extra of di). Its a little smaller 1.6L versus 1.8L and more powerful 105 hp versus 96 hp, same 40% efficiency and both use agressive cooled egr. I would guess aerodynamics will be similar to the gen IV prius too, which means hwy mpg will be similar (unless someone is lying on figures, its happened before ;-))

It is also hyundai so it will be cost competitive. Looking at the styling of the new gen IV prius, I'll guess it will look better too. Hyundai's hybrid system isn't as efficient in the city, so I would expect epa city test to be worse than the prius, but I'ld guess we will see at least 49 city.

WE don't know passenger comfort or cargo room. I'm guessing if both prius and this new hyundai were exactly the same off the same lines, toyota would sell a lot more. This is probably targetting a younger demographic and has less cargo room to not go directly at the prius.

 

Well, Aqua killed Honda Fit hybrid in Japan so Toyota remains a hard to beat when HV sales are in stake.
But in this case, 3-in-one, this IONIQ competes with Prius (both HV and PHV) and Leaf. A big move!!

Go Hyundai, I bet someone has asked for BEVs after being ignored by Toyota.

 

How do you know that?

We just don't know enough about the vehicle.

Some basic things like price.

And if you speculate that it is going straight at the Prius in the US market but simultaneously say you don't see it taking much market share away from the Prius?

Then it isn't much of a competitor is it.

I've just heard too many vehicles proclaimed as a Prius competitor or "Prius Killer" that ended up sidestepping the whole battle.
I just need to know a whole lot more about the reality of this vehicle before I'm giving it that label.

 

austingreen:
Is the the first-ever use of "Frankenstein" as a verb?

 

+1

I wish I could take credit for it, but a quick google says its been around in the urban dictionary since at least 2011. I honestly don't remember typing it though, got a phone call during the post, and finished posting when talking. But yes give me credit or blaim for using the term.

 

i agree, you cannot be a competitor, until you are competing. we shall see.

 

First time for everything.
Eg: GM Volt was the first-ever use of "Frankenstein" as a car...

 

oh the irony

.

 

Thanks! I looked at definitions on the web, and it seems to me that "Frankensteining" in that sense would have been called "kludging" by my engineering friends in the 1970s. "Kludge" whether as a noun or verb had both a negative aspect ("inelegant") and a grudgingly positive aspect ("wow, you could get it done with just *that* stuff").

 

Yes it is a type of kludge.

 

new ioniq pics out in another thread. i'll give them one thing, it looks like a prius. not nearly as pretty as that shadow shape they've been showing.

 

Go Hyundai! Honda not only dropped it's hybrid Civic for 2016, but dropped it's amazing hybrid Accord. There is a dearth of compact hybrids for the US market. Hyundai makes a very good quality, reasonably priced hybrid Sonata, so I'm very hopeful that they'll follow through in the same vein with the IONIQ.

 

me too. disappointing so far. all the best to hyundai getting out from under!

 

LOL, yes it must be. What's with this modern trend of making all nouns into verbs? I've caught myself doing it a lot lately. Could be just as easy to say "So this isn't Hyundai modifying an already existing model". I think it started in the 90's with "text me, baby".

 

Do you have a source link, please?

 

Honda might not be offering a 2016 Accord hybrid in the US as they move production, but it is only for a year, and with our really cheap gas, not going to hurt their overall sales for that year.

 

I see a 2016 hybrid accord on their site. There is not a 2016 civic hybrid or civic cng. Its the accord phev that was discountinued, with plans for future phev, perhaps only on the clarity or clarity and accord phev in 2017 my or later.

 

I was going off IIRC of reports that may have confused the PHEV and hybrid.
The PHEV was for compliance, and was sold in just two states. It going away should not be a shock or let down. Losing half the trunk of the non-hybrid Accord for an EV range of the Prius plug in, wasn't a sign of a product meant for long term success.
With the lack of infrastructure support, I am a little surprised the CNG Civic lasted this long. CARB credits and HOV access kept it on?
The out going Civic hybrid was still IMA, but with Li-ion instead of NiMH. We should a replacement with Honda's new one motor or two motor system, but Honda doesn't need it for CAFE credits, and can delay it while gas prices are still low.

 

I think the accord trunk was still bigger than the mirai. I wouldn't count it out because of that. The problem was price and short range. The fusion energi with a small usable trunk sells fine, though not as well as a dedicated model like the volt or i3. Agree its no loss. It only sold 450 copies in 2014 about 4% of the fusion energi. With the sonata phev coming soon would have it doing even worse.

 

Suddenly, Mirai is the reference.