Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

If you're offering one free, remember I'm first in the line!

 

With sparse support for Tesla over here, they could have made huge strides forward. As for Brexit, most European countries have aggressively invaded and occupied us through the centuries, so you guys weren't the first to push back an oppressive nation.

 

Source: Management Shake-up as Hyundai Ousts U.S. CEO Zuchowski | TheDetroitBureau.com

Dave Zuchowski, the widely respected CEO of Hyundai Motor America has been summarily ousted by the company’s Korean headquarters.

The departure of the long-time Hyundai executive, who was named CEO in 2013, comes at a time when Hyundai has lost some of its momentum in the American market – though various industry observers said they question how much blame can be ascribed to Zuchowski considering he has long been pressing to flesh out Hyundai’s slim line-up of light trucks at a time they are gaining momentum while traditional passenger cars falter.
. . .
But even before being terminated, Krafcik made it clear Hyundai needed to rethink its model mix, a call Zuchowski echoed throughout his three years at the helm.

“Changing leadership hasn’t solved any of their problems,” said analyst Sullivan, because “Hyundai is out of touch with the American market. It doesn’t matter who is at the top if you don’t have the right product.”
. . .
It’s unclear if Flannery is a temporary fill-in or if he will be in the job longer-term. But whomever takes the CEO post at HMA will be facing challenges, especially if the U.S. car market cools, as expected, next year. Zuchowski was particularly good at keeping the maker’s 350 American dealers happy. They may be less willing to wait for a better model mix now.
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Bob Wilson

 

Hyundai i40 auto I hired already has a mode which holds the car stationary once it has stopped, whether on a hill or not. As soon as you pressed the accelerator (gas pedal), it disengaged automatically.

I liked that a lot. Wish they had it on the Gen4.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

thinking outside the box. toyota should take note.

 

On the Gen-3, we press the brake hard and a light comes on. It holds the car stationary for ~2-3 seconds, long enough to press the accelerator and take off. It is called "hill hold mode" or something like it.

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks. Yes I read about this and believe it's on the UK Gen4. But this is specifically for hillstarts hence the time limit.

For me the Hyundai approach is more useful. You can select or deselect it too with a toggle switch.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Sur route

Nous avons relevé une moyenne de 4,5 l/100 km contre 5,5 l/100 km pour la coréenne sur le même parcours, qui avoue 100 kg de plus sur la balance (1 477 kg contre 1 375 kg pour la Prius).

Once more real testing gives Prius a win. Unless French driving "même parcours" mean racing the Ioniq and babying Prius.

 

There's some Ioniq forums as well which is interesting to read. I'm glad these companies are supporting forums and close-knit communities to publicly converse about problems and real-world MPG. There's a pacifica forum too. Anyway, still waiting for real US Ioniq news. There are some UK articles suggesting the efficiency is less than the 4th gen Prius, so it definitely puts in to question how the EPA tested here or if the Ioniq was built for EPA testing.

Still, UK miles != US miles, anyone know why exactly?

 

Or cheated?

 

I'd suggest we wait until the Ioniq is available in the USA before making judgements. We know that the USA version will be slightly different from the European and Asian models (also true with the Prius). I'm anxious to let the finding fall where they will, and make my decision based on the real world experiences of owner/drivers in the US ..... not some article that must be translated into English.

I suspect some die-hard Prius patrons are worried about the Ioniq.

 

more likely just skeptical, because so many anti prius people have been posting articles of prius killers for about 10 years now, and none have come to fruition. it must get frustrating for them.

 

I must say Europeans deserved a better tweaked Ioniq. Some of us are still missing the old TDI numbers.

 

You mean the fake ones?

 

Since I'll be buying my third Prius in a couple of days, sight unseen in Rhode Island, I can be safely called a 'die-hard Prius patron:'

I saw the prototype IONIQ drivetrain in January 2009 at the Detroit Autoshow:


I also know a little bit about the Prius architecture, its strengths and weaknesses. So I see the IONIQ as potentially achieving similar efficiency with an increase in mechanical complexity. In the right hands on any given day, either car can trash the other ('Paging Wayne Gertes! Paging Consumer Reports! Paging the Taylors!') This is different from the TDI snark.

Cars with clutches have existed since the first transmissions with arrays of spinning gears of which many spend most of their time not transferring power. In contrast, the Prius e-CVT has no significant wear clutches and far fewer gears that are always working or if in "N", not. My engineering background favors KISS and the IONIQ drive is more complex. Sure the IONIQ can be made to work using the same technology cars have had for over 100 years but I'll always see it as more complex with too many, partially used parts.

My next Prius adds one significant modification, a one-way clutch, that allows MG1 and MG2 to work together as a single motor in EV mode. It is the difference between having two motors, the Toyota way, versus a single large motor, the Hyundai way ... with gears.

Someday folks will be able to buy an IONIQ. I'll be happy to drive to the celebration party in my new Prius.

Bob Wilson

 

Wasn't there a paradoxical argument at one point - that manual transmissions would fair better versus automatic if driven correctly?

 

Can you give some specific vehicle examples? The reason I ask is there are multiple transmission architectures including at least two CVTs. This is my 'short' list:

• Model A - single clutch, manual transmission
• <generic> - dual-clutch, manual transmission
  
• Plymouth Fury - hydromechanical transmission
• Honda IMA - motor integrated in flywheel, mechanical CVT
• Toyota - dual-motor, no clutch, e-CVT
• BMW i3-REx - serial, engine-generator, battery motor

Which ones would you like to review?

Bob Wilson

 

Don't forget Honda IMA with manual transmission.... In the Insight I, where both were available, the manual was rated higher by the EPA, which may be to what Bisco is referring.

 

Well we can solve the problem of manual transmissions very quickly. We'll have my non-technical wife drive it. She'll grind and strip the teeth off the gears and the only cars remaining are the various flavors of automatic. <GRINS>

Bob Wilson

 

Well, the BEV drivetrain will be a lot simpler than any hybrid even a series PHEV. I look forward to test driving it. Seems the Model 3 finally has a contender.

Where can we read a little bit more about both of these drivetrains?

I started a topic on hybrid synergy drive, perhaps you can explain your penultimate paragraph a little more there? How has Hybrid Synergy Drive changed since gen 1? | PriusChat


thanks