Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

Saturday I test drove a Leaf with a 30 kWhr listed at $34,000. A real car, not a press release.

Bob Wilson

 

surprised 'inside ev's' couldn't figure that out.

 

Be thankful for your test drive, you were contacting with a piece of extinction.
Noone is knocking at Toyota's door to build a BEV, and they happen to know everything.

By the way, did you feel some anxiety?

 

i'll bet there are some sweet deals on alt fuel vehicles, buy low, sell high!

 

Back then, no one was. For that matter, no one is now either. Everyone is waiting for the affordable long-range options coming in the next few years.

 

No one has ever wanted a "mid-range" BEV, except the Leaf owners, 200,000 worldwide...

 

What is WLTC?

The comments over at insideev are pretty negative about the range. It may be a little bit of too little too late for that to range. It will probably get some sales from people that think it looks better than the leaf, or don't trust the leaf battery in hot weather and think hyundai may bo a better job.

+1

Yes exactly. I just think with the leaf dealers trained and the gen II coming this year, their probably is not much market for the bev version. Maybe its a california special. The phev may be the hot seller of the 77,000/year that hyundai expects from ioniq.

 

This remains a problem as my minimum requirement is 120 miles, Huntsville-to-Nashville. I can charge in Nashville for the return trip but I've got to make appointments and that means no 'charger crap shoot' on the way up.

Bob Wilson

 

https://www.iea.org/media/workshops/2013/gfeilabelling/07.08.Homologationtestcyclesworldwide.pdf

 

may I suggest a $1000 deposit on a tesla model 3 next month then. It likely will have that autopilot and summon feature as a $5000 option, which is cool. If you can make do on your prius until 2018 this looks like the bev to get.

Otherwise options are A) keep your prius for long trips and get a used leaf, B) that ioniq phev probably gets about 27 miles, the c-max energi 18, the 2017 volt 53, all are pretty efficient on gas once the battery runs out, perhaps a phev is more your style than a bev.

 

That would be OK except the 2016 Prius, Level two ECO, appears to have competitive cost per mile to the Leaf and more space.

What it really comes down to is our 2003 Prius with 171,000 miles and still getting 52 MPG. It turns out to be a perfect test article for some advanced control laws. Meanwhile, our 68,000 mile, 2010 Prius is working just fine too. Knowing how to deal with the 'cold-start' issues, I'm getting near Level Two MPG.

I don't have to decide today. Both cars are paid off and delivering the expected performance. But that could change and I sure didn't want to be ignorant of the Leaf. I have considered getting a used, $10k, Leaf since they are so affordable.

Likely path:

1. Level two ECO with Safety Systems (TSS-P) - this would replace our 2010 because 'safety sells.' The other day I was surprised when a car came up on my blind-spot because the d*mn mirrors on our 2010 are so inadequate. My late Dad became a worse driver as he aged, less aware of his situational awareness. So I see this as an important safety feature since I'm already 66 years old.
2. Leaf replacement for 2003 Prius - maybe. I still work but the number of years is getting shorter and shorter. If I'm not working, I don't need two cars if my wife is not going to drive. A short-range Leaf would work for her and at $10k, very affordable.

The future is a crap-shoot. If I lose my job or retire, no need for the 03 Prius except as a car for my wife. If my cougar wife should pass on before me, I would only need one car so it might as be one best for an elderly, engineer who likes to get great MPG.

Bob Wilson

 

I am very disappointed with the news that the Ioniq EV will have a range of only 105 miles. Each of us has our own reasons for making any purchase, but in my situation, I need more that 105 miles.

I am 100% satisfied with my 2015 TAH. The only problem, I am putting a lot of miles on it. When I first heard of the Ioniq (and liked it's looks, at least the photos) I started thinking that an EV city car made a lot of sense. Save the TAH for the road (obviously, we do a lot of road travel). But 105 EV range is too short for what I need.

 

kind of sad, but I just checked you can't get a prius eco with safety, you need to upgrade to the 3, which has no eco. I had no idea why you would go from your gen III to gen IV, but if its for safety then you can't get much better efficiency ;-) unless you start modding the car, but you could do that to your gen III. Again if it was for better handling acceleration - leaf, but really you need tesla model 3 for it all with better safety. sounds like you have time to wait.

 

That is my thinking too. I figure in a couple of years, TSS-P will become the norm because of NHTSA pressure.

Bob Wilson

 

hill has been knocking on toyota's door, asking them to build a bev for as far back as i can remember.

 

The range is disappointing in light of what else is coming to market in the near future. It is enough to cover my commute though, and if Hyundai can price it in the $25k to $30k, it will be worth considering. Of course, it'll have to be available in Pennsylvania first.

 

So when the Ioniq is released in the USA, some time in March (according to the press release) will this thread finally go to "Other cars" or will we have to wait for someone to come and announce:

• 'I bought one!' - and a couple of weeks later, 'Hey, why doesn't it … ?' (*)

Bob Wilson

* - about something not in the press releases.

 

We've dealt with that many times in the past.

People don't research before purchasing. People make assumptions. People fall victim to greenwashing.

It's part of the process, a reality that's extremely difficult to prevent.

 

I was thinking of a Chevy Malibu buyer who didn't understand why they didn't get Prius MPG. Some cars are so lame even the most aggressive 'tricky driving' can't fix what is so wrong.

Bob Wilson

 

PHEV announced, electric motor larger than the 43 hp of the Hybrid :

The EV "Electric", now specified motor power, torque and top speed. Already discussed the range (EU cycle):

Hyundai Details Electrified Ioniq Range Prior To Geneva Debut

The Trio