Hyundai Ioniq completes electric trifecta with plug-in hybrid
Other than the new model, the Ioniq's changes for 2018 are minimal.
Hyundai's Ioniq first hit the market in the 2017 model year, offering gas-electric hybrid and battery-electric variants. It took until the 2018 model year, however, to complete its three-pronged attack on green-leaning customers' wallets.
As part of the 2018 model-year update, Hyundai will introduce the Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). It boasts the same shape as the other two Ioniq models, but it splits the difference between the Ioniq's purely electric variant and its Prius-fighting Hybrid model.
LED headlights are a nice little touch.
The Ioniq PHEV uses the same 1.6-liter, Atkinson-cycle I4 as the Ioniq Hybrid, as well as its six-speed, dual-clutch transmission, but its electric motor has been boosted from 43 horsepower to 60, and its battery is larger, too.
This combines for an estimated 29 miles of electric-only driving with a full charge, with a total range of about 630 miles per tank. That's a fair bit farther than the Ioniq Electric, which manages about 124 miles per charge. The PHEV's 119 MPGe rating from the EPA isn't too far off from the EV's 136 MPGe rating, either. The Ioniq PHEV can drive on electricity alone at speeds up to 75 mph, and its battery takes just a couple hours to refill with a Level 2 charger.
The PHEV has a few little aesthetic differences to set it apart from the hybrid model. There's a charge port on the front driver-side quarter panel, unique 16-inch alloy wheels and standard low-beam LED headlights. Standard tech includes a 7-inch screen in the instrument cluster, and the infotainment screen comes with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
In typical Hyundai fashion, the Ioniq PHEV isn't priced to decimate the wallet. There are just two trims available -- the base PHEV will set you back $24,950, while the Limited trim bumps that price to $28,300. That almost perfectly splits the difference between the $22,000-ish Ioniq Hybrid and the $30,000-ish Ioniq Electric.
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