Hyundai Ioniq Electric long-term test review: report 3
Can owning an electric car be a viable option even if you can't charge it at home? We're finding out, with the help of the recently facelifted Hyundai Ioniq Electric...
The car Hyundai Ioniq Electric Premium SE Run by Darren Moss, deputy editor
Why it’s here To prove that electric motoring is now convenient enough to be an option for someone who can’t charge at home
Needs to Be practical and comfortable, have enough range for longer journeys, even in winter, and slash my running costs compared with a petrol or diesel car
Mileage 2302 List price £34,950 Target Price £33,406 Price as tested £35,605 Test range 168 miles Official range 194 miles (WLTP)
7 January 2020 – Garages and glitches
Driving home for Christmas isn’t just a catchy song title – it’s something thousands of us do in the days before the big one. And as well as spending quality time with my family, I also take the opportunity to see friends that I’ve not seen since last Christmas – when we promised we’d be better at staying in touch this year. This means I cover a fair number of miles outside of the actual journey from my home to my parents’ house in Kettering and back again, and, in an electric car, that could give cause for concern.
Having left London with a fairly full battery, I arrived at my destination with 50-something miles of range remaining. Enough for some light pootling about, sure, but nowhere near enough to see me through the week, and a far cry from getting me home again. Fortunately, the Moss homestead has a garage with a three-pin plug, so, after evicting the Smart Fortwo Cabrio that usually lives in there, I had somewhere to charge up – albeit at a truly glacial rate. It’s worth knowing that both a three-pin charger and a standard CCS Type 2 charging cable come with the Ioniq Electric as standard, so you’ve a variety of ways to charge.
As you might expect, too, the cold weather did affect my overall range, and while I would regularly see 175 miles available on a full charge earlier in the year, I now rarely see more than 168 miles. Small change, you might think, but if your journey becomes seven miles longer for whatever reason – a missed motorway turning, perhaps – it makes the difference between arriving refreshed and comfortable, and asking a stranger to plug you into their house.
Back in London, and I’ve discovered a glitch. I won’t call it a fault, because I’m not sure it is one, but moving the drive selector to reverse and then back to drive unexpectedly changes the radio station. I’m not sure why this happens, but it is jarring to be halfway through Andrew Lloyd Webber’s finest on Encore Radio, only to be suddenly be interrupted by BBC Radio 4’s World at One.
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