I’ve been driving the Ioniq daily for over a month now. Previously I got to drive my wife’s Ioniq, which was a treat compared to my Leaf. Not that the Leaf is a bad car in any way- but the Ioniq is a next-generation electric car.
Both cars give you:
Virtually silent, instant acceleration
“Automatic” like (actually single-speed) driving, no clutch, no gearbox
No defrosting in winter, thanks to timed heating
Rapid charging at thousands of locations
Satnav, heated seats, heated steering wheel, Air-Con and heat-pump heating, etc etc
The Ioniq electric adds:
Better efficiency thanks to very good aerodynamics, this means fast motorway trips are no problem
Radar cruise control, which keeps pace with the vehicle in front- right down to a stop. Fantastic in traffic.
Active Lane Keeping – on well-enough marked roads it steers for you!
Battery thermal management – little range loss in cold weather and cooling in summer
Android Auto – get Google maps and traffic on the dash, as soon as you plug in your phone
Free satnav updates at each service (Hyundai service costs are also significantly cheaper than Nissan).
Day-to-day the change to the Ioniq means I can save around 15 minutes on every commute, at least half an hour a day- provided the motorway is reasonably clear. In the Leaf I chose A and B roads most of the time, this was the shortest but slowest route. In good weather I could use motorway for one half of the commute, but not both – the 5 year old Leaf battery just didn’t have the capacity.
The Ioniq can do at least 2 days commuting (120 miles), even on the motorway, probably up to 2.5 or even 3 days in summer (180 miles) if I slowed down. The range has varied from 130 to 150 miles indicated, cruising at the speed limit.
For longer trips the Polar Ultracharger network is proving its worth, and it charges so quickly that even on longer trips that could be within range, for example 130 miles, I might stop for a 10 minute charge/comfort stop. That adds around 7kWh, costs less than £1, removes any worry of running out in case of diversions, and enables me to drive at the motorway speed limit.
simonselectriccar 