You know what bothers me about a lot of electric cars? They don’t look like electric cars, or even sound like electric cars. Fake grills, engine noises pumped over speakers, unimaginative sedan shape.
It seems a shame to be leaning on old design elements for a totally new world of motoring.
Why does my electric motor need to sound like a car? If it has to make a noise, let’s make it sound like a spaceship. Or the wind. Or a dolphin. Or something, anything which shows an iota of imagination.
That’s what I like about Hyundai’s IONIQ series. They’ve made something which actually looks like an electric car. It has clean, sharp lines and a slightly boxy shape. If you think it has a hint of retro, you’re not wrong. The futuristic IONIQ also drew inspiration from Hyundai’s first car they ever produced, the Pony.
As someone who is waiting for the Blade Runner aesthetic to take over the world (sans killer androids please) I think it’s cool as hell.
For this review, I was given the 2-wheel-drive DYNAMIQ for a week. Let’s be clear. This may be their entry level model, but it’s not a cheap car. It comes in at just under $80,000.
One thing you’ll notice if you’re new to electric cars is how much space there is inside. I won’t get bogged down too deeply into the technical stuff. There’s a guy who can help you with that, and his name is Google. But with a smaller engine, no transmission, differential or exhaust system, you can have a nice flat floor area with more leg room.
Hyundai has really lent into this, with a cream, minimalist interior which emphasises the space.
When I got into the car, my first test was negotiating out the Hyundai’s parking lot.
This is fraught for a couple of reasons. Firstly, because it’s narrow, winding, and you have to reverse the whole way out.
Secondly, because the employees who handed me the keys are watching from the sides of their eyes, wondering if I’m going to smash up a car they’ve just detailed.
I was ready to be embarrassed. But, after I worked out where the gear stick was (to the right of the steering wheel, next to the indicators) I was heavily assisted by the car. Not only does the reversing camera superimpose where you’re going, you also get a bird’s eye view of the car so you can see where you are on the road.
You get lots of clever tech in this car. There’s a heads-up display which made me cross-eyed at first, but I quickly got used to. Being able to check the speed you’re travelling, the speed limit, and what turn you’re supposed to take next without having to take your eyes off the road was a luxury.
Tootling around the city, I enjoyed the DYNAMIQ well enough. The acceleration was exemplary when compared to most petrol cars I’ve reviewed, but a little weaker than the similarly-priced dual-engine Tesla I’ve driven in the past.
What often strikes me about the electric cars is how effortless they feel compared to their petrol counterparts. Because you can’t really hear the engine labouring, and the car is so responsive, it’s easy to forget just how quickly you’re going.
With my battery almost at full charge, I decided to take the IONIQ to the Southern Highlands to test the assisted driving tech.
Or, as I call it, potato mode.
I don’t trust my fellow man much at the best of times, but I particularly don’t trust them on the Hume Highway. Dumb kids in hotted up shitboxes weave from lane-to-lane, trying to turn themselves into red stains on the road. These are challenging conditions whether you’re a person or an algorithm. I tried the adaptive cruise control anyway, my foot hovering over the break.
When, inevitably, someone switched lanes in front of me the car calmly reduced its speed until there was a distance buffer with the vehicle ahead, and then gently went back to 110.
Well done car, I thought. It had earnt the right to use steering assist.
Sure enough, that seemed to work well enough too. The car gently took over the steering while I loosely held on to the wheel. Perhaps too loosely. I was constantly getting warnings that my hands were not in position, not matter where they sat. I think the car wanted to feel slight resistance against the steering direction.
There was something mildly infantalising about the whole experience.
“Put your hands on the steering wheel!” said the car. “There you go. Look! You’re driving! What a clever human. I couldn’t do this without you.”
“My people built you,” I, a person who doesn’t understand how toasters work, muttered.
Either way I sat in the sterile cream cabin, like a big lump watching the view whip past.
After a week of driving around the city, and a longer drive to Bowral, the battery was just under 50%. That’s one of the advantages of the DYNAMIQ, it has the best driving range of the series.
Thankfully, there are plenty of places to charge you car. If you’re at home, you can spend about a grand and have a fast charger installed in your house. If you’re a renter like me, though, that’s not an option.
It’s even more complicated if you’re in an apartment block. Who pays for the extra whack of electricity each month? That’s a body corporate problem. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, and there’s still a lag on the infrastructure.
It would certainly stop me from buying an electric car at this point.
Which is a shame – there’s a lot of love about the DYNAMIQ. It’s fast, smooth, and a comfortable drive.
If you’re considering a small SUV electric car, this is worth putting into contention.
