Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid 2019 review

The Plug-in Ioniq might wear its eco-credentials on its sleeve, but that doesn’t mean you miss out on any tech at all.

Our ‘Premium’ spec car gets an 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as built-in nav backed by a eight speaker premium audio system, dual-zone climate control, leather interior trim, a powered glass sunroof, heated and air-ventilated front seats, full LED front lighting, keyless entry with push-start, rain-sensing wipers, a Qi wireless phone charging bay, and a slew of anti-fog features for the windows and mirrors.

The Ioniq certainly doesn't leave you wanting for cabin tech. (image credit: Tom White)

Basically, it’s all you’ll need and would reasonably expect from a well-specified small or mid-size car. Oddly the Plug-in can only be equipped with 16-inch alloys, where the Premium-spec hybrid can have 17-inch wheels.

Is it expensive, though? In a word – yes.

The Ioniq plug-in comes in at $45,490 (MSRP) which is not only way more expensive than, say, a top-spec Elantra or i30, it’s more expensive than a fully-electric entry-level Ioniq ($44,990) and darned close to other fully electric options like the $49,990 Nissan Leaf.

Essential phone connectivity comes standard on a brilliant easy-to-operate screen. (image credit: Tom White)

This car’s spiritual direct rival, the Toyota Prius I-Tech (also expensive at $44,050), gets LED headlights and a head-up display, but doesn’t feel quite as up-to-date as a whole package.

The rest of Hyundai’s range put practicality first in the cabin, and the Ioniq is no exception. Up front you’ll find plenty of cabin storage, from big cupholders in the doors and centre console, to the deep console box and exactly phone-shaped trench under the climate controls.

Everything on the centre stack is just smart, too, with no wasted space and nothing over-designed. The stereo and climate controls are operated by a series of dials and toggles which jut out at a slight angle and are thus easy to reach for driver and passenger.

There are practical adjustment dials and storage areas galore for front passengers. (image credit: Tom White)

The front of the cabin offers plenty of space for arms and legs, while the rear seats offer decent, but not quite impressive legroom.

Rear passengers get decently-sized cupholders in the doors and rear air vents, but no power outlets. The rear seat trim is as contoured as the front seats and doesn’t come across as an afterthought.

Rear passengers could use a little more legroom and a power outlet, but do get adjustable air vents. (image credit: Tom White)

The Ioniq’s hatch body makes for a sensible boot, but it is different for each drivetrain. Our plug-in grants a hatchback-sized 341 litres (VDA) with the seats up or 1401L with them down.

That’s plenty of room, but not as much as the hybrid version of the same car which grants over 100 litres more space.

Your space will be reduced slightly by the cable and case, but every Ioniq comes with a luggage net.

Every Ioniq has a different depth of boot, depending on the size of battery. The plug-in and EV need a spot for their charging cable, too. (image credit: Tom White)

The only other thing worth noting about plug-in hybrid tech is the added annoyance of having to unspool the cable and plug-in at either side of your journey.

You’ll really need to do this to make the most of this car’s range and commuting efficiency, but I found it genuinely took five minutes of unplugging and spooling and fluffing around on either end of my work journey.

Plugging-in at either side of my journey was a bit inconvenient, but worth it for the fuel saving. (image credit: Tom White)

It’s no deal-breaker, and if you just toss the cable in the boot rather than spool it up each time you’ll save yourself that extra time, but it is just a bit annoying. Where’s the auto-retracting cable! (I think the future will be in induction charging anyway…)

Every Ioniq is different when it comes to what actually powers the front wheels. In the case of the plug-in this means a non-turbo version of Hyundai’s 'Kappa' 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 77kW/147Nm, combined with an electric motor capable of 44.5kW/170Nm. Combined outputs become 104kW/265Nm, which is not too bad for a hybrid.

Combined outputs aren't bad for a hybrid in this class. (image credit: Tom White)

The Plug-in gets an 8.9kWh battery. Hyundai says it’s capable of a maximum electric range of 63km. We’re not sure about this for reasons explained in the driving section of this review.

Drive goes to the front wheels by way of a six-speed dual clutch auto transmission.

The plug-in hybrid is rated at... wait for it... 1.1L/100km. It takes a sip of fuel basically never.

How achievable that combined usage figure actually is will vary dramatically depending on how you drive and charge it.

For example – if you’re lazy and run the battery down to its reserves and drive it around as a glorified regular hybrid, expect somewhere between 4.5 and 6.0L/100km.

If you're going to opt for the plug-in, you better make the effort to break that charging cable out... (image credit: Tom White)

However, if you charge it at either end of your work commute, you can almost drive it on electric power alone for your entire week.

I did what is probably representative of most people. I charged it at work, commuted to-and-fro on my test week under mostly electric power only, then let it go down to its power reserves on the weekend, driving it as a hybrid mainly.

Against that 1.1L/100km I saw an overall figure of 3.4L/100km. It’s more than double, sure, but it’s also better than 90 per cent of hybrids right now. I also saw an effective range of almost 1100km.

A real-world figure of 1.1L/100km is near-impossible to achieve but the results are excellent nonetheless. (image credit: Tom White)

Imagine only needing to fill up with 43 litres of 91 unleaded 10 – 20 times a year. Pretty neat? I thought so.

The Plug-in Hybrid’s battery takes roughly six hours to charge from a regular wall socket using the included cable. You can charge it in two hours using a charging station. The plug-in only accepts a Type 2 'Mennekes' charging port.

Every Ioniq, whether you buy the Hybrid, PHEV, or Electric, gets Hyundai’s full 'SmartSense' suite.

This includes today’s important active tech such as auto emergency braking (AEB) with forward collision warning (FCW), blind-spot monitoring (BSM), lane keep assist (LKAS) with lane departure warning (LDW), driver attention alert (DAA), active cruise control, park assist, and rear cross traffic alert.

The Premium grade gets front parking sensors added to the standard rear sensor and camera fit-out. You’ll only miss out on semi-autonomous ('Stop & Go') cruise control available on the fully electric version.

Mandatory safety inclusions are seven airbags, traction and stability controls, plus three top-tether and two ISOFIX child-seat mounting points.

The Ioniq PHEV is well equipped for safety, even at its price. Unsurprisingly, it carries a maximum five star ANCAP safety rating awarded in October, 2018.