The first car designed from the ground up to offer one of three distinct, advanced powertrains in a single body will be its manufacturer’s “starting point” for future mobility. The Ioniq hatchback sedan embodies Hyundai’s “new thinking and bold ambitions” for mobility, said Ioniq project manager, Rag Jung. The full Ioniq range will offer buyers a choice of electric, plug-in hybrid and hybrid powertrains, which is a first for a single model. Despite the claim of class-leading efficiency, Hyundai says the Ioniq will also deliver spirited handling and driving pleasure, things for which not all hybrids are lauded. The company also says that the lithium-ion polymer battery delivers “outstanding charge and discharge performance, optimizing output from the high voltage motor and allowing for rapid regeneration.”
Extra heft and low power generally impair a hybrid’s fun-to-drive factor. Hyundai says the Ioniq will be the anomaly.
