Hyundai has impressed me in recent years by how the brand has been creeping further and further upmarket – reminding me of what Volvo has done. The combination of style, quality and Korean hospitality, especially in the brand’s all-electric Ioniq models, has been hugely impressive, resulting in the Ioniq 5 becoming a World Car Award winner, while the Ioniq 6 has also impressed.
Then there are the hot Ioniq N models that prove electric cars can be for enthusiasts too, with impressive dynamics, equally exciting looks and the quality that backs up their hefty list prices.
Now Hyundai has its all-electric Ioniq 9 flagship, a car that focuses on comfort and luxury more than dynamics. It’s a big seven-seat SUV, sharing much with its sister car (and another World Car Award winner), the Kia EV9. However, the new Hyundai gets the benefit of hindsight with the latest tech and a bigger battery.
I’ll be living with the Ioniq 9 over the coming months to see if this new-found luxury is more than skin deep. A surprise so far is how many people have likened the car to a Range Rover – and that even includes a current Range Rover owner. I’ve also been blown away by just how comfortable it is – and not just for me, for all passengers.
That all puts the Ioniq 9 into a luxury bracket that Hyundai’s upmarket brand Genesis should be competing in – which is a bit awkward. But let’s see how the 9 fares as a genuine luxury SUV. I’ll be updating my review as I drive and get to know the Ioniq 9 better, so check back in to see how the car measures up in the real world.
Hyundai Ioniq 9 Calligraphy
- Base price: £78,595
- Options: Celadon Grey Matte paint (£1,200)
- Total price: £79,795
- Battery size: 110kWh
- Efficiency on test: 2.8 miles/kWh
- Maximum claimed range: 372 miles
- 0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Hyundai Ioniq 9 – second report
Christmas is a great time of year for getting to know your car. It’s when you’re likely to put it to the test more than any other time, with families, longer journeys, bad weather and much more to contend with.
That was certainly the case with the Fowler family and our Hyundai Ioniq 9, starting with a trip to The Royal Albert Hall and then on to see London’s Christmas lights.
Once again, there were six of us on board including my 89 year-old father and 85 year-old mother-in-law – both with limited mobility, but finding it really easy to get in and out of the Ioniq 9. The most nimble of the six of us – two of my adult kids – came along, too, and there was no hardship in sitting in the third row. In fact, as you can see from the pictures, they got the best view of the Christmas lights; the Hyundai’s full-length panoramic sunroof comes in handy when there’s such a good view overhead.
The winter weather proves a challenge for any electric car – batteries don’t like the cold. It’s meant that the range for the Ioniq hovers around the 300 mark rather than its claim of 372 miles – hopefully I’ll be able to test the car in warmer weather in the not too distant future. That means efficiency has taken a slight tumble, too – now at an average of 2.8 miles per kWh, although considering the cold weather, the full car and the long distance driving I’ve been doing recently, I don’t think that’s too bad.
One bonus for all of us has been the Hyundai app that allows me to pre-heat the car in advance of a journey. Just as we were singing “Deck The Halls”, I set the car’s climate control running and it was toasty (and defrosted) for our evening trip to see the lights.
So far there’s only been one blot on the Ioniq 9’s copybook and that’s the connection with my phone. It works perfectly with other cars, but routinely the connection with the Hyundai just freezes, leaving me with a stuck navigation screen, any podcast or music on pause and, on occasion, a phone call just disappearing. Maybe the car is due some sort of software update, but currently I have to disconnect and reconnect the phone and things are fine – and it only seems to be happening once per journey.
However, there’s one thing I’ve been lavishing praise on the Ioniq 9 for – the seats. My car gets Hyundai’s Relaxation Seats, which – when stopped – will recline the seat and a footrest will pop out. Ideal if you’re stopped to charge and want 40 winks or just a chill. There’s also something called Ergo Motion, which will automatically activate the seat’s massaging function after about 30 minutes of driving to make sure I don’t get back ache. And I don’t.
Car makers often promise ‘lounge-like’ interiors in their cars, but this is the closest I reckon anyone has ever come. The Ioniq 9 isn’t a sports car, so I don’t need grippy sports seats. What I do want is something that’ll keep me comfortable on a long journey, or when stuck in traffic, and the seats in my Hyundai do exactly that – they’re more comfortable than many armchairs I’ve sat in and I would go as far as saying they’re the most comfortable seats I’ve ever enjoyed in a car.
The seat heating (I haven’t tried the seat ventilation yet!) and heated steering wheel are doing sterling winter work, too – and they’ll be on and ready when I warm the car from the app.
Then there are the other luxury features that have impressed me and numerous passengers – and which make the continued Range Rover comparisons so valid. From the Active Noise Control-Road tech – plain old noice-cancelling to you and me – to the 14-speaker Bose sound system (and I’m not normally a fan of Bose in cars), the Ioniq 9 is doing a very good impression of being a luxury car.
Like many luxury cars it’s big, too, which occasionally means a drive around the block looking for a bigger parking space. But with cameras aplenty and clever parking wizardry, it takes the pain out of parking, too, while the car never feels overly big on the road, too.
I’m keen to try a lesser version than my top-spec Calligraphy model at some stage to see if it still feels as luxurious. Smaller wheels may make the ride a bit softer, although I’m not complaining that my car’s ride is firm – not at all, but it could be a touch softer.
There are plenty more miles coming in the next few weeks, and hopefully warmer weather to see the efficiency improve, too. And I’ll be using it in full van mode soon to see how it measures up as a work horse.
Hyundai Ioniq 9 – first report
The Ioniq 9’s arrival was perfectly timed. As you can see from the picture, all six seats came in very handy when I had to ferry my family from Buckinghamshire to Kent for my sister’s birthday party.
So, let’s see what all five passengers thought of the Fowler family’s new arrival, starting with mother-in-law Selma who came along for the ride. “A lovely smooth ride, very comfortable and easy to get in and out of,” she said. And that access was important for her – she’s a fan of big doors that open wide, although I’ve yet to see how they fare in a tight car park.
My wife Victoria praised the seats saying: “The seat was so comfortable and heated in the middle row – lovely.”
My daughter Gemma was relegated to row three where the seats aren’t heated, but were no less comfortable. “Even in the back row where there aren’t heated seats, you still had a heater by your legs to keep you warm,” said Gemma.
My sons were obviously wrapped up warm and concentrating on other things. “It’s very comfortable and there are nice add-on touches with charging sockets, cup holders and lots of storage all over the car,” said Jack. Harry is a man of few words and just said: “Great tech.”
But what about the guy in the driver’s seat, me? So far, I’m just as happy – and I’m tough to impress. However, something strange has happened: this big SUV is something that I really look forward to driving. Don’t go thinking that it’s got a whiff of Hyundai’s N models about it, but it’s such a comfortable car to be in – quiet, quick enough and with a comfortable ride (although the smaller wheels and bigger tyres of other versions would get ride of the few bumps you do feel) – that I genuinely look forward to time behind the wheel.
Is it as luxurious as a Range Rover? My top-spec Caligraphy model, which comes with six ‘captain’s chairs’ rather than the three-person bench in the middle row that the seven-seat models get, is built superbly, with a really attractive-looking interior.
And how’s this for luxury: the Ioniq 9 will automatically adjust the driver’s seat backrest to ensure your back gets moved around on longer journeys – or you can set it for a proper in-car massage, too. In some cars, I do get a bit of back ache when I’ve been sat still for a while – not in the Ioniq 9.
There are plenty more luxury features I’ll discover in the coming weeks, but I’ll leave the final word to the mysterious bloke who had his nose pressed up against the Ioniq 9’s window when I returned to it in a car park. “It could be a Range Rover, couldn’t it,” he said, before smiling, walking off and taking one more look over his shoulder.
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