Hyundai, the South-Korean autogiant, has unleashed the hybrid variant of its first electric car Ioniq. Hyundai Ioniq would be on offer with a choice of three powertrains: electric, plug-in gasoline/electric hybrid, and gasoline/electric hybrid. It is the first car in the world to come up with choice of three engines. All three versions of Ioniq will be unveiled at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show in March. The Hybrid variant will be the first to go on sale in Europe, during the second half of this year.
Hyundai Ioniq hybrid comes with a newly-developed 1.6-litre, four-cylinder GDI Kappa petrol engine and a 44 PS electric motor, which is charged by an advanced Lithium-Ion polymer battery. Both the electric motor and the gasoline mill belt out a combined power output of 141 PS and peak torque of 265Nm. It is linked to a new six-speed dual-clutch transmission to deliver class-leading fuel economy and performance. Just so you know, the Ioniq hyrbid is one of the most aerodynamic cars on sale with an outstanding drag coefficient of just 0.24 Cd. “IONIQ has been developed incorporating all of our technological capacities. The hybrid, pursuing the highest efficiency in its class, is economically efficient and stays true to the fundamentals of a car by delivering fun to drive through a modern design and dynamic driving performance,” said Moon-Sik Kwon, Vice Chairman at Hyundai Motor R&D Centre.
The hybrid gets both the Apple CarPlay and the Android Auto as standard, while there is a 7-inch TFT information cluster with several digital gauges for all the information for the driver. Hyundai engineers are said to paid special attention to ride and handling of the sedan. A lot of effort has also gone in noise reduction and curbing down the vibration and harshness levels of the cabin. As for safety, several exquisite electronic systems such as Autonomous Emergency Brake, Lane Keeping Assist System, Lane Departure Warning System, and Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross Traffic Alert are available as standard.
