The Other Ioniqs
Ioniq is such a cool name for an EV!
The original Ioniq arrived in 2017, but in 2022 Hyundai discontinued it in favor of the then-new Ioniq 5 SUV. Now there is also an Ioniq 6 sedan and a recently announced, although not yet available, Ioniq 9 SUV.
These vehicles (and several Kia EVs as well) are built on what is called the Electric Global Mobility Platform, or E-GMP. This is a dedicated platform made especially for EVs, as its name would suggest. It touts fast charging, high range, flexible vehicle usage and Vehicle to Load, a feature that allows you to run appliances and electronics from the large battery.
Ioniq 5
Introduced in 2022, the Ioniq 5 is a compact SUV. I personally don’t consider it all that compact as it is rather long and wide, but it is approximately the size of something like a Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4.
The Ioniq 5 has a cool retro-futuristic design that I quite like. I’d love a smaller version of this that is a bit closer to something like a VW Golf, but Hyundai has not announced anything like that yet. Kia has announced the EV3, which is a true small EV built on the E-GMP platform.
Hyundai does sell the Kona as a small EV, but it is not built on the E-GMP platform.
For the 2025 year, Hyundai has refreshed the Ioniq with some minor improvements, including a slightly larger battery.
Ioniq 6
In 2023, Hyunda released the Ioniq 6 sedan, which also has some rather unusual styling. Completely opposite of the Ioniq 5, the 6 is bulbous and curvy with no straight lines.
I like the idea of a sedan, but the Ioniq 6 is about the same length of the Ioniq 5. Considering the car actually looks like it is a liftback, I do find it surprising that it actually has a traditional (and less useful) trunk.
I actually like the curvy look of the Ioniq 6, I just wish the car was a little smaller.
Ioniq 9
Only recently announced, the Ioniq 9 is a large, three-row SUV. Such a beast of a vehicle is not for me, but these sort of things are, sadly, incredibly popular in the US, so I suspect it will do well for Hyundai even if it looks like a boat. It should go on sale sometime in the spring of 2025.
What Else?
As part of Hyundai Motor Group (HMG), Kia also makes EVs that are somewhat similar to Hyundai’s models, although with drastically different styling. In the US you can get the EV6 and EV9, which are based on E-GMP. There is also the Niro, which is similar to the Kona. Kia does sell the EV3 in markets outside the US and I prefer its size, but there is no word on when or if it will come to the US.
I’d really like to see some smaller cars from Hyundai. An Ioniq 3 subcompact SUV/hatchback or an Ioniq 4 sedan would be wonderful, but given how most people in the US don’t seem to want small cars, I won’t hold out hope.
What about the Kona?
I mentioned the Kona above and it is probably the reason why Hyundai is in no rush to bring out a smaller E-GMP EV to the US. It’s about the size of the Kia EV3 and functions well as a small, subcompact SUV. It’s a little frumpy, but not offensive.
However, because it shares its design with gas and hybrid models, it does have some design compromises. The biggest is that it doesn’t use E-GMP, so it charges much more slowly and does not have great range.
The Kona is also available in gas and hybrid versions. In fact, the Kona is probably closer in design to the original Ioniq more than anything.
What Do You Think of Hyundai’s EV Lineup?