Hyundai: luxury electric car for large families
With the Ioniq 9, the Koreans are launching a high-quality electric SUV with up to seven seats in the second half of the year. We have already been on a test drive.
Admittedly, seven-seater SUVs are probably not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about e-mobility - after all, electric cars want to be economical and sensible. On the other hand, large SUVs are all the rage, and people who need a lot of space also have the right to a suitable electric model. And last but not least, there are countries in which XL SUVs achieve high volumes; if e-mobility is to prevail, exciting offers are also needed in this segment.
Hyundai knows this too and is now launching one such model on the market with the Ioniq 9: over five meters long, with up to seven seats and a huge amount of space. As part of the Ioniq family, which is based on the 800-volt E-GMP platform, the large SUV is also equipped with a first-class electric drive, garnished with high-quality equipment and state-of-the-art features - sounds interesting?
Almost endless space
We thought so too, which is why we asked the Ioniq 9 for an initial test drive. On the outside, the Korean car looks great with the pixel daytime running lights that run across the front end and the elegant rear end, which is somewhat reminiscent of Volvo. The interior is very high-quality and luxurious, with the top-of-the-range "Caligraphy" version featuring swivel individual seats in the second row. The modern cockpit is clearly laid out and the space is almost endless - after all, the SUV has a proud wheelbase of 3.13 meters.
Thanks to a 110.3 kWh battery, the Ioniq can cover 9 to 620 kilometers on a single charge. There are three drive variants on offer: the Longe Range with rear-wheel drive (160 kW/217 hp) or with all-wheel drive (230 kW/313 hp) as well as the Performance version with 320 kW/435 hp. Charging is quite fast with up to 250 kW (DC).
The Korean rolls smoothly, is very well soundproofed and thus offers an enormously high level of driving comfort - with the Ioniq 9, Hyundai is definitely entering the circle of premium manufacturers. Prices are not yet known, but we suspect a range of 65,000 to 90,000 francs.
