John drives a Hyundai IONIQ 38kWh 2021 electric car.

This is John’s second electric car, he’s owned the IONIQ from new and drives between 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 1,000-5,000 miles and he achieves 190 miles range from a full charge.

Rate your IONIQ out of 5.

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Why did you choose this electric car?

• Value for money
• range of features/functions on SE model
• vehicle range
• style and comfort.

Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car.

• Economy – achieves 5 miles per kWh without trying
• Comfort – such an easy car to drive, never feel tired even after hours behind the wheel
• Functions – such as the ability to set air con, heated wheel in advance (great for winter but equally so in summer for cooling).

Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car.

• Some warning bongs can seem a bit over the top but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker
• Hyundai dealer network can be hit and miss but again not enough to put me off
• Genuinely can’t think of anything I would say to warn people off this car, I love it!

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

Auto-hold brake function initially failed intermittently but soon rectified under warranty.

What are the standout tech features of the car?

• Bluelink App – access to the car’s settings via mobile phone, giving you the ability to set a range of controls in advance of driving is a real bonus
• The SE model comes with heated seats all-round but with additional air-cooled front seats, which are a godsend on hot days and they work so well
• The auto lane-assist, whilst being a bit of a pain in town traffic etc, is very good for long journeys. You can turn it off, by the way.
• 2 x driver seat memory settings are great for sharing with partner, whilst not having to keep manually setting and finding your best position again.

Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car.

• For best acceleration, a bit like ‘launch control’, choose Sport mode, auto-hold brake, then hit the accelerator but there’s a ‘false’ stop position built in. Press hard and you’ll go past this to the ‘absolute’ max point.
• For a big-ish family car, this is quite rapid over 0-40mph, losing a bit beyond that.

What electric car are you interested in next and why?

Only because Hyundai are not building more IONIQs, we may have to look at something else next time. Would definitely consider another Hyundai but the new range is not known yet.

What home charging unit do you use? Would you recommend it to others and why?

Wallbox – cost was important but reliability crucial. Does exactly what it says it should, every time.

Rate your home charging unit out of 5.

What home electricity supplier & tariff do you use? Would you recommend it to others and why?

Octopus Go – highly recommended, great overnight tariff giving min of 4hrs cheap rate (was 5p/kWh, new rate is 7.5p) but noticed they are extending additional options for certain car manufacturers now too. Referral bonus of £50 to both the existing and new user doesn’t harm things either!  They seem to be a very ethical company too, offering charitable payments to those struggling to pay bills.

Rate your electricity supplier out of 5.

What public charging networks would you recommend to others and why?

I don’t use these very often, given our mileage and travelling requirements but Instavolt have nailed it so far. They are one of the most expensive but they just work, very reliable, good speed and you can just use ad-hoc without an account.

List your top 3 favourite public charging networks (in order of preference).

• InstaVolt
• IONITY
• bp pulse.

Who do you insure your electric car with? Would you recommend them to others and why?

Churchill – nothing more than for cost, so no particular recommendation.

Rate your insurance provider out of 5.

Estimate how much money you save per month owning and running an electric car compared to a petrol/diesel car.

£90

See other owner reviews here