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.
That puts the Ioniq 9 into a luxury bracket that Hyundai’s upmarket brand Genesis should be competing in – 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: 3.1miles/kWh
- Maximum claimed range: 372 miles
- 0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
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. I didn’t realise it was that cold that day!
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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