ID.4 in Toronto

We were also cross-shopping. Comparing the two is difficult because so much of it has to do with just finding one and at a dealer that's not going to add thousands of dollars over MSRP. For that reason, we decided to keep the Mazda5 alive and buy neither.

If you assume that you can find both vehicles and find them at reasonable dealers, then here's what I'll say:

• The controls in the ID.4 are a bit maddening. All that YouTube chatter about capacitive buttons, laggy screen, the missing rear window controls... that's all true. Except for the heated seats in the Ioniq 5, which are buried in the touch screen, the experience of doing simple things is better in the Ioniq 5.
• Comparing looks is eye-of-the-beholder, but I think the decision is whether you want to stand out or not.
• In terms of ride, they both handle well enough for a family hauler. I'd even say that the RWD ID.4 was fine. Not awesome. Not thrilling. It's totally fine for those who don't worship at the altar of 0-60 times: https://www.vice.com/en/article/xgdmqa/its-time-to-talk-about-0-60-times - See above: Mazda5. Also fine.
• The kit - dollar for dollar - is better in the ID.4 if you can handle the controls (first bullet). If you want things like AWD, the giant roof, the pass-through, the roof rails, the (let's face it) accessory hitch, then the ID.4 is for you. We have kids bikes we move around, a roof box we need to put on sometimes, and yes, we do go skiing and would like to keep those inside.
• The main advantage of the Ioniq 5 is charging. But I'm not sure that the 800v architecture is a seller for me. Most of the time, it would charge at 11kw at my house. 10 minutes a stop more might seem like a huge deal to single folk, but it takes me 20 minutes a stop to empty the kid's bladders, get them a snack, let them bounce around so that they don't drive me nuts in the next leg... that speed would be wasted on me.

 

I'll chime in - the Ionic does appear to be smaller in the boot - some 3 cu-ft on paper IIRC. In videos it looks shallower than the VW, which is more of a conventional SUV shape and size - pretty much a RAV4 in storage.

The controls so far in the ID.4 are obtuse at first. I pretty much throw Apple Car Play anyway when I drive so getting to the climate setting and the vehicle settings are pretty much all I use, and in that context they're fine. The promise of a proper route planner a la Tesla seems to be coming in the v3 software upgrade and that I look forward to.

As far as charging - winter temps seem to even out everything. Both cars seem to fall into the 50-60KW range when cold DC fast charging, the Ionic doing worse in very cold weather. The Ionic does not pre-condition its battery - but it sounds like that is going to be an OTA update for 2023. The VW itself seems to warm its battery as you first drive off which reduces range, but the v3 software look like it will be offering pre-conditioning while plugged in a la Tesla. Regarding the 10 minute difference in ideal conditions - yes, that's pretty much a non-event for me as well on stops. Range wise real world tests from several well know Youtube personalities seem to indicate that the AWD versions of the VW and Hyundai are within spitting distance of each other.

Driving overall - if I simply drive the car and I'm not playing with the interior tech, then it all seems academic. Ride comfort is great, build quality is great, handling is very good, interior is very quiet, and it has a sunshade which I think is a must to have for those 4 months of summer we get!

I wish I had the opportunity to drive the Ionic (and Kia) as well but supply being as limited as it is I didn't either, but one month in I'm still having the new owner love for my ID.4. Have a road trip from Ottawa to Montreal possibly this weekend, and one to Toronto next weekend. I look forward to learning more about living with an EV

 

The positive "spin" on the remote control app is that it's got plenty of room to grow.

VW just released a new version of the app last week, but it seems mostly a rearrangement of the fairly basic existing capabilities, rather than a capability increase.

Summary: It's pretty "limited."

I regularly only use it to conveniently stop an in-progress / not yet finished L1/L2 charging session. (doing so from inside the car requires a bit of "waiting" for the display sub-system to boot-up)

While it has a "Climate Control" feature, I never did figure out how to reliably remotely start the seat AND steering wheel heaters ... they're ALL I really wanted this past winter.

Spring has pretty much obviated that particular "want", so we'll see if VW sorts-it before this-coming fall.

 

What VeeDub said.. app? what app? lol. am looking forward to V3 updates so Tesla fans stop lording over me

 

Get the Hyundai, no question. I want an ID for and I like it in general, but it charges slowly. To give you an idea I was parked next to the Kia version at a EA charger, it took me 15 minutes to charge from about 20 to 90%, it took the Kia 20 minutes. That ultimately is going to be the big differentiator on all electric cars. How fast can they charge, and the range. We have not focused enough on charging time. It really should charge about as long as a gas stop at a gas station.


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