Maybe I shouldn't have bought my Ioniq EV

So, I have had an Ioniq EV since Sept. I drive a lot, and even more with a new car (plus some occasional Uber/Lyft driving), so that equals nearly 5500 miles. That has given me some time to rethink my assumptions and to get to know the car, and I'm thinking I should not have bought this car.

First, why I went with the Ioniq. After my Honda Clarity PHEV, I decided one car for everything didn't quite do it (most PHEVs either aren't that great as gas cars, as my Clarity only had a 7gal tank, or they leave a lot to be desired as an electric). Fast charging tech and infrastructure isn't quite there to only have an electric without VERY well planned trips and potentially some big compromises. So, I wanted to have a gas car and an electric to maximize my options.

I would have considered the Tesla 3 despite that last point (if I got that, it would have likely replaced my Sonata) but with the chip (and thus car) shortage, I was looking at a March delivery date. That wouldn't work because I was moving up the purchase of an electric by 6mo to a year because my Sonata was in the shop and pushing up the purchase would be cheaper than renting indefinitely (the part my car needed was on back order or on a ship for nearly 3 months, and when it finally came, Hyundai said the dealer couldn't use that part anymore as they had replaced it - heck, I'm still waiting on the new part, but they finally did a temporary fix so I could get it back). I also considered the Leaf Plus, figuring even with the Leaf's notorious battery degradation (and I am in a hot climate), with a ~220 mile range, it would be fine as a second car even if it lost 50% of its range in a few years. However, I didn't want to deal with the degradation, and the closest Leaf Plus was over 100 miles away (again, the chip/car inventory issue). I thought about the Hyundai Kona EV and Kia Niro EV, but research showed some had an issue with their motor and I didn't want to risk it as I drive a lot. Finally, in my price range, that left the new VW ID4, but I don't trust first year models.

So, I happily bought my Ioniq. Now, don't get me wrong, there is a lot I like. I have the Limited so I have heated perforated leather seats (though unfortunately, no cooling), a terrific sound system, it is QUIET and SMOOTH, and generally it is well equipped. However, there are times that the economy hybrid car origins show themselves: tires that don't grip well, relatively low power, small overall size, and why the heck does a $40K electric car not have a heated steering wheel.

The two biggest things though are the 170mi EPA average (I thought that would be fine since it would be a 2nd car), and my original assumptions about two cars. Back in Sept and Oct when I didn't need heat (save for a few nights) and only light AC use, I was getting 200 miles a charge, and when I did get 170-180 that was fine too. But now that we are in heater weather, at times I'm not crazy about the 150 or sometimes lower range I get (makes medium range day trips and short weekend trips difficult). So, I definitely do need the second car as I original thought. However, now that I'm used to the smooth and quiet operation of an EV, I hate driving my Sonata. The midsized family sedan 4cyl engine is so LOUD and rough in comparison. Now I want to either replace both with one electric with enough range to be realistic as an only car (I'm on their websites checking out the Tesla 3 and Ioniq 5 right now doing the math to see if I can eat the very early sale of my Ioniq), or I want a totally different ICE. The only way it won't drive me nuts when I drive the ICE at this point may be if I replace it with a cheap econobox or a truck which would be acceptable if it seems a bit rough, a sports car where the noise would be welcome, or a luxury car with a big smooth V6, and/or enough sound insulation to cover up the engine noise.

This choice, that was supposed to save me money long-term, might become very expensive indeed.

Anyway, while this may seem a tongue-in-cheek post, there is a serious side. If you are thinking along the lines I was, consider renting an electric for a few days before buying an electric with the intention of it being a 2nd car. I thought my Sonata was quiet and smooth enough that it wouldn't be a problem, and while it is a nice midsized sedan, compared to an electric (even a relatively basic electric) it is quite rough. So much so that I find it annoying to drive now. You may be better off going on the higher end of battery range you expect to need, not the lower end, in case you decide you want to dump the ICE after driving your EV a little while.

 

Oh, since selling my brand new Ioniq is not realistic (nor would I really want to), I'm leaning towards selling my Sonata, especially considering how crazy used car prices are right now (Kelly Blue Book trade-in value is $500-1000 more than I paid for it new 2 years ago). For any trips over the next year or so I can rent. Then, in a year or so when prices settle down, I'll go with one of the options I mention above: I'm torn about equally between a truck (that with the hatchback EV would maximize my overall utility between the two vehicles), a cheap used econobox (probably a previous generation Civic, Corolla or Elantra), or a Lexus ES 300h (a nearly full-sized hybrid car that gets over 40mpg, with Toyota durability and reliability, and Cadillac quietness and comfort, would be a great trip car and date/night on the town car).

 

Yeah, my plan was to buy this at the end of the lease, and go a while with two cars (the ICE or hybrid for trips of course). I still may (I'm starting to look at some of the current crop of PHEV SUVs as well as hybrid sedans and SUVs). However, with cars like the IONIQ 5 coming out that can truly work as a one car for all things electric (with a fast enough DC charger to take full advantage of how fast it can charge), I may turn it in (even though I'll pay a hefty mileage penalty since I drive a lot of miles, UBER or not) and go with only an electric when the lease is up. We are already seeing cars like the IONIQ 5, the Teslas have always been close to enough as a one EV for everything, and many other makers are stepping up with next gen electric soon, so by the time the lease is up there should be some interesting EV options that could make a workable (or even terrific) trip car.

In the meantime, I may keep and pay off my Sonata, or take advantage of the crazy used car prices (I can now sell it for about $1500 more than I paid for it) and sell it and rent when I want to go on a trip (or, when prices stabilize I can buy a 4 or 5 year old Elantra or Corolla as a 2nd car until my lease is up). I'm really not sure.

 

The Clarity was OK, it would have been fine as a 2nd car. However, it was a major compromise (as most things are that don't commit to one mission). I could run it as an EV for about 70% Of my daily miles. For the round trip commute, I would use a little gas every day in the winter, and I'd just barely make it on all electric in the warmer months. For any additional errands, I needed gas. So, it was close, but couldn't quite do it as an electric for me in normal day to day use (I got about 800-1000 miles per tank of gas, not too bad). But the 7 gallon tank ruined it on trips. With the size and battery weight, when running as a hybrid on the highway without using EV mode, I got about the same gas mileage as my 2019 Sonata gets. Around 33-35mpg on a long trip, sometimes a tad higher, and a 7 gallon tank means a lot of stops for gas. Normally, that is no more than a minor inconvenience, and no worse than the typical longer range (200-250 miles) EV of today. However, there was one road trip where I was in the middle of nowhere in Iowa hoping I'd see a gas station before I ran out of gas (I had about 20-30 miles of gas range left when I finally did). After that, it was only a few months before I traded it (though, it was more due to some reliability issues I had with my Clarity, but all of it was why I didn't like it anymore). When I traded it, I told myself that I would add an electric car for daily driving and run both the EV and Sonata as soon as possible, it did give me enough to catch the EV bug.

As for where I live, I live in MD. Electric prices aren't bad, though I can't charge at work (most schools have at least one or two teachers and administrators who drive EVs, but not many Boards of Ed want to spend their limited dollars on EV chargers). I do use the network of free Level 2 chargers in the area whenever I can (I often plan my shopping and walks around where I can plug in for free), so that helps. I figure I spend less than 1/4 per mile on "fueling" with the Ioniq vs. with the Sonata.

Whether to get a Tesla (or other high mileage EV) or not, I don't know if that is what I need. It would be great to always be able to go EV. But, we are still likely a few more years away from enough of the higher capacity DC chargers to really take advantage of the potential charge speeds of cars like the IONIQ 5 (there are some, but usually I see the 50-150kw chargers not the 350 that some of the new crop of cars are designed for). I still think the idea of something like my IONIQ or a Leaf plus a gas vehicle is a good compromise for now. However, I really don't like how unsophisticated my Sonata now seems. It would have been nice if I figured out that I'd be where I am with the Sonata after buying the Ioniq before I bought it, then I'd have gone with one of the 200+ mile options so it would have been more reasonable as an only car. But, for now, I'm putting up with the Sonata's noise, and planning what to do in the near and mid-term (I'm just not sure what to do about it, as you can see here).*


*Heck, I've even thought about keeping it, getting a second trip car as I have mostly talked about here, but getting another higher range electric as the trip car. It is just that, an electric for daily driving makes sense due to its efficiency and cost per mile (as well as environmental impact, especially here where a substantial percentage of our power is from renewable sources and nuclear). A gas car makes some sense for trips and secondary usage (especially if I go with an SUV or truck to make it more differentiated from the EV). Two EVs seems like it would be an extravagant indulgence that, while I could rationalize it, really doesn't makes sense for someone of my income level.

 

This thread was (hopefully obviously) meant a bit tongue in cheek. I hope it was obvious that it was less regret about the Ioniq than it was my plan to keep both the Ioniq and the Sonata I already had. The only real Ioniq regret is, while its range is enough for about 90% of my driving, it is a little too short for this to be practical as an only car and I no longer want the Sonata (so I should have got the Niro EV, Kona EV, or VW Id.4 I also considered, or waited on the wait list for the Tesla 3 and it would have been more practical as an only car).

There are a few things with the Sonata that make me no longer like it much in comparison to the EV. Whenever I drive it instead of the Ioniq, these things stand out, before the EV they didn't bother me, heck I didn't even notice them. Now, they are glaring weaknesses. The immediate torque delivery at all speeds in the EV vs. the slower build up of power at some speeds in the ICE. The noise, not just engine noise (which in comparison, is quite pronounced), but also, in comparable ICE/HEV vs. BEV the BEV will have quite a lot more sound insulation to protect from road and wind noise. With the quieter motor, those will be quite a bit more noticeable in a BEV with the same sound deadening (I guarantee if I got the HEV or PHEV version of the Ioniq it would have quite a bit more road and wind noise than my EV Ioniq) so the manufacturers compensate and the BEV is quieter all around. It isn't even the gas so much as all the daily livability/driveability issues.

So, what's my plan? With current used prices so crazy, I'll likely sell my Sonata soon (I might wait until after the winter since it has tires that aren't low rolling resistance tires and will be a bit better in the snow than my Ioniq, but then I'm risking prices will come crashing back to normal before I sell so...). From there, I'm not sure if I'll buy something or just rent for trips until prices come back down. If I buy while things are still crazy, it will likely be something "different" that will be temporary. An older grandpa car/highway cruiser like an old Town Car, Crown Vic, Buick, etc which would be a great car for highway comfort. Those are going to be cheap enough, that even with prices being nuts right now on the used car market, it won't be that much extra in real dollars (20% over on say $5-7k is a lot less than a 20% premium on $30k for instance). Maybe a truck (used and a bit older for the same reasons as the highway cruiser) for something more different and to cover more uses/give more overall utility. Then in a couple years, I'll buy a late model used or lease a new ICE or HEV vehicle to complement my Ioniq. I am definitely keeping the Ioniq until the lease is up, and quite possibly buying it at the end of the lease. I really do like this car when not trying to push it to something it isn't (that said, this spring I may take it on a short trip and view the EV planning and charging as part of the adventure/fun).

 

That is amazing that you are getting up to 10mpg above the EPA estimate! (EPA estimates it as 40hwy). I'm not sure how you are doing that without using the EV mode to pump up your MPG estimate. My 33-35 was on trips when the computer would rarely bump it into EV mode. After the first hour or two of the trip, the battery would be pretty depleted (as I recall, it typically tried to manage the charge to keep the EV rated miles in the 20 some miles range). I'm not talking about running around town highway mileage when the car would often put itself into EV mode, I'm talking driving 6-12 hours a day type highway trips when it would keep itself in HV mode, as well as those shorter trips where I did let it drive EV at first and the battery was low and it had to stay in HV mode.