A New Hyundai – Kona Electric vs Ioniq 5
The lease on our Hyundai Kona Electric is due to end soon, so it was time to start looking for a replacement. There isn’t a huge amount of choice in Aberystwyth, and since we’ve loved the Kona, it made sense to stick with what we knew. We did research a few other options, but nothing else offered quite the same value for money and feature set as the Hyundai.
We’ve also really enjoyed owning and driving an electric car, so we only looked at EVs—if we can help it, we won’t be going back to a fossil-fuelled vehicle. The EV is much cheaper to run—often free in the summer if the sun is shining—it’s lovely to drive, and far more convenient. We can charge it at home, we never have to visit a petrol station, and we love the one-pedal driving, regenerative braking, and all the other benefits that come with electric vehicles.
The only downside to the Kona was the slightly small boot—but that’s been improved in the new version, making it an obvious contender. The exterior has also been restyled, and it includes a few new features throughout.
The other serious option was the Ioniq 5. It’s a slightly larger car with loads more room inside. We test-drove one for a weekend and discovered it could easily accommodate pretty much all of my windsurfing kit! It also has a more futuristic design, and overall we preferred its look—particularly in the Premium version, which featured colour-matched wheel arches, a nice paint finish, and extras like heated rear seats, wireless phone charging, rear-window shades, a sliding centre console, electric tailgate, and electric seats.
Despite the Ioniq 5 having a higher list price—even in its base ‘Advance’ spec—it turned out to be cheaper than the Kona on a lease. That’s because lease costs take into account the residual value of the car at the end of the lease, and the Ioniq 5 holds its value better. So, strangely, we could get the bigger, more expensive car for a lower monthly cost on identical lease terms.
It wasn’t a completely straightforward decision, though, as it meant a few compromises. We’d miss the wireless phone charging (although to be fair, it never worked particularly well), and we couldn’t choose our colour. Well, we could—but doing so would push the car’s list price over the luxury car threshold, triggering the additional EV tax.
Vehicle tax rules for EVs have changed recently. They used to be tax-free, but not anymore. The standard rate is now £195, and if the list price exceeds £40,000, there’s an additional ‘expensive car supplement’ of £425 per year. That meant we could have the car in ‘Ultimate Red’ and stay under the threshold, but choosing white, grey, black, blue—or really any other colour—would have cost us around £2,000 extra over the lease term. We couldn’t justify that just for a nicer colour, so we stuck with the Ultimate Red. I haven’t seen it in person yet and I’m not 100% convinced—especially with the contrasting wheel arches—but I’m sure it’ll be fine.
Overall, it feels like an upgrade. It’s a newer model with updated tech, extra features, and a lot more interior space. It also charges much faster on rapid chargers—going from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes. Not that the Kona’s slower charging was ever much of an issue, but it’s nice to know.
As for speed, the Ioniq 5 is a heavier car and a little slower. Our Kona was ridiculously quick, doing 0–60 in under 6 seconds. The Ioniq 5 manages it in 8.5 seconds—not quite the same thrill, but still nippy. Just one more reason we’re sticking with EVs.
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Sounds lovely. When do you get it ?
Not until the end of the year – but you know us, we like to be organised!!!
Al.
A Christmas visit to us in a brand new car then .