Hyundai Ioniq review
The Hyundai Ioniq is a super-efficient, comfortable, and well-equipped family car that offers an easy and affordable entry into the world of hybrid driving.
Author: Charlie Harvey
22nd Dec 2025 – 8 mins read
The Hyundai Ioniq arrived in 2016 as the Korean brand’s direct answer to the all-conquering Toyota Prius. It’s a car designed from the ground up to be as efficient as possible, available as a regular hybrid, a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), and even a fully electric model. It’s one of the most aerodynamic cars you can buy, which helps it sip fuel and keep running costs incredibly low. The Ioniq manages to be a clever eco-car without looking too weird or futuristic. It’s a smart, modern-looking hatchback that’s easy to drive, very quiet, and comes with a generous amount of standard equipment. While it might not be the most exciting car to drive and the back seats are a little tight, its combination of low running costs, a long warranty, and impressive comfort makes it a brilliant and very sensible choice for anyone looking to reduce their fuel bills.
Pros
- Very tax-efficient and cheap to run
- Simple to drive and exceptionally quiet and refined
- Comes with a good level of standard equipment
Cons
- The back seats are quite cramped for a family car
- It's a sensible car that lacks a bit of excitement
- It's at its most efficient in town and city driving
Interior
Dashboard & tech
The inside of the Ioniq is a pleasant and very user-friendly place to be. The dashboard is cleanly designed and everything is laid out in a logical way, making it easy to get comfortable and use all the controls. A large touchscreen sits in the centre of the dash and, on most models, includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can easily connect your smartphone.
The build quality is good and shows just how far Hyundai has come in recent years. It feels solid and well put together, and while there are some harder plastics to be found if you look for them, the overall impression is one of quality and durability.
Comfort
The Ioniq is a very comfortable car, with a focus on providing a quiet and relaxing driving experience. The seats are supportive, and there’s plenty of adjustment for the driver to find a good position. The car’s hybrid system means it can run on silent electric power at low speeds, which makes town driving incredibly peaceful.
It’s also a great long-distance cruiser, feeling smooth and settled on the motorway. The ride is comfortable and does a good job of soaking up bumps, making it a stress-free car for the daily commute or a family trip.
Quality
Hyundai has built a strong reputation for making reliable and well-built cars, and the Ioniq is a great example of this. The fit and finish in the cabin are good, and everything feels like it will stand up to the demands of family life.
The Ioniq has proven to be a very reliable car, with very few common problems reported by owners. This is all backed up by Hyundai’s excellent five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty from new, with the hybrid battery pack covered for even longer. It’s a car you can buy with a great deal of confidence.
Practicality & boot space
Interior space
For those sitting in the front, the Ioniq is a spacious and comfortable car. There’s plenty of headroom and legroom, and a good number of useful storage spaces for your phone, keys, and drinks.
Space in the back is a little less generous, however. Legroom is a bit tight for taller adults, and the sloping roofline can make it feel a bit cramped. It’s perfectly fine for children or for adults on shorter journeys, but if you regularly carry full-sized passengers in the back, some rivals offer more room.
Boot space
The Ioniq is a traditional hatchback, and it has a decent-sized boot. The standard hybrid model has a 443-litre boot, which is a good size for a family car and will easily swallow the weekly shop or luggage for a holiday. The boot floor is quite shallow because of the hybrid batteries underneath, but it’s a practical shape. The rear seats also split and fold down, which helps when you need to carry larger items.
Driving
Driving experience
The Hyundai Ioniq is all about easy, relaxed, and efficient driving. It’s not a car designed to be exciting, but it is very pleasant and straightforward to drive. The hybrid system works seamlessly, switching between petrol and electric power without you really noticing. A key difference from many other hybrids is that the Ioniq uses a proper dual-clutch automatic gearbox, which makes it feel more like a conventional car to drive than rivals with CVT transmissions.
It’s an easy car to drive around town, with light steering and a quiet cabin. It’s also perfectly at home on the motorway, where it feels stable and refined.
Performance
All Ioniq hybrid and plug-in hybrid models use the same combination of a 1.6-litre petrol engine and an electric motor. The engine itself was designed specifically for hybrid use and is very efficient. On its own, it produces 103bhp, but when combined with the electric motor, you get a total of 143bhp.
This gives the Ioniq perfectly adequate performance for everyday driving. It’s not a fast car, but the instant response from the electric motor helps it feel nippy away from the traffic lights. It has more than enough power for keeping up with traffic and relaxed motorway cruising.
Running costs
Fuel economy & CO2 emissions
This is where the Ioniq really excels. It’s an incredibly efficient car that’s designed to keep your running costs as low as possible. The standard hybrid can achieve excellent fuel economy, particularly around town where it can make the most of its electric motor.
The plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model is even better. It has a larger battery that gives it an electric-only range of around 31 miles. If your daily commute is less than this, and you can charge it at home, you could find that you barely use the petrol engine at all. Very low CO2 emissions across the range also mean that road tax is very cheap.
Value for money
The Ioniq offers great value for money. It’s competitively priced against its main rival, the Toyota Prius, and it comes with a very generous level of standard equipment. Alternatively-fuelled cars like the Ioniq also hold their value very well, which is great news when you come to sell it on. This strong demand for used hybrids means the Ioniq is a very sound financial investment.
Reliability & Warranty
The Ioniq has proven to be a very reliable car, and Hyundai as a brand consistently scores very highly in owner satisfaction surveys. The standard car comes with a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty from new, while the high-voltage battery is covered by a separate eight-year, 125,000-mile warranty, providing fantastic peace of mind.
Safety
Safety features
The Hyundai Ioniq is a very safe car. It was awarded the maximum five-star rating when it was crash-tested by the safety experts at Euro NCAP, with high scores across all areas.
All models come with a generous amount of standard safety kit, including autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist, and driver attention alert. This focus on safety makes the Ioniq a very reassuring choice for a family car.
Trims & Engines
Trim levels
The Ioniq range is nice and simple, with all trim levels being very well-equipped.
SE / SE Connect: The entry-level model comes with alloy wheels, a rear-view camera, rear parking sensors, and a touchscreen infotainment system.
Premium: This popular trim adds features like built-in satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated front seats, keyless entry, and an upgraded sound system.
Premium SE: The top-of-the-range model is packed with luxury features. It adds leather seat facings, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, and a host of extra safety equipment.
Engines
The Ioniq is all about efficient hybrid power.
Hybrid: This is the standard model. It combines a 1.6-litre petrol engine with a small electric motor and battery. It can’t be plugged in; the battery is recharged automatically when you brake.Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV): This version has a larger battery that you can charge from a socket. It gives you an electric-only range of around 31 miles, after which it works like a regular hybrid. It’s the best choice for maximum efficiency if you have a short commute.