I am already familiar with and a fan of Hyundai’s Ioniq line of fully electric vehicles. Each number refers to the model, with “9” being the largest in the line, with three rows and the capacity for seven.
It looked like a bus from its tail end and drove like it as well. I found myself having to adjust and navigate more gingerly to ensure I wasn’t knicking any of the Ioniq 9’s corners.
This is the largest SUV in its segment, great for hauling people and cargo. Although it did require getting used, given the length. Majority of the parking spots required extra turning to fit into, and majority of the time the nose still stuck out when I backed up as much as I could.
However, half expectedly and half surprisingly, the battery life carried, even when having to haul such a wide back. I was able to sustain above 80-90% just by plugging in to the slow Flo charger at my gym. An hour a day got me 3% and that was enough. Majority of the time my driving steadily and cautiously helped to maintain and charge the battery naturally.
Considering the size and girth of it, I wished that there was an overhead camera to help me to navigate reverse stall parking. It would have made this task much easier. Thankfully there was at least a reverse camera, and this one was decent, despite being slightly pixelated.
Ans despite it being a fully electric vehicle, they didn’t try to go too high-tech or overly minimalistic like other brands do. You still had all your everyday buttons, easily within reach and itemized before you; without the need to scroll through numerous windows on the Home Screen to find what you are looking for.
More neuve is the turn style gearshift, located on the side of the wheel. This was also the same place where you pushed to start the car.
I was caught off guard a couple of times by the unsolicited traffic camera announcements. I didn’t have GPS running, so this was all the Ioniq, like the vehicle was doing me a favour. There were also steady beeps if I went over the speed limit and a supposed camera was nearby.
The interior was very comfortable and spacious, even the doors concave to give you extra arm room. Similarly there was a wide and flat central console with enough space for both the driver and passenger to rest their limbs. Oddly, the latch for the bin underneath it was extra sticky. It felt weighted and extra muscle was required to release and open it.
The cabin felt very organized with tiers and compartments. There is even a specific spot for the car fob, a perfectly oval egg shaped dip in the rubber mat and a key shaped logo to indicate its purpose. This is one of those little detail that felt personalized and incredibly thoughtful.
And if I were the passenger princess in my own ride, I would especially like the shelf space above the dash. This made for a great space to rest smalls, instead of on the door. It even had a stylish backsplash of pixelated squares that reminded me of a miniature kitchen wall tile.
Very timely was the home screen visuals projected on the slim wrap around screen. These appearing when you turned on and off the car. In time for FIFA, seeing as Hyundai was an official brand sponsor; there were unique icon boxes in green, blue, and white, with a robot mascot rolling past them all.
I was also impressed by the plethora of terrain and drive options on the 2026 Hyundai loniq , including Eco, sport, snow, mud, and sand. You don’t often see that with fully electric vehicles, assuming that you would not take it out on adventures, and instead keep it home, close to a plug in
charger.
