Hyundai Ioniq with enhanced range will be available in Australia soon

South Korean carmaker Hyundai has announced new specifications for an enhanced version of its electric Ioniq liftback, including a larger battery that offers an extra 36% storage capacity, 90km more range, and is slated to arrive in Australia in the third quarter of this year.

The new all-electric version of the Ioniq, which is currently available in Australia in three drivetrains including mild hybrid, plug-in hybrid and pure electric, will have a 38kWh battery, up 10kWh from the version currently available in Australia, and according to the WLTP standard, will offer 294km of range.

Matched with a 100kW motor delivering 295Nm of torque, the new electric Ioniq also now comes standard with a 7.2kW on-board charger (up from the previous 6.6kW) for use with a Type 2 AC charger, and when plugged into a DC ultra-fast charger can charge at a rate of up to 100kW allowing it to recharge 80% in just under an hour.

In addition to the upgraded range and AC charging capabilities, Hyundai are also introducing a connected system called Hyundai Blue link to all Ioniqs that drivers can access through an app, and use to lock and unlock the car or turn the air conditioning on and off remotely, as well as check battery status.

Charging can also be scheduled via the Hyundai Blue Link app, making it easier for drivers to benefit from cheaper off-peak electricity charges.

A new safety service, “eCall”, has also been added to the Ioniq which automatically dials for emergency assistance if airbags are inflated or if a designated call button, that Hyundai has placed behind the rear-view mirror, is pressed.

Upon purchase of the new Ioniq, drivers will also benefit from a free five-year subscription to a satellite service which will not only offer GPS navigation capabilities but also weather, traffic and speed camera warnings (where the law allows), as well as parking, dealer and charging location information.

An optional audiovisual nav system with cloud-based voice recognition in six languages via the Blue Link is also available,and a new standard bluetooth system allows not one but two smartphones to connect to the vehicle at the same time.

On the exterior, Hyundai are now also offering an extra four new colours: Fluidic Metal, Electric Shadow, Liquid Sand and Typhoon Silver, which it is adding to the currently available Phantom Black, Polar White, Iron Gray, Intense Blue and Fiery Red.

New 16 inch alloy wheels and a redesigned grille, and a number of interior upgrades complete the picture.

While there had been rumours that Hyundai would release an upgraded version of the all-electric Ioniq, it is still well below Hyundai’s only other electric offering, the Kona which in Australia is offered with a 64kWh battery and 480km of real world range (the current Ioniq’s “real world” range, which is based on the US’s more accurate EPA system, is actually 230km).

Still, the new Ioniq offers a whole suite of features that will no doubt be attractive to drivers and while pricing for Australia is not yet available, it’s still likely to be one of the more “affordable” electric vehicles on the market when it arrives later this year.

Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly compared the NEDC rated range of 280km of the 2017 Ioniq to the new WLTP rated range of 294km.