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Hyundai has revealed its rival to the Toyota Prius. And the Chevrolet Volt. And the Nissan Leaf. And all three are the same car. In something of a holy trinity of eco-motoring, Hyundai's Ioniq will be offered as a hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a pure electric car.
Rag Jung, Head of Project Management Division at Hyundai Motor R&D Center, said: "Ioniq embodies Hyundai Motor's new thinking and bold ambitions for the future. This world-class dedicated hybrid will be the starting point of our future mobility."
The Ioniq is being built on a new lightweight platform, which Hyundai says it has trimmed 45 per cent of the weight from by using aluminium for non-structural items, like the bonnet, boot and suspension.
Hyundai also says it has tweaked the car's weight distribution for better handling by mounting the batteries as low as possible in chassis, and has fitted dual lower-arm multi-link suspension at the back. The Korean plan is to make a hybrid and electric car that is significantly more engaging to drive than current models.
Hyundai has developed a new 1.6 petrol direct injection engine for its hybrid Ioniq models. It produces 105hp, added to which is a 47hp electric motor in the hybrid model. It’s a long-stroke design with split head and block cooling and claims to be the most thermally efficient petrol engine in production, with 40 per cent thermal efficiency - approaching what the best Diesel engines can manage. Both hybrid and plugin hybrid drive the front wheels through a six-speed DCT dual-clutch transmission, which Hyundai says has been optimised for hybrid driving.