By Ian Strachan.
If a car has the word Ultimate in its name, you’d expect it to be top of the range. But in the case of Hyundai’s all-electric IONIQ 9, the Ultimate spec plays second fiddle to the Calligraphy, which really is the ultimate.
That said, the Hyundai IONIQ 9 Ultimate has pretty much everything you’d want in a seven-seater: high specification, good performance with a decent range, practicality, massively spacious and supremely comfortable.
It’s also very big. It’s the biggest car Hyundai has ever made, including the excellent Santa Fe and is a few centimetres longer than a Range Rover.
It’s also a good looker, with a smooth, modern and streamlined design with a purposeful high front end, striking matrix headlights and rounded edges.
It comes packed with technology and safety aids and has a published range of more than 370 miles, providing you’re light-footed. In terms of practicality it can comfortably seat seven adults, with plenty of luggage capacity behind the third row of seats and more under the bonnet, or as we now call that space in electric vehicle parlance – the froot or, worse still, the frunk.
It also has impressive power. The all-wheel-drive Ultimate that I tested develops 307PS from its 230kw motor. It will give you sufficient range for most journeys and this car has fast charging times.
The IONIQ 9 turns heads from all angles. The body-coloured door handles sit flush with the body, only projecting when the car is unlocked. The side view is enhanced with impressive 20-inch alloys, body coloured wheel arch inserts and roof rails.
The interior, as well as being modern and well laid out, is immense. Trim materials are of a very high quality. The flexible seating adjustment means every passenger gets plenty of room and powered seats make comfort and flexibility a given. There’s also a huge amount of storage space. Even the central armrest has a very large storage space beneath it. You get comfortable, leather-faced seats, a four-spoke leather-trimmed multifunction steering wheel and pleasant ambient lighting.
Specification on the technology-laden IONIQ 9 is excellent, with three-zone climate control, heated and ventilated front and second row seats, heated steering wheel, 12.3-inch colour touch-screen navigation and media system with BOSE Premium 14-speaker DAB radio and sound system plus Apple CarPlay, voice recognition and Bluetooth connectivity, USB ports front and rear, head-up display and a range of safety technology including lane keeping aid, distance monitoring, cross traffic alert, speed limit assist, blind spot monitor and forward collision avoidance alert. You also get an electric panoramic sunroof, smart cruise control and rear privacy glass.
Your journey will be accompanied by a bewildering cacophony of beeps and bleeps telling you when the speed limit has changed, when there’s a speed camera coming up, and if you’re exceeding the speed limit. If these get annoying – and they may – you can turn them off. Personally I tend to zone them out.
Specification on the Ultimate spec also includes electric seat and lumbar adjustment in the front with a memory driver’s seat which also controls steering wheel position and wing mirrors, smart powered tailgate, automatic windscreen wipers with rain sensor, daytime LED running lights, a heat pump to avoid draining the battery when you switch the heater on, rear camera with all-round parking sensors and remote park assist, all-round electric windows and a wireless phone charging pad.
Handling on the all-wheel-drive IONIQ 9 is sure-footed and composed for a large car and the ride is quiet and comfortable. For peace of mind you get Hyundai’s five year unlimited mileage warranty.
The IONIQ 9 is a good choice for anyone looking to buy a fully electric vehicle which is roomy and practical but doesn’t want to sacrifice style and performance for the virtue of environmental responsibility. The IONIQ 9 Ultimate 307PS all-wheel drive version that I tested comes at £73,495. That might sound expensive but you’re getting a supremely comfortable, practical, high-performing electric vehicle with pretty much every conceivable extra as standard. The range starts at £64,995.
