2020 Hyundai Ioniq Gets More Battery, More Power, Facelift In and Out

LOS ANGELES, CA - Hyundai has just revealed an updated version of its Ioniq EV, PHEV, and Hybrid today at the LA Auto Show. There's a bigger battery pack with more range for the EV, more power, and faster charging, along with revisions to the styling inside and out.

It starts with a new battery pack for the Ioniq, up 36 per cent from last year and now offering 38.3 kWh. It's enough energy to give the Ioniq EV a range of about 275 km, a big 75 km improvement over last year's model. Horsepower is up too, thanks to the new pack. The Ioniq now makes a respectable 134 hp instead of the lacklustre 118 hp it made before. Not likely to turn this into a tire-smoking performance machine, it's still a useful increase.

To help with the new pack, Hyundai has increased the charging speed of the on-board charger from 6.6 kW to 7.2. Use a 100 kW fast-charge station, and the Ioniq EV can hit an 80 percent charge in about 54 minutes.

Hyundai has given the hybrid versions of the Ioniq a new mesh grille, and the EV gets a new closed version with a more distinctive pattern. The bumpers are new front and rear, with Hyundai adding a silver mounding to the bottom of the bumper and anthracite grey trim to the rear bumper moulding. New LED head and taillights give the Ioniq models a new light signature that Hyundai says are a safety improvement, not just a new aesthetic.

Inside, Hyundai has upgraded the Ioniq with a 10.25-inch available widescreen infotainment display with navigation. A new LCD center display presents information to the driver, and they're all housed in an instrument cluster panel that's been thoroughly revised. Hyundai has added touchscreen control to the heating and cooling system, through a lower center stack screen, not through the large infotainment system. Some of the remaining buttons are now a piano-key style for an improved appearance and better tactile feel.

Hyundai has added cyclist detection and driver attention warnings to the active safety suite, which already includes forward collision warning and avoidance assist, lane keeping assist, and high-beam assist. It also has Hyundai's Eco-Driving Assist system that monitors the navigation system to tell you when you might need to slow down so you can maximize regenerative braking and reduce unnecessary acceleration. There's also a predictive energy management system on the EV that manages charging and discharging depending on the upcoming parts of your drive. On PHEV and HEV Ioniqs, this alters when and for how long the gas engine runs.

 

Hyundai says that the revised Ioniqs are available now, though we will point out that this is US market information. We expect Canadian changes to mirror the US, but we'll update if there are any changes.