Hyundai Ioniq 9 review

It’s £64,995. For a Hyundai. We’ll give you a minute to adjust, because if you’ve not paid attention to the world of cars for the last 10 years, this will have come as a bit of a shock. Hope you’re sitting down, there’s more to come.

As discussed, that nets you the slow-ish RWD car with the massive range. You don’t want that. At the very least you want the AWD one that still manages 377 miles and won’t be pushed around by little crossovers. That means stepping up from Premium to Ultimate trim, which will set you back £73,495.

Finally there’s the super swanky, super fast Calligraphy for £75,795. Or £78,595 for the six-seater. Yup, an almost eighty thousand pound Hyundai. What a time to be alive.

What am I getting for the money?

Lots. And you’d expect so for those sums. Standard features on the Premium car include 19in wheels, LED lights, a heat pump (for max efficiency when it’s chilly), the dual 12.3in screens, heated seats in the front (also ventilated) and middle rows, wireless phone charging with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, six 100W USB-Cs, many active safety systems and basically every desirable mod con ever developed since the phrase ‘mod con’ was coined.

Ultimate – which is a strange name for not the highest trim – bags 20s, a leather interior, ventilated seats in the second row and power-folding third row, and a Bose sound system with 14 speakers and a subwoofer. Get this one if you’re a family of sweaty podcast enthusiasts.

It also gets a massage-function driver’s seat, and active noise cancellation.

Calligraphy is something of a flex, with 21in alloys, nappa leather interior and a UVC sterilisation tray. You can also spec the digital side mirrors here, but we’re yet to test a system that’s improved on actual mirrors. So stick with actual mirrors.

That’s all pretty much on par with the Kia EV9, but this has a bigger battery so is automatically better value. A Volvo EX90 starts several thousand quid higher than the Ioniq 9 finishes, so this is more pop for your pound than that too.

With a 20 per cent deposit, you can get an Ultimate down to £750 ish over four years through Hyundai direct. Everyone’s keeping a close eye on EV residuals right now, but we reckon the Ioniq 9 will be a steady depreciator rather than falling off a cliff like Wile E. Coyote clinging to an anvil.