Hyundai Ioniq Electric

Electro-hatch’s three-pronged plan to socket to ’em

- John Carey

IT’S NOT quite the Ludicrous mode of a Tesla Model S, but the Sport button in the centre console of the Hyundai Ioniq does make it quite a bit more lively. The five-door hatch accelerates with real eagerness, and near silence.

On the broad and modern roads of Songdo, east of Seoul, the Ioniq usually leads the charge when traffic lights turn green. Slowing for reds I experiment with the Hyundai’s driver-variable regenerative braking.

Even though it has a single-speed transmission, there are paddle shifters behind the Hyundai’s steering wheel. Tapping them toggles up or down through four levels of regenerative braking. Increasing the regen feels very much like shifting down through the gears of a dual-clutch or torque-converter auto.