Hyundai Offers $79/Month lease on Base Ionic (CARB States)

https://insideevs.com/features/375199/ev-cheapest-us-lease-deal/


This is pretty great if you need a new EV with modest range. Pay for a Smart EV, get an Ionic EV! This is for the Base, as noted. The Limited has been similarly discounted, according to the piece I linked. The down payment on the Base, in CA and NY (and I assume other CARB states) is $999. While I was looking at the Hyundai site, a popup offered me a $50 gift card for test driving a (non-EV) Hyundai. I'm going to drag my housemate along, and test drive both the Ionic PHEV and Base EV. No heatpump and I suspect no heated steering wheel, but I'd like to drive one, anyway...

That's pretty cheap for CA but even cheaper (apparently) for NY. Wow!

I've never driven one and sightings of Ioniq EVs in the wild here in CA are rare. They were even MORE rare when it was a virtual vaporware So Cal only car.

I think they have them here, simply because I saw one charging at a Kohl's store earlier this year. I'm in the process of scheduling an appointment for the PHEV test drive, and I'm trying to arrange to test drive the EV as well. Hopefully I'll get paid $50 to drive a car I'd test drive for free , and will also get the chance to try to sell my housemate on a PHEV with heat in EV mode. Er, it does have electric heat...right?

EDIT: as best I can tell, no electric heater at all in the PHEV, and no heated steering wheel in either car. Figures.

LeftieBiker said:

... Er, it does have electric heat...right?

EDIT: as best I can tell, no electric heater at all in the PHEV, and no heated steering wheel in either car. Figures.

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So it's about a 5 month EV only car in my state :roll:
This was a main reason I test drove but quickly crossed the Ford C-Max PHEV off my list and shortly after ended up purchasing a new Leaf.
Living in the North I just can't see why heated steering wheels are so rare or only available on upper upper trim models. I've said it before but it was a major selling point to me(and heated rear seats) of the Leaf, and the lowly S model I got, a base car with a heated steering wheel and rear seat warmers, sign me up
We also made $50 test driving a vehicle, it was a couple years ago when I was looking at the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV. Went to drive one but of course they had no PHEVs, those you had to special order :roll: well drove the ICE version and while it was roomy it was just too much a bus for me to see driving for a daily driver.

Hyundai's online scheduling system - and people - seem to be inept at best. I received one email saying that I was scheduled at the following date and time: "-." When I replied asking what that was, and giving a day and time I wanted, they replied quickly again, but hadn't read the date and time I provided, so they asked me for one. I may not bother, because I know damned well that neither car would be charged when I got there. They do have two or three Ionic EVs in stock here.

So it's about a 5 month EV only car in my state :roll:
This was a main reason I test drove but quickly crossed the Ford C-Max PHEV off my list and shortly after ended up purchasing a new Leaf.
Living in the North I just can't see why heated steering wheels are so rare or only available on upper upper trim models. I've said it before but it was a major selling point to me(and heated rear seats) of the Leaf, and the lowly S model I got, a base car with a heated steering wheel and rear seat warmers, sign me up

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Yes, you'd think a heated steering wheel cost thousands of dollars to provide. As Sagebrush would say, not doing so is just stupid. I had hoped that by now they would be widely available. Hmm, I wonder if this is the main reason so many of us are sticking with the Leaf...? :?

Here's a bit of salt to rub into this wound: I just heard, from a Canadian automotive "journalist", that both trim levels of the Hyndai EVs have heated steering wheels in Canada...

LeftieBiker said:

Here's a bit of salt to rub into this wound: I just heard, from a Canadian automotive "journalist", that both trim levels of the Hyndai EVs have heated steering wheels in Canada...

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I can confirm that. I test drove both last December. The base model worked out to over $40 k though (no incentives here at the time), so I decided to take advantage of the rapid depreciation of used Leafs instead. At the time, the Ioniq was the most abundant new EV on local dealer lots, though there don't seem to be any left now. It is a nice car - I quite liked the adjustable regen using the steering wheel paddles, and they get more range from 28 kWh than Nissan did from 30 kWh.

I'm not a fan of heated steering wheels but my wife loves them. So she drives the LEAF and I drive our Tesla
I do agree with Leftie though that it **seems** like a cheap feature to add to cars. Perhaps the story is more complicated than I am aware of.

I'm going to test drive a Ioniq hybrid, in part to be more informed should my son decide to buy a car. I'll ask the salespeople if they know anything.

Hyundai is having lease sales again. The Base Ionic PHEV, which was $99 a month with something like $2400 down in January, is now apparently changing to $125/$125 for 36 months. The Limited Ionic PHEV is, IIRC, $179/month with about $2400 down. Cheap leases indeed, although having to deal with Hyundai dealerships, at least in my area, makes my skin crawl. We were considering a Base for my housemate as a PIP replacement, but we have both been put off by the salescreatures already.