I recently decided it was time to purchase a new car and, having tasted the hybrid and electric lifestyles previously, decided that it was purely electric only this time.

My requirements:

• Decent range, at least 400 km
• Decent amount of space for SCUBA or climbing gear in the back. In both seats up and seats down configurations.
• Comfortable to drive.
• Comfortable to be a passenger in.
• Over 1,000 kg of towing capacity.
• Dash must have physical buttons for common items. I don’t want a fully glass cockpit. This cut out a surprising number of vehicles.
• No Tesla, I’m not supporting Musk in any way.
• Not US made. US manufacturers tend to have annoying “there are two markets: US and Rest of World” idiosyncrasies, not least of which is weirdness around measurements.
• Under $100,000 (although I could stretch a bit if the case was sufficiently compelling).

After combing through a number of review sites, I got it down to the following list:

• Hydundai IONIQ 5: Mid size, higher price range.
• Kia EV5: Mid size and middle of the range price.
• Kia EV9: Large 7 seat SUV.
• MG 4: On the small side, but a good price.

Subaru Solterra

We also did a sit test in the Subaru Solterra as the dealer had it, even though none of the online review sites had mentioned it as competitive so it wasn’t even on the main list. Sitting in it, I found the drivers area to feel incredibly cramped. I really don’t want to feel like my car is giving me a hug while driving. None of the others found it sufficiently interesting to take it for a test drive. Weirdly, it also doesn’t have a glove box.

If it was more comfortable, it may have stayed in the running due to Subaru not selling driver data. Unfortunately, while I admire their ethics, the vehicle just wasn’t tenable for us.

MG 4

The MG 4 was cut out of the race fairly quickly. We sat in it, found it uncomfortable for both driver and passengers and the sight lines were really challenging. We decided not to even take it for a drive.

Kia EV9

Similarly, when we sat in the Kia EV9 it was clear that it was way too big to be a daily driver. It was comfortable to sit in, but the logistics of trying to park or otherwise move it around town just made it untenable. The 2,500 kg tow rating was nice, but not nice enough to push it over the edge as even small dive boats usually need 3,500 kg of tow.

Kia EV5

Pros:

• Lots of boot space, with features making it easy to organise.
• The rear seats fold down to be absolutely flat and have a gap cover so stuff doesn’t fall between the boot floor and the seats.
• Mostly good control interfaces, generally comfortable to drive (with some exceptions below).
• Adjustable brakes, all the way to single pedal driving.
• Air conditioning in the back seat could be adjusted down to very cold.
• Ventilated seats (good for QLD).
• 240V plug in the boot area.
• 1,250 kg tow capacity

Cons:

• There’s a safety feature which flashes a dash light if you take your eyes off the road for too long. This seemed to misfire through my sunglasses and caused significant distraction.
• Poor turning circle. It was difficult to do a reverse park in a single movement.
• Annoying sight lines made the poor turning circle even more challenging.

We also found the seats became uncomfortable over time. This may have been due to the 90 minute drive to the only dealer who had one in stock, but it didn’t endear us to the vehicle. The dealer was also annoyingly pushy.

Between the “safety feature” which made it dangerous to drive, the discomfort over time and the dealer, we cut the EV5 out of the running.

Hyundai IONIQ 5

Pros:

• Good boot space, even if the angled boot cut some of it off.
• Comfortable for 70+ year olds to sit in the back seat.
• Fun to drive. This is the first vehicle I’ve ever driven that actually felt fun. I had a big grin at the end of the test drive.
• Decent turning circle.
• Safety features were useful, not intrusive.
• Adjustable brakes, all the way to single pedal driving.
• When reversing, small cameras show up on the dash increasing field of view.
• Heads up display is useful, including speed sign monitoring.
• Ventilated seats (good for QLD).
• 1,600 kg tow capacity

Cons:

• Rear seat doesn’t go completely flat.
• Rear seat air conditioning doesn’t get quite as cold as the EV5.
• Quality of life upgrades (USB-C, Bluetooth connectivity for Carplay and a few other bits and pieces) in 2025 model mean we have to wait 3-4 months for delivery.
• Front passenger bolsters in lower end models uncomfortable for shorter passengers who want to put their arm on the centre console. We ended up getting the EPIQ (the highest model) partially based on the increased adjustability of the passenger side seat.
• It’s remarkably easy to end up going faster than the speed limit on normal mode, even more on sport mode. Eco mode is a little too laid back. I would have preferred normal mode to be about half way between where it is and eco mode.
• Expensive. This triggers the luxury car tax in Australia, even if only just.

Kia and Hyundai Notes

• Kia is majority owned by Hyundai, so they share a lot of tech and features.
• The “GT-Line” branding in Kia adds features, many of which are useful.
• The “N-Line” branding in Hyundai is purely cosmetic.

Australia is also suffering from a scourge of excessively bright headlights at the moment and both Kia and Hyundai have some technology which automatically darkens parts of the beam to avoid blinding oncoming drivers. Unfortunately, this is only in the top of the line packages. It really disgusts me that safety “features” like this are behind a paywall. At least they’re putting some thought into it though, which is more than many other brands.

LDV Notes

LDV didn’t have anything that fit the requirements for this round, but if I’m still looking for an electric car that can tow a boat around mid 2025, the LDV eTerron 9 has a 3,500 kg tow rating. Weirdly, this will be the first electric vehicle to come to Australia with this tow rating.