BEST LUXURY EVs
Best of three worlds here - zero tailpipe emissions, great performance, and all the fruit. These EVs - guaranteed - will not leave you feeling like an extra on a bad Netflix sci-fi thriller
HYUNDAI IONIQ 6
The IONIQ 6 is a hotly discussed vehicle design. It seems the world isn’t quite sure if it looks sleek and modern or kinda cockroach.
It’s on the same platform and uses the same 77kWh battery and motors as Ioniq 5, but is a much more aerodynamic shape and that’s all part of its appeal. It has an ultra low drag coefficient of 0.21 which is kinda cool, but only on the highway where aero actually matters. In traffic weight is what matters, because it directly a proportionately affects potential range.
Base model ‘Dynamiq’ in two-wheel drive with the big battery has a claimed 614km of range, but realistically you can expect 580kmh in the normal flow of metro city/suburban driving.
Now Hyundai just needs to make some stock available.
GENESIS GV60
The Genesis is a thorn in the side of Germany’s finest prestige carmakers, not because of outright sales, but its execution.
The GV60 has landed with the same calibre and quality as Lexus did in the 2010s with LFA - but Genesis hasn’t taken 20 years - it’s taken about five and already you can make a good case for buying a Genesis over, say, Mercedes or Audi. For a start, Genesis routinely gets better reliability scores and customer service surveys, globally and in Australia.
GV60 has the 77kWh battery from Kia EV6, but wears a much nicer suit. It has an interior that’s measurably nicer than any Hyundai in Highlander spec, and it absolutely innovates head and shoulders over the mainstream.
You can play the game of self-control with the throttle in the GV60 to conserve energy, but this 2.2 tonne SUV will launch if you provoke it.
MINI COOPER SE
The unashamedly bombastic MINI brand has become its own version of the Porsche 911 styling where they all look the same and only their mothers can tell them apart. If you like it, you like it, and that’s okay.
It comes in two specifications, SE ‘Yours’ (top-tier) and SE ‘Classic’ (second-tier). But there’s also a ‘Resolute’ package which offers different colour and trims, and just to confuse you further, this is available on the hybrid Countryman, also available in two electric-only specs: again, ‘Classic’ and ‘Yours’.
The 32kWh battery translates into about 180-200km range in the real world, making it ideal for local metro use, where it’s more practical running to school, shops, and work. All SE models are front-wheel drive.
Think of it as an affordable electric BMW in terms of refinement, quality and driving dynamics, but with a dash of colour in a world of corporate greys.
MAZDA CX-60 PHEV
It’s no secret that Mazda is doing its level best - and succeeding - in dethroning Mercedes-Benz at producing good- quality, luxurious cars. The CX-60 is proof that they’ve stepped into the ring to win.
While this plug-in hybrid CX-60 is very new, it’s worth at least investigating if you’re not quite ready to go full-EV, because using the CX-9 as your lunchpad into affordable battery-electric prestige is an excellent idea.
If you want the advantages of both liquid or electric fuel types, and you want supple leather seats, a functional interior that also has some style and elegance to it, touchpoints that required some notion of taste - then you’re in the right building.
Mazda’s run of good product innovation in recent years seems to be finally getting onto the plug-in EV bandwagon despite some early attempts at half-hearted hybrids. This proper PHEV offers peak Mazda build quality with a pricetag around $90K.
LEXUS UX300e
The new UX300e arrives in June 2023 and gets a bigger battery and therefore more range, and because it’s a Lexus, build quality will be unquestionably above board - unlike some EV brands, it must be said.
If you’re going to spend $80-$90K on an EV, it needs to be taught, supremely plush and look good. All Lexus hallmarks. And happily enough, unlike the Audis and Mercedes of the Australian market, Lexus has built a pretty decent reputation for offering solid levels of customer support.
The battery itself will be a big 72kWh unit, good for at least 400km of range, depending on how much stuff you take, how inflated you keep your tyres, and how hard you drive.
Being based on the Toyota HR-V platform, the boot offers a bit over 400 litres of volume, but it remains on the smaller end of mid-size SUVs. Apparently, buyers get a JET Charge wallbox installed at home, too.
ANOTHER LUXURY EV YOU MIGHT CONSIDER
While I do not explicitly recommend buying a Volkswagen Group product owing to their ambivalence to customer care and that global corporate entity’s historical criminal conduct, if you are shopping for a red-hot EV, it’s undeniable the next vehicle is hard to ignore…
PORSCHE TAYCAN
The bone fide electric sports car that’s built by a carmaker that knows how to do low, light, fast and agile.
Seeing a Taycan on the street is genuinely as pleasing on the eye as it is rare. You’d want to consider one just for the future resale value gamble, because imagine having one of the first all-electric street Porsches ever made bar the 918 hypercar.
Available with varying AC electric motor outputs, either 280, 360 or 480kW. Just try to ignore the word ‘Turbo’ on the back of the 480, because that’s something they’re sticking with.
It’s hard to rationally argue against the appeal of a Porsche EV and you’ve probably already decided to buy one based on the looks and badge alone.
LUXURY ELECTRIC VEHICLES & PHEVs TO AVOID
Merdcedes-Benz EQ: This vehicle is just EV componentry bolted into the combustion GLC platform, meaning it’s fundamentally comrpomised in handling. Being a Merc, you’ll pay full price because: no negotiation.
Tesla Model Y: Besides the love or hate duck-faced platypus front or the hunchback rear styling, Model Y is ludicrously expensive, the tech isn’t all that special after the novelty wears off, and the inability to negotiate means you’re locked into whatever price Elon’s cult anoints.
Volvo XC-60 Recharge: Volvo sales are still fairly stagnant in 2023 and can only manage to sell a bit over 1000 cars a month, which is not a healthy business model you wanna be part of for the next five years. Customer support is lacklustre at Volvo, in my view.
Audi e-Tron: If you translate ‘etron’ from French, it literally means ‘turd’. That’s generally the level of customer care you’ll get with Audi in Australia, too - turd. They only sell in the 10s of these things every month vs at least 60 Mercedes EQE. It’ll also depreciate about 20 percent in the first year.
Polestar 2: Depreciation on the Volvo V40 turned Polestar 2 is quite high, losing up to 30 per cent of its value in the first year. The greenwashing from Polestar is also a bit OTT. Polestar is an unknown fake-Swedish Chinese luxury brand still in its infancy with no dealers and tiny sales numbers.
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