Hyundai IONIQ Electric (2016-2019) vs Vauxhall Astra

The Vauxhall Astra costs £1,000 more than the Hyundai IONIQ Electric. For that premium it adds 157 miles more WLTP range, 30 kW faster peak rapid charging and a 0.9s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Vauxhall Astra comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai IONIQ Electric is £1,000 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £152 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Hyundai IONIQ Electric comes out roughly £1,080 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 104 miles for the Hyundai IONIQ Electric and 191 miles for the Vauxhall Astra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Vauxhall Astra goes roughly 88 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 26-30 minutes.

The Hyundai IONIQ Electric is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 40 mm narrower than the Vauxhall Astra. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 580 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ Electric and about 540 mm of total clearance for the Vauxhall Astra.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Hyundai IONIQ Electric and 84% for the Vauxhall Astra. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.