I've been interested in getting an electric vehicle (EV) for about a year now for various reasons, mainly performance and environmental. I did a lot of research, reading articles, watching tons of YouTube reviews and test driving them.
The choice came down to a 2022 Ford Mustang Mach-E or a 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5.
In my 20-minute test drive of the Mach-E, I had two different people revving their engines at me, noticing that I was driving a Mustang and trying to race me on the street. It's an attention-grabbing car, but I'm not that kind of driver. So I went with the Ioniq 5 SEL instead.
Every place I called in Northern California had a dealer markup. I ended up choosing a dealership in Modesto, which is about two hours from where I live in Davis, because the markup was only $2,000.
I came from a Honda CR-V, so I've never driven electric before. It's very smooth. There's no fake shifting, it's just a continuous acceleration and you have that torque at any time.
Driving on the highway, if I need to pass somebody it's not like my car has to work extra hard to get up there. I just press the pedal and it goes. In Eco mode, there's a slight delay compared to Sport mode, but it's a really fun driving experience.
It's a very modern-looking and minimalistic car. It's very comfortable as well. The comfort level is just as good if not better than my CR-V.
The one-pedal driving (the vehicle decelerates and recharges when taking a foot off the gas pedal) works really well. It takes a while to get used to knowing the distances that you need to let off the accelerator, but once you do it works and I've got no complaints.
Because I live in an apartment I don't have access to charging at home. I have two years of some free charging at Electrify America but I haven't really used that yet. But there are a lot of Level 2 chargers where I work, and I have a pretty short commute, so I've been charging about once a week to 80 percent.
The real world range is not quite as good as the EPA-rated range (220 miles) and I knew that going into it. Those ratings are for when the weather is great and you're not driving into the wind. A lot of variables can go into range.
Whenever I charge up to 80 percent, I'll get around 175 to 200 miles depending on the weather.
I plan on keeping it for at least six years, which is around when me and my fiance plan to buy a house. So I won't need a new vehicle for a long time.
If you want to buy one, do your research and call a bunch of dealerships. I probably called 15 and they all had a markup. So if you're really set on an Ioniq 5, just be patient.
Adrian Wheeler is a government worker in California. All views expressed in the article are the author's own, as told to Newsweek's James McCandless.
Have a brand new car and want to talk about your first month of ownership? Reach out at j.mccandless@newsweek.com.
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