EV Journey

I’ve officially taken delivery of the Hyundai ELEXIO Elite, and after briefly sitting in the driver’s seat here’s my initial thoughts. It’s been a bit of a journey to get here—not just in terms of the wait, but the paperwork too—but now that it’s in my driveway, the verdict is in: I’m hooked.

The Acquisition: Navigating the Novated Lease

This was my first time venturing into the world of novated leasing rather than traditional financing. There are extra approval layers and “middle-man” steps that you don’t encounter when just signing a standard car loan. However, while the road to approval was a little longer, I ultimately ended up at the same destination. For anyone considering it, the tax perks (especially on an EV) make those extra forms feel a lot more worth it.

First Impressions: Premium Aesthetics

I went with the Crystal White exterior paired with the Dove Grey interior. If you’re on the fence about the light interior—do it. It looks incredibly premium. The “Crystal-square” LED lighting on the outside really complements the white paint, giving it a very futuristic, “next-gen” vibe.

The 27-Inch “Cinema” on the Dash

The star of the show is undeniably the 27-inch panoramic screen. It’s massive, crisp, and surprisingly responsive—there’s zero lag when flicking through menus.
However, a quick word of warning for night driving: by default, this thing is bright. Like, “guided by the North Star” bright. When I first tried to reverse at night, it was actually blinding. I had to go into the settings to enable adaptive brightness, which I find a bit odd isn’t the default factory setting. Once that’s sorted, though, it’s a dream.

The Learning Curve (Watch Your Levers!)

Hyundai moved the gear selector to a column-mounted lever just below the indicator. It’s a clean look, but my muscle memory is still catching up. I’ve definitely “indicated” by grabbing the gear lever once or twice. It’s a minor quirk, but expect a day or two of accidentally trying to put the car in Neutral when you just wanted to turn left.

Voice Control vs. The “Button” Debate

I’ve read plenty of reviews complaining about the lack of physical buttons in modern EVs, but honestly? I think they’re missing the point. The ELEXIO’s voice recognition is actually good. I’ve found myself just asking the car to “change temperature to 21 degrees” rather than poking at a screen while driving. It’s fast, accurate, and safer than hunting for a physical knob anyway.

Regenerative braking

Though I had read about this feature, I wasn’t prepared for that one pedal driving experience to be quite so good. Admittedly it took a few goes to find that Goldilocks ‘just right’ setting where taking your foot off the accelerator matches using the brake.

The “Smart” Features That Actually Work

Two features have already won me over:

• Digital Key 2: The car recognizes my phone via UWB as I walk up and just… unlocks. No fumbling, no tapping.
• The Smart Boot: You just stand behind the boot for three seconds and it opens.