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Hyundai’s new electric SUV sounds like its name came from Harry Potter.
The 2026 Hyundai Elexio is the Korean brand’s latest entrant into the booming mid-size SUV segment, bolstering its existing Tucson and Ioniq 5 options already on sale. Like the Ioniq 5, the Elexio is all-electric, but unlike the Ioniq 5 it’s sourced from China.
Yes, the Koreans have turned to their neighbours for production of a more attainable electric vehicle (EV) to rival the likes of the popular Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7, much like the related Kia EV5 which is also sourced from China for the Australian market.
And that’s part of the reason why Elexio doesn’t really look like anything in the current Hyundai range, from the distinctive exterior design to the 27-inch panoramic interior display which covers almost the entire width of dashboard with a new Android-based software interface.
And it is also more than 500km (500km) of WLTP-certified driving range from its large BYD-supplied LFP battery pack, another product of its Chinese connections.
Hyundai is hoping the Elexio can play in an area of the market the Ioniq 5 has failed to reach, slotting between its more premium stablemate and the smaller Kona Electric to give the Chinese a proper crack at their own game.
And it’s also probably going to be for Kia’S lunch, as the EV5 was the best-selling ev that wasn’t a Tesla or bYD in 2025. Does the Elexio’s spell mean Australians will be under a spell? We were at the Sydney media launch for Australia to know about the news.
How much does the Hyundai Elexio cost?
The entry-level variant costs under $59,000 for the on-road cost of the Elexio, while the flagship Elite is $59,990 drive-away until March 31, after which it will move to $61,990 plus on road costs.
| Model | Price before on-road costs | Drive-away pricing |
| — | — | — |
| 2026 Hyundai Elexio | $58,990 | – |
| 2026 Hyundai Elexio Elite | $61,990 | $59,990 (until March 31) |
The base variant, which is slightly de-specced, will be on the range for $3000 less in the second quarter of 2026 and Hyundai Australia has promised a sharp introductory drive-away offer similar to Elite’s.
The offer for the Elexio Elite is a much more expensive option than that of similar electric SUVs from the budget Chinese brands, but its low-cost driveaway model compares with the Kia EV5 Air Long Range – which has the same drivetrain as the base Tesla Model Y Premium ($58,000.900 plus ORCs or $64,180 drive-away) and undercuts the lower kit while it offers the lowest price tag on the market.
Similarly, the Elexio Elite maintains the BYD Sealion 7 Premium (from $54,990) and Performance ($6,3,990), while the more expensive Zeekr 7X (in $57,900) is another significant threat from China. The Toyota bZ4X, which is now available in Japan and has been launched outside the Middle Kingdom from a very competitive $55,990 as well as Germany’s stronger Volkswagen ID (which was more powerful) that would be an extremely aggressive model of its own brand. It is now promoting 4 Pro for $62,990 drive-away, which has been promoted as an advertisement.
The team of Hyundai’s was also quick to mention the Elexio’ – its competitive novated lease payment weekly. The Elexio Elite, which isn’t far off the Xpeng G6 ($199), Tesla Model Y ($216), Kia EV5 Air Standard Range ($204) and BYD Sealion 7 Premium ($200) comes in from $205 a week on $100,000 salary for based on ‘$205 per week.
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
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What is the Hyundai Elexio like on the inside?
It basically screens at you!
A huge 27-inch widescreen infotainment touchscreen that extends into the passenger’s dashboard area, while it looks like a variation of the new Genesis setup, it’ll be more Chinese-brand in general look and feel.
But Hyundai’s local team has done the best it can to localise the software and user experience, that’ll be a good reminder of Infotainment system running – an interface powered by Android Automotive.
Hopefully this basic software platform will be used by the next generation of Hyundai-Kia multimedia systems (although I imagine Korean and European vehicles coming from Korea and Europe will adapt to more familiar hardware and have a more conventionally integrated system).
Other cool things are there The game center (which lets two people play arcade-style games on the touchscreen when a car is stationary) and native navigation (to take up pretty much the entire display of it) can be expanded to support an expansion.
While some of its glossy features are great, there are parts that have no polish or thought (at least in my opinion)?
A good example is having wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (which doesn’t fit into the display properly), displaying in a pop-up style window as you can see above. But once there, it works fine – though s work well.
The other is the touchscreen-equipped climate controls, which are quite fiddly fiddle with their technology. The driver and front passenger have toolbars on either side of the screen to access virtual shortcuts, but trying to change anything climate-related on the move is fiddly distracting and a bit annoying.
There’s also a very Tesla- and Chinese-like 3D model that controls vehicle functions when you are stationary, so you can open the doors, tailgate and charge port. Considering that I think this would be smarter as an important screen widget rather than the one of little drivers, but it’s easy to reach if you’re the only one in car.
The second row of the segment is good for Elexio, with a solid head, leg and knee room (and wide enough bench to seat three across when you need – plus the middle chair and floor are well flat for that sort of arrangement).
The pillars are equipped with rear air vents, a pair of USB-C charging ports for phones or portable devices and little storage pockets behind the front seats and under the charge ports described above.
The Elexio is also equipped with door-mounted bottle holders in the armrest and lower sections of the vehicle, and has a similar material quality on the front/back doors (compared to some other mid-size SUV competitors).
A parent will also use the ISOFIX child seat anchors for the outboard positions and the top-tethers across the backs of all three, as well as the tall upright windows allowing light to be in abundance at large. There is no sunroof, a good or bad thing depending on who you ask for the sun.
A further back there’s 506 litres of cargo space (VDA) with the second row in use, which is now used to expand to 1540L and folded pretty much flat.
The Elexio doesn’t have a spare wheel like some of Hyundai’s other electrified models, instead doing so with.
| Dimensions | Hyundai Elexio |
| — | — |
| Length | 4615mm |
| Width | 1875mm |
| Height | 1695mm |
| Wheelbase | 2750mm |
| Cargo capacity | 506-1540L (VDA) |
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
What’s under the bonnet?
At launch, just one powertrain and battery variant will be available across all trim levels.
| Specifications | Hyundai Elexio |
| — | — |
| Drivetrain | Single-motor electric |
| Battery | 88.1kWh LFP |
| Power | 160kW |
| Torque | 310Nm |
| Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
| Weight | 2080-2105kg |
| 0-100km/h (claimed) | – |
| Energy consumption (claimed) | 18.2kWh/100km |
| Energy consumption (as tested) | 20.2kWh/100km |
| Claimed range | 546-562km – WLTP |
| Max AC charge rate | 10kW |
| Max DC charge rate | 122kW |
Our suggested consumption figure of energy was more than 100km (100km) of mixed driving, a ratio that favoured 110km/h freeway and hilly B-roads. In most urban contexts, no doubt it was the figure that would be below the combined claim.
Hyundai said that the Elexio will recharge from 10 to 80 per cent in as little as 38 minutes with a 150kW DC fast-charger (although it is quoted charge capacity of 122kW according to the spec sheet) while “the charging capacity for this vehicle, which has been reported at least by its own accord,” was estimated. According to the EV5 spec sheet, Kia quotes “the same time as charging on a 350kW charger” Funnily enough.
This is a little less than the Elexio’s rival from its battery supplier, BYD, with the Sealion 7 having rated – 150kW DC ceiling.
Moreover, in the context of higher-spec Elite with its larger 20-inch alloys 546km of range according to WLTP testing, while the base grade ‘Elexio’ quotes an slightly longer (562km) range because it is less than 18-inches rolling stock.
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
How does the Hyundai Elexio drive?
Then we launched our launch drive from Macquarie Park in Sydney to Gosford via Laguna and then back the next day. That path also included a mix of urban, freeway, country highway and B-road running to test the Elexio on its own.
I personally was quite disappointed by the closely related Kia EV5 when I drove the Earth AWD some months ago, and while Hyundai didn’t explicitly say its local chassis tuning team paid attention to media feedback about the Elexio’s sister model, no doubt they went for something a bit different.
This is a brief explanation for the Elexio’s local tuning program, which seeks to achieve the company’S ‘signature style’ that balances general comfort with confident roadholding and neutral dynamics; this fairness suits the short-lived life of an ElExiO as it has remained relatively urban-leaning electric family SUV.
But that feeling was pretty clear, when I left Hyundai Australia’s head office in Macquarie Park (the Elexio didn’t try to fool you into thinking it’d be a sporty and offered consistent and correct response), while ironing out the lumps and bumps of everyday driving conditions.
This steering is a fair light and decent feedback, so you know what’s going on at the front axle; even with very solid ride comfort and general refinement from road noise (even at 110km/h on the Pacific Highway) The Elite has pretty good alloy wheels but it offers pretty solid drive comfort.
There are some who believe the front wheels from which outputs of 160kW/310Nm sound infavorable but it’s more than enough grunt to get the Elexio’ – its 2. Getting with decent urgency 1-tonne mass moving, . Just wait, don’t think acceleration will be ‘ludicrous’.
A Tucson Hybrid (HEV) feels as fast, if not faster than a quick-thinking ; you don’t hear any engine noise other than the faint whirr of the electric motor under load. But at lower speeds, of course, you get a UFO-like sound generator to warn pedestrians when they are walking down.
Despite the fact that Hyundai does not actually quote an acceleration of 0-100km/h for the Elexio, we think it’s like the one claimed by its EV5 Long Range 2WD to be “approximately 8”. Given that the shared drivetrain and close ties between the two cars, 9 seconds”, is due to its similarities.
The Elexio is far from underpowered or out of breath even uphill at highway speeds, thanks to the fact that all 310 Newton-metres are on tap when you hit the throttle.
As we approached Laguna’s town after the Pacific Highway was closed, the winding high-speed B-roads were a good ride and handling test as we pulled past the town.
The Elexio was never going to be subjected to Thin lane markings, pockmarked surfacing and a mix of bends were probably all the way it is — but I was surprised by the overall competence and polish of the vehicle’s handling (even if it wasn’t super-engaging or dynamic in feel).
The Elexio has a solid resume on paper, thanks to accurate steering, good grip levels and strong torque response but even in its Sport mode it’s far from ‘sporty’ performance or feel. Hyundai, like I noted earlier, wanted its signature style baked in (more balanced and neutral) rather than ‘plush comfort or hard-edged dynamism’.
However, for many Chinese-branded competitors, it’s a confident drive that isn’t so loose or wobbly that it feels uncomfortable or underdone in these environments. This is a solid above average grade for the Elexio as it gets so much higher than normal from here onwards,’ .
In the Elexio, driver assistance features are more Hyundai than Chinese; they’re generally well-calibrated save for the few bings and bongs I could live without.
A pretty intuitive job is maintaining a set speed and avoiding the vehicle in front of its driver, which maintains ‘high-speed’ driving position with an appropriate cruise control and using lane-centring assist combine to form Hyundai/Kia’s navigation-based Highway Driving Assist (HDA) semi-autonomous function.
Similarly, “the lane-keep assist function” was somewhat overzealous on the B-road portion of that vehicle,” which had been running around and right in skinny back-streets to avoid being centre line, then the road edge (and soon after) and an early reaction.
A long press of the mute button can quickly silence the annoying overspeed alert, and in my car I didn’t have any serious problems with the driver attention monitor except for looking at the mirrors or central display for too long.
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I think it’s worth talking about the driver displays here, given we’re on the topic of… erm… driving.
For some reason I thought that the simple driver display at the bottom of the windscreen was a real screen, but it’s actually displaying head-up displays projection. A nice piece of design, it has a few views for added functionality but if you wear polarised sunglasses that will make some hard to see.
But then your choice is the Tesla-style window on the driver’s side of that panoramic infotainment display. It shows a real-time infographic of the aid systems as well as ‘big digital speedo’, but it’s pretty low and out of sight (not particularly ergonomically) — that isn’t quite so low.
The general driving experience is fine, but it seems Hyundai has done the right work in the proper areas to make the Elexio behave as closely as its Korean and European-sourced products are possible (largely thanks to software) despite the fact that there is clearly Chinese hardware.
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
What do you get?
Although the Elexio is launching only under higher-spec Elite, an increasingly fleet-focused base variant will soon be released without some of the flagship’s more luxurious convenience features.
2026 Hyundai Elexio equipment highlights include:
- Long Range 88.1kWh Battery
- Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) charging capability
- 10-80 per cent 150kW DC fast-charging in 38 minutes
- Paddle shifters for regenerative braking
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Tyre mobility kit
- 9 airbags (front, front and rear side, curtain, front-centre)
- LED projector beam headlights
- LED tail-lights
- Rain-sensing wipers
- Cloth upholstery
- Rear lower drawer compartment
- 6-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
- 1 x wireless phone charger
- 40:60-split/folding rear seat
- LED interior lights
- Leather-wrapped steering wheel
- 27-inch Connect-C System
- Hyundai Bluelink connected services
- Digital Key 2 Touch
- Head-up display (HUD)
- Electrochromic interior mirror
- Remote Smart Parking Assist
Elexio Elite adds:
- 20-inch alloy wheels
- Leather-appointed seat trim
- Heated front seats
- Ventilated front seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Hands-free power tailgate
- 2 x wireless phone chargers
- Driver’s seat – 14-way power-adjustable
- Passenger seat – 4-way power-adjustable
- Integrated Memory Seat (IMS)
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
Is the Hyundai Elexio safe?
In a recent test of the related Kian EEV5 tested, Hyundai Elexio received ‘five-star safety rating’ for its five-starred ANCAP safety. However, ANCAP did not do much to conduct further safety testing of the Elexio’s active safety systems and pedestrian impact performance.
| Category | Hyundai Elexio |
| — | — |
| Adult occupant protection | 88 per cent |
| Child occupant protection | 86 per cent |
| Vulnerable road user protection | 77 per cent |
| Safety assist | 85 per cent |
Standard safety equipment includes:
- 9 airbags incl. front-centre
- Adaptive cruise control with stop/go
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Pedestrian detection
- Cyclist detection
- Junction turning and crossing assist
- Blind-spot assist
- Blind-Spot View Monitor
- Driver attention warning
- Highway Driving Assist 2
- Intelligent Speed Limit Assist
- Lane Following Assist 2 (lane-centring)
- Lane-keep assist with road-edge detection
- Parking Collision-Avoidance Assist (forward, side, reverse)
- Rear occupant alert (sensor-based)
- Rear cross-traffic assist
- Safe exit assist
- Surround-view camera
- Tyre pressure monitoring
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
How much does the Hyundai Elexio cost to run?
The Hyundai’s conditional seven-year, unlimited kilometre new-vehicle warranty covers the Elexio – provided you service within the brand’re network while the EV battery is eight years or 160,000km.
| Servicing and Warranty | Hyundai Elexio |
| — | — |
| Warranty | 7 years, unlimited kilometres – vehicle (conditional) 8 years or 160,000 kilometres – EV battery |
| Roadside assistance | 24 months, then service activated |
| Service intervals | 2 years or 30,000 kilometres |
| Capped-price servicing | Up to 4 years or 60,000km |
| Total capped-price service cost | $1897 – 4 years |
Despite the fact that service pricing has only been confirmed for the first four years of ownership, it is just about the initial two visits given scheduled maintenance intervals and are pegged at 24 months or 30,000km. Unless you pay as you go, keep in mind Hyundai provides lifetime capped-price service across its range.
That said, “the annual average $474 is a little high; the $1897 cost for two services over four years is just. A 25-year-old . It’s one of the few cases where Hyundai charges more than Kia – the EV5 costs $1839 over five years, including five visits to the dealer given its 12 month/15,000km intervals.
To see how the Hyundai Elexio lines up against the competition, check out our
comparison tool
childcareman.xyz’s Take on the Hyundai Elexio
The Hyundai Elexio is one of the best mainstream electric SUVs in the mid-size segment, though it’s no surprise.
The Elite’s introductory drive-away pricing is good value, given the relatively full equipment list, its performance (noticeably better than the EV5) and its quality package for Australian families looking for a mid-size SUV.
Cons? The Chinese-market tech hardware will be a little bit of an introduction, the design is slightly out there – but in isolation it’s pretty handsome and doesn’t really stand out as much at any one place because it costs more than dozens of Chinese brand rivals.
And yet it seems the Elexio’s focus is on bringing Hyundai to its larger potential at the very end of this segment, and an easier alternative for fleet market (even though that’s not really price-leader).
It is just a little less competitive than the Chinese competition on price, and now consumers can walk into’Hyundai dealerships to choose between tuithoh electric or all-electric Elexio for under $60,000 – while the company also claims its more aggressive lease pricing relative to competitors.
How would you justify buying an Elexio? ‘Well, with the tech calibration and dealership support of an established legacy brand, you can think that it is one of the most realistic Chinese challengers. Similarly, I would like to say that if you’re considering buying a Kia EV5, it’s worth giving this new Hyundai an overview.
Our verdict? One to consider amid the growing crop of mid-size electric SUVs, but not a top pick.
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