The compact EV comes of age in the wedgy shape of the excellent Hyundai Ioniq 3

Hyundai’s Ionic 3 electric car is a keenly priced compact hatchback that’s strong on design and engineering. Its ‘aero hatch’ shape boasts the lowest drag coefficient in its class, helping it achieve up to 308 miles on a single charge. It looks, particularly at the rear, like a chamfered and lowered Range Rover Evoque. The marketing people at JLR would have us believe that the Evoque was partly designed by Victoria Beckham. The Ioniq 3 is sharper and more streetwise; like VB swapped the Spice Girls for Bikini Kill.

At the front, its slim horizontal lights emphasise the car’s wide stance and are the current Hyundai signature. A more clandestine clue as to the car’s identity can be found in the four illuminated pixels on its nose. Dot, dot, dot, dot – that’s morse code for the letter H, signifying this might not be a car at all but a submarine in search of an opioid fix.

Hyundai labels its design language the ‘Art of Steel’. It’s inspired by the raw tension and purity found in steel production, reducing surfaces to very deliberate volumes that create visual impact. Each shape mirrors how metal naturally bends. Three different ‘sheets’ intersect to create characterful feature lines, while a single continuous surface extends from the C-pillar to reinforce a message of strength and precision.

The wheels are designed to aid this slippery 0.263cd object in slicing through the air like a samurai sword though mayonnaise. But despite the aero obsession, it’s plenty spacious inside. Thanks to the cab-forward design and flat floor, there’s legroom for three adults in the back, although the tapering roof line means they’ll need to leave their Homburgs at home. The cabin has lots of cubby holes and shelves, making it more accommodating than most studio flats, and the light colour palette results in an airy environment with a Nintendo vibe.

Thanks to Hyundai’s new Pleos operating system, connectivity is hyper-fast and the UX system is intuitive. At up to 14.6 inches, it boasts the biggest screen in its B-segment class, but Hyundai has thoughtfully positioned buttons and switches so you’re not fully reliant on having to stab at the touchscreen as you’re driving, which is a common criticism of many manufacturers – especially Chinese brands and Chinese-owned Swedish ones. The Ioniq 3’s buttons are tactile, and one suspects every surface and switch has been thoroughly thought out. It’s all distinctly premium, much more so than, say, an MG, Chery, Citroën or Peugeot.

The squashed, thick-rimmed steering wheel feels nice to hold and looks like it may have been liberated from Daft Punk’s gymnasium. It has good rake and reach, and the cloth seats are supportive and slightly 1970s Italian in style (Alcantara is also available on some models) and are heated and ventilated if you go for the spec above the base model. It’s so spacious you’d swear it was actually a C-segment car, and this is reinforced by the 411-litre boot, which includes an underfloor ‘megabox’ that’ll fit 119 litres or charging cables, muddy boots and unsightly gubbins. Rearward visibility is excellent thanks to a split rear window reminiscent of that of the old Honda Insight.

Not that you really need to see where you’re going. The car’s SmartSense driver assistance system means the driver doesn’t require any cognitive functions at all to avoid an accident (personally those ruddy bongs and alerts make me want to write the car off just to put us out of our shared misery). It even has Memory Reverse Assist, so if you find yourself in a sticky situation you can’t get out of – I’m talking a dead-end around a tight curve, rather than an armed mugger or a letter from HMRC – you press a button via the touchscreen and backwards you go, autonomously, avoiding any scrapes.

The Ioniq 3 is built in Izmit, Turkey, but it was actually designed and developed in Germany and is the first Hyundai EV to have been developed principally for the European market. Built on the K3 platform that Hyundai shares with Kia, it has a 400-volt electrical architecture and uses a single electric motor on the front axle. There are two battery options, 42kWh and 61kWh. The 61kWh battery unsurprisingly enjoys longer range, a best-in-class WLTP figure of 308 miles, whereas the 42kWh car will only get you 213 miles, but that’s still not bad in comparison with its price-point competitors.

What is surprising is that the smaller battery produces more horsepower – 145bhp compared with the 61kWh unit’s 133bhp. The smaller battery allows you to hit 62mph from standstill in 8.8 seconds, while the slightly heavier and less powerful version takes 9.5 second. Or 9.6 seconds if you choose the range-topping N Line Evo version. This is supposed to be the sporty one, but the aggressive-looking diffuser, integrated spoiler and 19in wheels, which will impress young people in supermarket car parks, end up adding an extra 0.1s of drag. Both batteries yield a top speed that’s slightly over the tonne and can charge from ten to 80 per cent in half an hour.

In addition to pleasing design, state-of-the-art technology and high-quality construction, the Ioniq 3’s trump card is price. The entry-level Advance spec car with the 42kWh battery should be £22,245, but because it meets the requirements for the UK government’s Band 1 Electric Car Grant it’s actually yours for £18,495 on the road. This is also true of the long-range 61kWh car. £3,750 off across the board, meaning the top-of-the-range, kinda sexy but also pretty pointless N Line car is just £28,195.

By ponying up almost ten grand extra you will be going slower, but you’ll have more cred among teenagers in tracksuits. The Premium trim option, which is the one most UK buyers will opt for (extra kit over the entry-level car includes bigger wheels, a heat pump, forward instrument cluster, auto wipers and a wireless charger), clocks in at £23,695 post-grant. The cheapest long-range option is £21,495.

The Ioniq 3 would be the obvious choice were it not for the achingly enticing and retro-futurist Renault 5, but that’s three grand more and it won’t take you as far between charges, nor is it nearly as spacious or refined. And if you want to beat boy racers away from the traffic lights you’ll need the Abarth 600e Scorpionissima, which is nearly as fun to drive as it is to say, but at £38,375 it’s double the price of the Ioniq 3 Advance.

The Ioniq 3 is the thinking person’s choice: democratic luxury for those on a budget who value technology and design, who recognise that in the blue-chip family EV market, it’s the Koreans who are killing it right now. The Chinese aren’t having it all their own way.

Hyundai Ioniq 3, from £18,495 (with grant), Hyundai.com