Hyundai's three-row EV lease undercuts its own smaller SUV
The IONIQ 9 costs $58,955 to buy but works out cheaper per month than the IONIQ 5 under Hyundai's current lease terms.
By Hugo Cook ·
Hyundai's largest electric SUV is now cheaper to lease than its smaller, higher-selling sibling, a gap created by differing lease terms rather than sticker prices. The IONIQ 9 starts at $58,955, about $24,000 above the base IONIQ 5 SE, but its advertised lease works out to a lower effective monthly cost than either IONIQ 5 offer currently posted on Hyundai's website.
Hyundai lists the IONIQ 9 from $419 a month with $4,999 due at signing over 36 months, an effective cost of $557 a month. The standard-range IONIQ 5 SE is offered at $359 a month with the same $4,999 down, but over 24 months, which computes to $567 effective. The extended-range SE RWD runs $369 a month on those 24-month terms, or $577 effective.
Running the numbers over 36 months narrows the spread. Hyundai's payment calculator puts the 2027 IONIQ 5 SE at about $412 a month with $4,999 due at signing on a 36-month term, an effective $550, or $7 below the IONIQ 9.
The pricing follows the expiration of the $7,500 federal EV tax credit at the end of September last year. Hyundai responded by trimming IONIQ 5 prices by as much as nearly $10,000 on certain trims. The 2027 IONIQ 5 SE now opens at $35,250 with an EPA-estimated range of up to 245 miles; the extended-range SE RWD starts at $37,750 and is rated up to 318 miles.
The IONIQ 9 SE carries an EPA-estimated range of up to 335 miles across three rows, offered in six- or seven-seat layouts, with up to 163.54 cubic feet of passenger volume against up to 106.5 cubic feet in the two-row IONIQ 5. Both are assembled at Hyundai's Metaplant America near Savannah, Georgia.
Through September, the IONIQ 5 ranked as the third top-selling EV in the United States, behind the Tesla Model Y and Model 3, ahead of the Chevy Equinox EV, Ford Mustang Mach-E and Toyota bZ. Hyundai told Electrek at a facility tour earlier this year that its electric SUVs pull in new buyers at higher rates than its gas and hybrid vehicles: the IONIQ 5 logged a 69.8% conquest rate last year and the IONIQ 9 logged 64.3%.
Source: Electrek
