As Hyundai prepares to launch an EV-focused brand using the Ioniq name, the 2021 Hyundai Ioniq enters the new model year with few changes and a slight price hike.

The 2021 Ioniq is still available with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or all-electric powertrains, with each variant getting about a $200 price increase. The Ioniq Hybrid remains the least expensive, starting at $24,405 in base Blue spec, while the base Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid SE and Ioniq Electric SE start at $27,705 and $34,250, respectively (all prices include a mandatory $1,005 destination charge).

Hyundai previously confirmed that the only changes for the 2021 model year were the addition of wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone connectivity, the replacement of Summit Gray with Amazon Gray as a paint option, and a newly-standard electronic parking brake and HD Radio for the Ioniq Hybrid model.

With no mechanical changes, that means the Ioniq Hybrid and Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid stick with a 1.6-liter inline-4 engine and 6-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, with a permanent-magnetic motor sandwiched in between. The Plug-In Hybrid gets a more powerful version of the motor, giving it a total system output of 156 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque, compared to 139 hp and 195 lb-ft for the Hybrid.

2021 Hyundai Ioniq Electric

2021 Hyundai Ioniq Electric

The Ioniq Hybrid is rated at 59 mpg combined (58 mpg city, 60 mpg highway), in Blue form, while other trim levels are rated at 55 mpg combined (54 mpg city, 56 mpg highway). Efficiency ratings for the 2021 Ioniq Plug-In Hybrid aren't available yet, but the 2020 model had an EPA-estimated 29 miles of electric range. We recently drove the 2021 version of the Plug-In Hybrid, and found it offered conflicting ideas of what people want in a PHEV.

The Ioniq Electric got a handful of updates for the 2020 model year, including a bigger battery pack (38 kph vs. 28 kwh), an increase in power (134 hp vs. 118 hp), and a range boost to 170 miles. Expect those figures to carry over to the 2021 model.

Hyundai is readying for a reboot of Ioniq as a brand, so the future of this model line, which was pitched as a Toyota Prius-fighter, is uncertain.

The first of the new Ioniq-brand models will be the Ioniq 5 electric crossover. Scheduled to be unveiled later this month, it will inherit the retro styling of the Hyundai 45 concept, which first appeared in September 2019 at the Frankfurt auto show. The 45 in turn was inspired by the Hyundai Pony—the automaker's first model developed in-house.