Hyundai Ioniq Electric
What it costs to keep fuelled
$361a year, fuel only
The 2021 Hyundai Ioniq Electric is EPA-rated at 133 MPGe combined (145 city / 121 highway). Over 15,000 miles a year that is about 113 gallons, $361 a year in fuel, or $0.024 per mile at $3.20/gal.
Across its full 2017–2021 run it averages 134.8 MPGe, falling by 3 MPGe over 5 model years.
The band is how far one gallon-equivalent of energy carries it: 133 of the 160 MPGe this scale runs to. The square tick is the midsize cars average, 26.8.
- Fuel, per year
- $361 at 15,000 mi
- Per mile
- $0.024
- Per kilometre
- $0.015
- Gallon-equivalents/yr
- 113
1 mile = 1.609344 km · fuel at $3.20/gal, fixed JUL 2026
MPGe — not a fuel billSOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
How this is worked out
- Start from the EPA combined figure for the model year — a laboratory test cycle run to a fixed procedure, not a road result. Where a year sold several engines or drivetrains, the trims are averaged and the trim count is printed beside the row so you can see how much averaging is behind it.
- Fix a pump price. This site keeps one reference price, $3.20 a US gallon, fixed JUL 2026 and printed next to every dollar figure it produces. It is an assumption with a date on it, not a quote — put your own price in.
- Fix an annual distance. Every annual figure on this site uses 15,000 miles a year, roughly the US average. A cost per year with no stated distance is not a number, it is a mood.
- Divide distance by economy for gallons, multiply by price for the year's fuel, divide price by economy for one mile. The per-kilometre line is that last figure divided by 1.609344 — the same money, in the unit most of the world drives in.
- Stop there. No depreciation, no tyres, no insurance, no servicing. This is the fuel line of the ledger and it is labelled as one; depreciation usually dwarfs everything on it.
gallons/yr = miles/yr ÷ MPG fuel $/yr = gallons/yr × $/gal cost $/mi = $/gal ÷ MPG cost $/km = cost $/mi ÷ 1.609344
The full method, the licence note, and what a test figure cannot tell you →
Re-run the ledger at another pump price
Every line above rests on one pump price. Here is the same entry re-costed at six others, because the price is the part that changes while the test sheet stays put.
| Fuel price | Per mile | 10,000 mi/yr | 15,000 mi/yr | 20,000 mi/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.50/gal | $0.019 | $188 | $282 | $376 |
| $3.00/gal | $0.023 | $226 | $338 | $451 |
| $3.20/gal | $0.024 | $241 | $361 | $481 |
| $3.50/gal | $0.026 | $263 | $395 | $526 |
| $4.00/gal | $0.030 | $301 | $451 | $602 |
| $4.50/gal | $0.034 | $338 | $508 | $677 |
| $5.00/gal | $0.038 | $376 | $564 | $752 |
This is an electric vehicle, so the EPA rates it in MPGe — the distance it travels on the energy equivalent of a gallon of petrol. The dollar figures above are a petrol-equivalent illustration only; charging at home is billed per kWh and is normally far cheaper. Treat the MPGe as an efficiency comparison, not a fuel bill.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
The whole service history, sheet by sheet
5 model years on file. Read down the combined column: a nameplate that got heavier shows it here long before any brochure admits it.
| Year | Combined | City | Highway | EPA fuel cost/yr | CO₂ g/mi | Trims |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 133 MPGe | 145 | 121 | $550 | — | 1 |
| 2020 | 133 MPGe | 145 | 121 | $550 | — | 1 |
| 2019 | 136 MPGe | 150 | 122 | $550 | — | 1 |
| 2018 | 136 MPGe | 150 | 122 | $550 | — | 1 |
| 2017 | 136 MPGe | 150 | 122 | $550 | — | 1 |
Where a model year offered several engines or drivetrains, the figure is the average across all EPA-tested trims that year — the trim count is shown so you can see how much averaging is involved.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Marked against the rest of the midsize cars bay
Among the 261 midsize cars models tracked here, the Hyundai Ioniq Electric ranks 1 on current figures, against a class average of 26.8 MPGe — the square tick on the gauge above.
Nothing in its class is rated higher — it leads the group.
Questions asked across the counter
What MPG does the Hyundai Ioniq Electric get?
The 2021 Hyundai Ioniq Electric is rated at 133 MPGe combined by the EPA — 145 city and 121 highway. Across all 5 model years in the database it averages 134.8 MPGe, ranging from 133 to 136 depending on year and trim.
How much does a Hyundai Ioniq Electric cost in fuel per year?
At 133 MPGe and 15,000 miles a year, it burns about 113 gallons — roughly $361 a year with fuel at $3.20 a gallon, or $0.024 per mile. The EPA's own published annual figure for the 2021 model is $550.
Has the Hyundai Ioniq Electric become more efficient over time?
No — it has actually gone backwards, from 136 MPGe in 2017 to 133 in 2021. That usually reflects the model growing heavier, more powerful, or moving upmarket rather than the engineering getting worse.
Is the Hyundai Ioniq Electric efficient for its class?
It ranks 1 of 261 in the Midsize Cars class on current figures, against a class average of 26.8 MPGe. That is 106.2 better than typical for the class.
Pull another logbook off the same shelf
Same class, nearest economy first — the ones a buyer is genuinely choosing between.
SOURCE·US EPA fuel-economy test data·FUEL ASSUMED AT $3.20/GAL FROM JUL 2026·REVIEWED JUL 2026
Cost per mile, per kilometre and per year are computed at a reference price of $3.20 a gallon over 15,000 miles, fixed JUL 2026 — set your own pump price. Estimates based on official test figures and average fuel prices. Real-world consumption varies with driving style, load, terrain and maintenance.
