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The 2017 Hyundai Ioniq fuel economy numbers are official, and impressive

Thanks to the EPA's handy fuel economy reference site, fueleconomy.gov, we now know exactly how the three versions of the 2017 Hyundai Ioniq did in fuel economy testing. The EPA tested all three versions: the hybrid Ioniq, the plug-in hybrid Ioniq Blue, and the self-explanatory Ioniq Electric. For reference, the 2017 Toyota Prius is no slouch, getting 50 mpg highway, 54 in the city, and 52 combined according to EPA testing. Now let's compare to the Ioniq, which in regular form gets 54 highway, 55 city, and 55 combined. It bests the traditional hybrid Prius most significantly on the highway. The plug-in Blue achieved 59 highway, 57 city, for a combined 58 mpg rating. As we mentioned in our earlier deep dive on the Ioniq range, the plug-in will also do 31 miles on electricity alone. As suspected, the range of the Ioniq Electric is going to be an issue for the company. The EPA confirmed the range to be 124 miles in total, returning an MPGe rating of 122 highway, 150 city, and 136 combined. We know that Hyundai is self-conscious of the range of the initial model, which looks unimpressive compared to the crop of 200-plus-mile range EVs coming to market soon, like the Bolt. Hyundai recently told Automotive News that a 200-mile range version will be coming quickly, by 2018, so the Electric won't be hobbled for too long. As long as we're comparing it to the Bolt, it should be noted that the MPGe numbers are better, even if the total range isn't. The Bolt is only good for 110 highway, 128 city, and 119 combined MPGe – to put it another way, the Ioniq Electric consumes 25 kWh per 100 miles, while the Bolt consumes 28. A small difference, to be sure, but worth noting. Don't forget that there's a fourth Ioniq out there, which we rode in recently, although it's notably mainly for its autonomous tech rather than its drivetrain. Related Video: Tip: Ramsy Shuffield Green Hyundai Fuel Efficiency Hatchback Electric Hybrid

Hyundai and Gurnade build a mildly wild Veloster Turbo

Update: We received some work-in-progress photos from Gurnade, Inc. of the Veloster Turbo, which can be seen in the gallery above. Hyundai revealed the third custom machine that will grace its display at the SEMA Show this year. It's a Veloster Turbo that Hyundai describes as "race-ready," and was built in collaboration with Gurnade, Inc., a design company that does graphic and website design and automotive renders. As far as making it race-ready, Hyundai and Gurnade gave this Veloster a new intercooler, downpipe, cold-air intake and ECU tune courtesy of 845 Motorsports. It also received a new catback exhaust and blow-off valve. The chassis has been reinforced with a variety of braces from Pierce Motorsports, and NEO Motorsports contributed the coilover suspension and bigger brakes with six-piston calipers. SEMA cars need show as well as go, so the companies added 19-inch Rotiform wheels, massive fender flares, a custom grille, a carbon-fiber hood and hatch and, of course, spoilers. All of which are covered in a PPG paint called "Magic Magenta." Inside, the Veloster Turbo features racing seats and a roll cage. The interior also received some less-than-race-ready modifications including an upgraded audio system complete with subwoofer and amplifier. While this is by no means an unimpressive car, this Veloster Turbo will unfortunately have to share the stage with some truly wild creations. These include a beefed-up, off-road Santa Fe, and the absolutely insane 1,040-horsepower, rear-wheel-drive Santa Fe built by Bisimoto. However, the Veloster Turbo gives a more realistic look at what people can create with a new Hyundai, thanks to its off-the-shelf parts. Related Video: Featured Gallery Gurnade Hyundai Veloster Turbo: SEMA 2016 Related Gallery Hyundai Gurnade Veloster Turbo Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Aftermarket SEMA Show Hyundai Hatchback Performance hyundai veloster turbo veloster turbo

YouTube tallies votes for this year's top five Super Bowl spots [w/video]

When we asked you to tell us which of this year's 16 car-themed Super Bowl commercials you liked best, you chose the Farmer commercial from Chrysler Group, advertising the Ram trucks, over Audi's Prom commercial in second place. Turns out the voters in YouTube's Ad Blitz poll agreed, voting the same commercial to the number one spot from among the field commercials in every category.
From there, however, they went in a totally different direction. Budweiser's The Clydesdales spot came second, Samsung's The Next Big Thing took third. The Jeep Whole Again ad scored fourth in the YouTube poll, fifth in our poll of auto commercials, and the Hyundai Team spot got fifth from the YouTubers, but ninth in our poll.
The voting results don't match up with the viewing numbers, though - while Farmer has more than 13 million views, The Next Big Thing is well beyond 21 million. You can read the press release below and see all five spots, lined up for you, one more time.