I HAVE SEEN THE FÜTURE...

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is an all-electric SUV that raises the bar for comfort, refinement, and quality of experience. How does it feel on Indian roads, though? We drive around south Goa to find out exactly that

- Jim Gorde

HAVING A GREEN THUMB WAS, IS, and always will be cool. Having a green car is the new perceived "cool". However, as with everything, there are certain reservations. "Green" is a relative term. A truly green car with a zero carbon footprint simply does not exist. However, a significant reduction in the carbon footprint is possible and that is achieved by greener manufacturing processes and sourcing cleaner and more natural or recycled materials. Obtaining energy from renewable and sustainable sources is the greater step. And that is an area where the electric car stands its ground.

A recent study using data from the US of A's fueleconomy.gov suggested that combustion-engine cars are wasteful in that they only use about 40 percent of the energy from the fuel-at best-and the rest is wasted.

Electric cars eliminate several moving parts and frictional middlemen-the red tape, so to speak and maximize energy efficiency by doing at single-digit revolutions per minute (rpm) what combustion needs several thousand to accomplish. Of course, the counter argument is that mining for rare earth elements, cobalt, nickel, and iron, for example, which are required for the battery cells and the magnet make highly polluting mining procedures necessary to obtain them. Not to mention the human rights violations in Africa for obtaining these materials and, in other cases, the mining trucks with-give or take-90-litre, six cylinder engines with thousands of horsepower needed to carry those very materials from the base of the mine to the surface. Either way, sustaining "human development and expansion" overall seems like the most unsustainable thing. So far as the debate between which is cleaner is concerned, we have to wait and watch. For now, I shall evaluate the IONIQ 5 for what it is a car.