5 EV Myths Debunked: Why the 2026 Hyundai ELEXIO is the Reality Check Australia Needed

Opt for a fast charger, though, such as a DC public fast charger – which are now available at more than 1,200 locations across Australia – and things get even faster. This process, known as Level 3 DC charging, can reduce your wait from several hours to a matter of minutes.

The ELEXIO, for example, can charge from 10–80% in approximately 38 minutes^[C1] when using a 150kW charger. 38 minutes!^[C1] That’s faster than charging some smartphones.

So no, EVs don’t always take hours to charge. Depending on the method, even feature-packed EV SUVs like the ELEXIO can be charged in just over half an hour.

MYTHCONCEPTION 2: “EVs all have terrible range”.

False. Long gone are the days when EVs really struggled to go the distance.

Fun fact: some of the earliest EVs, created way, way back in the 1800s – such as the brilliantly named Flocken Elektrowagen – could just about reach 40km before running out of juice. Very impressive for the time, but still, less than a marathon. We’ve come a long way since then, though.

Case in point: according to the WLTP – which stands for the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure – the Hyundai ELEXIO range is up to 562km^[F1] for the base variant. That’s 14 times the range of the Elektrowagen.

To put that scale into perspective even more, the distance between Sydney and Coffs Harbour is 530km – in other words, 32km less than the WLTP range of the base variant ELEXIO.

And it also means that the average Aussie, who according to The Real Australian Commute Report 2025 drives roughly 37km a day, would only need to plug in their ELEXIO once every 15 days.

So 562km^[F1] should keep you going for a few trips to the shops (or a few dozen, anyway).

MYTHCONCEPTION 3: “EVs are always more expensive to run than vehicles with internal combustion engines”.

Incorrect. EV running costs can actually be much lower compared to owning a car with an ICE (that’s an internal combustion engine to you and me). In fact, owning an EV like the ELEXIO can potentially save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year.

First of all, those public EV charging stations we mentioned earlier? Some of them offer free charging. And those that don’t often cost less than fuelling up at a petrol station.

Second, purchasing an EV can, depending on where you live, come with major government incentives, which, again, can save you a lot of money.

And third, contrary to other mythconceptions out there, many EVs are simpler than ICE vehicles – mechanically speaking, anyway – and as a result can be cheaper to maintain.

Take the ELEXIO. Despite all of its advanced tech – from the 27” panoramic infotainment system to Hyundai Smartsense^[DA2] safety features and Digital Key 2 Touch controls^[CS2] – it’s remarkably simple.

It doesn’t have an engine. Doesn’t have a clutch. Doesn’t have an exhaust. What it does have, however, is fewer moving parts than many ICE equivalents. And fewer moving parts means a greater chance of less frequent maintenance; and less frequent maintenance means…? You guessed it – less money spent on upkeep. (Potentially.)

So EVs are often less expensive to run than ICE vehicles, not more.

Mythconceptions 4 & 5: “EV batteries only last a few years, and always cost a fortune to replace”

Wrong and wrong, respectively!

To be fair, though, this used to be a valid concern. In decades past, the batteries in old EVs did need to be replaced rather regularly, and when that happened, it could cost a king’s ransom. But this is no longer the case, thankfully.

The truth is, EVs have evolved a great deal – in the last decade especially.

Since the 2010s, EV battery tech has shifted from high maintenance to low cost; from air cooling to liquid cooling; from Lithium Manganese Oxide (LMO) to Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP).

In other words, the batteries in many modern EVs are not only more efficient and more durable, but cheaper, too, meaning they don’t always need to be replaced every few years – or at great cost.

The LFP battery benefits alone are considerable: more safety, more stamina, more stability. And battery replacement costs in Australia have declined significantly, too. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the average price of a lithium-ion battery pack for a light-duty EV has decreased 90% over the past 15 years, making them much cheaper to replace than they used to be.

And the good news: ELEXIO doesn’t just use liquid-cooling technology and LFP batteries; it also comes with a 7-year, unlimited-km warranty, so in the extremely unlikely event that the battery does need to be replaced during that period – and when we say “extremely unlikely”, we mean it, with only 0.3% of EVs produced from 2022 and onwards requiring a total battery replacement, according to research from Recurrent Auto – Hyundai will take care of it, free of charge.

So, if the battery does give up the ghost during the warranty period – which, again, is very unlikely – then the replacement may not cost a single cent. How’s that for value for money?

Done, done, done, done and done – that’s five mythconceptions busted! 

So, to recap:

• EVs don’t always take hours to charge.
• EVs don’t all have terrible range.
• EVs aren’t always more expensive to run than ICE vehicles.
• And EV batteries don’t last only a few years, and don’t always cost a fortune to replace.

And the all-new Hyundai ELEXIO is living proof of that. See for yourself.