Hyundai Ioniq 6

The Ioniq 6 stands on the same 800-volt E-GMP platform as the Ioniq 5, so everything that matters about charging applies here too: American cars use the CCS1 port, Bulgarian stations are CCS2, and that is the first check rather than the last.

The heat pump is the second question and it is purely a winter one. In America it is an option and cars from the warm states do not have it; without it the range falls sharply through our winter. The third is the modem, which works on American frequencies — the car is left with no built-in internet, no traffic in the navigation and no over-the-air updates.

The shape is the reason to choose it over an Ioniq 5. The body is a saloon designed around drag, and that is why consumption at 130 km/h on a motorway is appreciably lower than a crossover's on the same battery. For long journeys that is a real difference rather than a marketing one.

The drivetrain is offered with a single rear motor or with two. The rear-drive version has the longer range; the twin-motor one is quicker and more secure in winter. Our numbers are small, so the choice is limited by whatever appears.

And one practical point for registration, common to every American electric car: the rear indicators light red and have to be converted to amber, and a rear fog lamp is usually missing. That is a cost which belongs in the arithmetic before the inspection.