Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 is their first electric car built on a purpose-built chassis so it’s given them the chance to liberate a lot more room inside than you’d expect.
Its styling is a curious mix of modern and retro with some tasty details, including dot-matrix type rear lights, which gives the car a very distinctive light signature. The rectangular light motif is carried on to the front where they form another distinctive shape for the front DRLs. There are even more rectangular lights ranged under the cool-looking triangular cover over the charging port.
For a while, I couldn’t figure out what car it reminded me of and then it hit me – the shape is reminiscent of a more modern Lancia Delta, no bad thing – it’s one of my all time favourite cars.
Batteries, of course, are mounted in the floor and the absence of an engine and transmission has allowed Hyundai to release a huge amount of interior space courtesy of a long wheelbase.
There’s acres of space in the front and the front seats can recline almost completely flat. At the rear, it’s equally spacious and the completely flat floor adds to the relaxing ambience.
Boot space hasn’t been forgotten about either, with over 500 litres of space, augmented by a small underfloor space for the charging cables and even a small compartment under the bonnet. The rear seats can fold 60:40 as standard for maximum flexibility.
The dashboard is dominated by two 12” screens, one for instrumentation and the other for the infotainment systems. Both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported and the touch screen is joined by a collection of hardware buttons, which makes it much easier to control systems like the Climate Control. I’m a great believer in hardware buttons, which are easier to use than touch screens when driving.
Talking of driving, the Ioniq is a smooth drive and the car feels very planted on the road. The seating position is a wee bit higher than a normal hatchback but it’s not SUV high by any means. Let’s call it a crossover. The long wheelbase puts a wheel at each corner and although you can feel the extra weight of the battery at times, the ride is very comfortable and smooth.
Performance is strong with the 170bhp motor of the base model powering the rear wheels. If more performance is needed the larger battery comes with a 220bhp motor. There’s also a 4WD version with 320bhp and a GT option with even more performance.
There are two batteries available, a 58kWh item with an official range of 384km while the bigger battery is of 72kWh capacity and this has a claimed range of around 480km.
The Ioniq has one of the fastest chargers on the market, supporting 800 volts. With a compatible 220 kW DC fast charger, going from 10 to 80% can take as little as 18 minutes.
There’s also an 11kW AC charger fitted as standard, which is faster than most and allows you to charge the car at a faster rate than 7kW from 22kW chargers.
Top of the range Ionics also come with a Vehicle to Load charging system which can take power from the car to run electrical appliances, your house or even charge another EV. It’s the only car I can think of with this technology on board.
Four trim levels are available: Executive, Executive Plus, Premium and Premium Plus. Standard across the range includes 19” alloys, 12” screens, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual zone climate control, heated seats, wireless phone charger, rear view camera and rear parking sensors.
Executive Plus comes with the option of the larger battery and a heat pump is also fitted as standard, which provides a more efficient method of heating the car. Also standard is an electric driver’s seat with half leather upholstery, automatic door handles and privacy glass.
Premium adds leather seats, chrome highlights and enhanced driving aids including forward collision avoidance.
Premium Plus only comes with the larger 74 kW battery and adds 20” wheels, surround view monitoring, remote parking assist, relaxation seats, a powered tailgate, head up display and that vehicle to load system.
Prices start from €39,995 for the 58kW Executive and range up to €68,250 for the Premium Plus model, which comes with the bigger battery and four wheel drive.
It’s one of the more impressive EVs on the market and it definitely deserves your attention.
