Hyundai’s new dedicated EV, the Ioniq 5, is trundling steadily along into production and the latest milestone has been reached. The motoring media in the UK and Korea have gotten their hands on the new electric vehicle.
With reviews pouring in fast, we’ve taken a selection to get a general impression of how the Ioniq 5 is faring at the hands of the world’s critics. So far, it looks like Hyundai will be happy with the results.
Although the vehicle provided to UK journalists was a pre-production model, The Late Brake Show was mightily impressed by its looks, its quality, and its driving characteristics. Though wowed by its Lancia Delta Integrale reminiscent looks, host Jonny Smith was almost more impressed by the Ioniq 5’s interior.
Also Read: The Hyundai Ioniq 5 Is So Big It Dwarfs The Tesla Model 3
“The car has so much more space inside than you expect from something of this overall length,” Smith said.
Indeed, beyond simply being satisfied with its E-GMP platform’s efficient use of space, Hyundai went the extra mile, reducing the width of the front seat backrests by 30% in order to provide more knee room for the rear-seat passengers. The front seats also get a little ottoman to make them more comfortable and there’s good reason for that.
“The theory being, from Hyundai, is that I guess you can use it as a chill-out lounger while you’re charging by maximizing this space,” Smith explained.
Although Smith was impressed by the driving dynamics, saying he struggled to find anything wrong with it, WhatCar’s Doug Revolta did find a few nits to pick.
Although he was ultimately happy with the car, he did find the ride a little bumpy at low speeds and a little vague at higher speeds.
“When you get a little bit of pace into the car it does develop this kind of nice, wafty nature, so you’re kind of gently moving up and down over the road. But, the thing with that is it doesn’t feel especially controlled,” said Revolta. “On the really undulating backroads that we’ve been on today, there’s perhaps a little bit more movement in the car than you’d ideally want.”
Despite that, he also concluded that the style, the range, the tech, and the overall comfort of the Ioniq 5 made it a strong contender if you’re interested in an EV.
Over in Korea, meanwhile, Asian Petrolhead’s Charlie Min and Daniel Evans found that their Ioniq 5 Long-Range AWD could make it 453 km (281 miles) on a full charge. That’s quite a bit more than Hyundai’s estimate of 420 km (260 miles).
In fact, it’s long enough that the pair couldn’t use it all up in one day and ended up having to use the last little bit of energy the following morning. It’s an impressive feat and a good reminder that electric cars go much farther than our range anxiety might lead us to believe.
It’s enough range, in fact, that you might think of doing silly things with your Ioniq 5’s batteries, like powering a microwave or a bouncy castle.
