IONIQ TONIC (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 92

Having shaken up the market with its very first IONIQ, in 2020 Hyundai did so again with this far more sophisticated IONIQ 5. This IONIQ was only an EV - and it was quite an arresting one, aimed at premium compact hatch and Crossover models then typified by cars like Volkswagen's ID.4, Ford's Mustang MACH-E, the Polestar2 and this Hyundai's close cousin, the Kia EV6. You have to offer something interesting and different in that kind of company. The IONIQ 5 very definitely did. Here we look at the earliest 2021-2023-era versions.

Modelsword count: 6

5dr Hatch - EV (Premium, Ultimate]

Historyword count: 325

Exactly what is the EV automotive sector generally lacking - apart from extended battery range? Here's our nomination: design character. Most family EVs are about as interesting to look at or sit in as a wet day at Brighton Beach: in lockdown. But this one, Hyundai's IONIQ 5, isn't. The name might ring a bell. The very first IONIQ model, launched back in 2016, was the first car to be available in hybrid, electric and plug-in forms - a Prius rival that went further. And this one, launched in the UK in early 2021, aimed to go further still, the founding member of Hyundai's then-new IONIQ EV sub-brand, a line-up that shortly afterwards was bolstered by the IONIQ 6 (a mid-sized saloon). This IONIQ 5 was less easy to pigeonhole, not least because of its arresting looks, penned by Luc Donckerwolke, the man who styled most modern-era Lamborghinis. Larger than its predecessor, it was a family hatch with aggressive SUV overtones. And it made quite a statement. In a way that close rivals being targeted here, comparably priced mid-sized EV Crossovers like the Volkswagen ID.4, the Tesla Model Y and the Ford Mustang Mach-E, rather didn't. And that statement extended to the technology beneath the futuristic panelwork. This car's E-GMP electrified platform, shared with its close cousin the Kia EV6, accommodated the kind of uber-sophisticated 800-volt electronic architecture for super-rapid charging that back in 2020 we had only previously seen on mega-expensive Porsche and Audi super sportscar EVs. On top of that, there was an astonishingly spacious cabin that'll definitely get your passengers talking; you really will feel like you're in some sort of motorshow concept car. But Hyundai built this model and it could be sitting charging happily on your driveway if you were to be convinced by its charms. It's the earlier 2020-2023-erra versions of this model we look at here. A fast IONIQ 5 N performance model was introduced in early 2024.

What You Getword count: 868

Where do we even start in explaining what the IONIQ 5 looks like? This Hyundai looks like nothing else. Well, almost nothing else. Designer, ex-Lamborghini stylist Luc Donckerwolke, said it was inspired by a 1970 Hyundai Pony, a model remembered as the brand's very first production car but more representative, you'd think, of an aesthetic era the company might prefer to forget. But no, here that old car was in the IONIQ 5, reinterpreted with avant garde swagger for our new electric age and a faithful translation of the eye-catching 'Concept 45' car that Hyundai had revealed at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. One thing's for certain: there'll probably still be nothing like this on your street. Approach it and you realise the smoke-and-mirrors effect of all this dramatic detail, disguising a profile perspective that might look Golf-sized in the pictures but turns out to be closer to the size of something like a BMW X3 SUV in its 4.6-metre length, though with the curious quirk of a 3-metre wheelbase between the axles larger than a hulking great X5. And inside? Well Hyundai doesn't call it a cabin; what you get instead is a 'living space'. However you brand it, this is quite different from anything you'll have tried elsewhere, light, airy, spacious and, like the exterior, rather self-consciously avant garde. There are though, a few elements of design that might feel dimly familiar. The walk-through footwell is a throwback to old Minis and Beetles; there's the same kind of weirdly-shaped two-spoke wheel as you'll find on a Honda e; and what you'll notice first and foremost is a similar kind of widescreen twin-monitor dash layout as is used by larger Mercedes models, with a couple of joined-together 12.3-inch displays, the 'Driver's Supervision Instrument Cluster' instrument screen complementing a central 'Touchscreen Satellite Navigation & Media Centre' monitor. You sit quite high and SUV-like and unusual design flourishes are almost everywhere you look. There are no door handles for instance - you pull instead on a backlit rail. Gear selection is taken care of by a chunky, rather phallic lower right hand wheel stalk; the pedals get 'plus' and 'minus' designations; and the huge glovebox is actually a slide-out tray. Stretch to the top variant and you get an unusual 'Universal Island' centre storage console that slides back and forth. Original customers could pay extra for glorious 'Relaxtion premium' front seats, which extend right back and feature power-retractable calf rests so that you can comfortably nod off for forty winks while powering up at your local charging station. And in the back? Well if you thought the front of the cabin was spacious and airy, you'll find the rear is on a different level, truly comparable to a much larger car in the next segment up, thanks to the 3-metre wheelbase; to give you some perspective, that's 50mm longer than something of the size of a Porsche Panamera; in a Crossover with the vehicle length of a Porsche Macan. Such are the advantages of creating an EV model platform from scratch rather than botching it together from one designed for a combustion engine - which is the sort of thing that at the time of this IONIQ 5's launch you'd have found in this segment with cars like the Mercedes EQA and the BMW iX3. There's a V2L port in the back that can allow you to charge external devices from the car's drive battery. Using an extra cost adaptor, you can also activate a second 'V2L' port within the powered driver's side charging flap, where you'll find the usual conventional socket, embellished with ten illuminating pixel squares designating battery charge status. This second 'V2L' socket is arguably more useful because you can use it when the ignition's off, so, for instance, when you're camping to power a kettle, a microwave oven, a mini fridge or an air pump. You could even use it to power another EV if a friend or family member who has one should find themselves stranded charge-less at the side of the road, although the 'V2L' port output is limited to 3.6kW so it will only trickle charge. Let's finish by considering the boot, which (providing you avoid base trim) will have a tailgate that's electrically powered - and can be operated with a swipe of your foot beneath the bumper should you be approaching your IONIQ 5 laden down with bags. The tailgate rises to reveal a predictably high load platform - those huge battery packs have to sit somewhere - but a pretty reasonable 527-litre cargo capacity. To give you some segment perspective, that's similar to a Volkswagen ID.4 and a massive 125-litres more than you'd get with a rival Ford Mustang Mach-E. Not all EVs in this segment give you extra storage space for the charging leads beneath the bonnet (the ID.4 doesn't for instance), but you get that here. If you go for the top AWD model with its extra front-mounted motor, this 'frunk' space will inevitably suffer - to the point where you won't be able to fit anything much more than a slim laptop bag inside - but with more common rear-driven variants it's quite a usefully-sized space.

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