Hyundai yesterday rolled out its all-new, all-electric Ioniq 5 for the North American market. The crossover features unique, retro-ish styling and delivers an expected range of 500 km from its powertrain and the new EV-only platform Hyundai has developed for its nascent line of Ioniq battery-electric vehicles.
You may recall the distinctive, vaguely Pony-ish 45 concept Hyundai presented at auto shows (including the Montreal event) back in 2019; well this is the production result. And it is a thoroughly modern affait, retro touches or not. There’s LED lighting, and even more strikingly a wheelbase (3,000 mm) that’s actually slightly longer than that of the Palisade SUV (overall length is shorter by 355 than that model, which points to a roomy interior for the dimensions of the vehicle). According to Hyundai, in fact, the Ioniq 5 offers “large-car-like interior space in a compact CUV”.
That’s helped along by a flat floor permitted by the EV configuration. Plus, the centre console slides back or forward by 140 mm for easier access and exit. The second-row seats, meanwhile, also slide and recline. Another innovation is that the driver gets a footrest and power reclining function for a better nap if the situation calls for it.
In keeping with the banner’s image, the interior gets sustainable and recycled materials for many elements inside, from upholstery to plastic.
Canadian buyers of the Ioniq 5 can choose from one of two battery packs, with the 58-kWh unit standard and the 77.4-kWh unit optional. Estimated range is given at 354 km for the base model, with rear-wheel drive. Note that the larger battery can come with a dual-motor all-wheel-drive system; in that case range is 435 km. Otherwise the larger battery delivers 480 km of range. As for output, the base model punches in at 225 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, while AWD variants with the larger battery make 320 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque. Those impressive totals allow for a 0-100 km/h acceleration time under 5 seconds.
Hyundai claims that the battery pack can be recharged from 10 to 80 percent in under 20 minutes with a fast charger; on one of those, 100 km of range can be returned in just five minutes. In addition, Hyundai has included in the Ioniq 5 a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) system, which allows users to transfer juice to e-bikes, camping or household appliances or even another EV in an emergency.
Inside, the Ioniq 5 comes with a new augmented-reality head-up display that projects information onto the roadway in front of the vehicle. The infotainment screen is 12.3 inches that integrates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and it’s matched by another screen of the same size for the driver.
Hyundai’s latest SmartSense system is included, and brings with it a host of functionalities like smart cruise control, forward collision avoidance, blind spot collision avoidance, attention warning and high-beam assist. The model is also the first Hyundai to get the automaker’s Highway Driving Assist 2 technology suite, which does stuff like make the cruise adaptive, keep the vehicle centred in its lane and more.
Hyundai did not divulge pricing in this week’s presentation; we expect that to come fairly soon since the company has said a pre-reservation program will get underway in the coming weeks. Deliveries of the model should start in the fall if this year.
