Hyundai Canada announced this week the launch of an ambitious adventure. The Hyundai Canada Road Trip will be a solo journey taking a courageous driver over 15,000 km from southern Ontario to the shores of the Arctic Ocean behind the wheel of a 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5. A 100% electric model, recall.
The official start for the expedition took place yesterday, Thursday, April 24th, at Hyundai Canada's head office in Markham. The EV will cross five Canadian provinces and two territories on its way to the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk in the Northwest Territories.
Behind the wheel of the Ioniq 5 is Patrick Nadeau. If the name rings a bell, it's perhaps because this electric vehicle enthusiast is undertaking this trip after already completing the journey from Quebec to Mexico - and back - in his own Ioniq 5 in 2022. That previous long-distance road trip generated significant interest and demonstrated the potential of electric vehicles for long journeys.
Nadeau expects to face the same challenges now as he did then: finding charging stations in the middle of nowhere, facing all kinds of road conditions and ferry schedules that change faster than the weather, and much more. But he and Hyundai Canada will keep us updated on all of this on social media, with even a documentary in the works!
Hope on Wheels
In parallel, in collaboration with Hyundai through its Hope on Wheels program, Patrick Nadeau will create virtual reality content for young cancer patients in Canadian hospitals, allowing them to virtually explore the Arctic.
The vehicle used for this expedition is a 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Preferred with the Ultimate package. Only minor modifications, such as a custom wrap and the addition of a roof tent, have been made to the vehicle. Patrick Nadeau emphasizes his confidence in the vehicle's ability to safely reach its destination, based on his personal experience with his own Ioniq 5.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a popular and well-regarded electric vehicle, having won several awards including World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle of the Year, and World Car Design of the Year in 2022. The 2025 version of the Ioniq 5 has been updated with an 84-kWh battery offering a range of up to 504 km.
To follow Patrick Nadeau's adventure, Hyundai Canada invites the public to visit its Facebook, YouTube and Instagram pages.
