Hyundai Ioniq 5 2022 review

We have to talk about design first because the Ioniq 5 is something that needs to be seen to be believed. From a distance it has the proportions of a hatchback, but once you step a little closer, or see it dwarfing hatchbacks and SUVs, the scale of it is confronting.

It’s massive, measuring in with a longer wheelbase and equal width to Hyundai’s own Palisade and Santa Fe respectively, with all of its elements like wheels and windows scaled up to accommodate.

The out-of-this world design language is deliberate. It’s designed to catch eyes and prove the electric era opens up rule-braking opportunities when it comes to a car’s shape.

Interestingly though, the Ioniq 5 looks to Hyundai’s origins for its inspiration, the clear retro influence coming directly from the 1974 concept on which South Korea’s first true domestic model, the Hyundai Pony, was based.

This is reflected in the '70s and '80s graphics from the raked 45-degree boot window and spoiler to the pixel-look LED light fittings and parallel line motifs used throughout the exterior and interior of this car.

The Ioniq 5 is something that needs to be seen to be believed. (Image: Tom White)

The attention to detail is admirable, and the car's profile takes on another character at night, with a ‘grille’ made up of more subtle LED lights appearing across the front.

Hyundai has even gone to lengths to make items like the charge bay and door handles flush to the body and not interrupt the design.

While the Ioniq 5's exterior looks to the past for its inspiration, the interior looks to the future. It presents with a clean, open design allowed by the lack of a transmission tunnel.

There’s unparalleled adjustability through two rows of seats and even a centre console which can be moved quite a distance fore and aft.

We’ll look at that more in the practicality section of this review, but the Ioniq’s interior offers a modern look thanks to its two large 12.3-inch screens (which make up the multimedia and digital dash suites), its large window space, and its innovative use of more sustainable materials.

The out-of-this world design language is deliberate. (Image: Tom White)

As a result of that last factor, the interior has a unique odour, like an organic shop, or as one colleague put it, a sushi train.

This is because there is extensive use of organic and recycled materials, including yarn made from sugar cane and corn, plastics, leathers, and paints treated using an array of organic and eco-friendly oils, and weaves made from recycled PET bottles.

Purely on the design front, the interior is full of soft-touch materials, but also has an abundance of interesting textures and patterns, with neat details like the pixel motif sneaking into the door cards.

The Ioniq 5’s eye-catching design simply won’t be for everyone. It’s fun and endearing, but also confronting and unusual.

For those looking for something more familiar to other contemporary vehicles, there will be Kia’s take on the same underpinnings, the EV6, due some time next year.

From what we understand, though, supply of this car will be more limited, and it will cost even more, which brings us nicely to how much you can expect to pay for the Ioniq 5.

Hyundai is using the Ioniq 5 to demonstrate the new opportunities the electric era has for cabin space and flexibility.

The lack of a transmission tunnel leaves a perfectly flat floor which means not only a clean and open design, but superior space for adults. It might be a mid-size SUV by dimensions, but offers large SUV space, and then some.

Up front it means gratuitous space for two adults, with ample head and knee room (as there’s nothing for your knees to even hit), and a large centre console and armrest box which features a huge storage area, as well as the ability to move fore and aft.

This means you can create even more space up front or for rear passengers without interfering with the usability or flow of the cabin.

Intelligently, the storage areas inside this console are rubberised with a cool texture to ensure objects don’t get flung around an open cabin, and there are two USB ports and a wireless charger, as well.

Up front there's gratuitous space for two adults, with ample head and knee room. (Image: Tom White)

Front passengers can make use of a large bottle holder and bin in the door, as well as two large bottle holders on the centre console and a glove box which slides out like a drawer.

Usability for multimedia functions is decent thanks to the large screen, and there is a dial for volume and a toggle for tuning.

That said, the most distant edge of the screen is a bit of a reach for the driver, and unfortunately the home button is located there, making that function tricky to use on the move.

The front seats can fold nearly flat, with the idea of creating a relaxing space to read or work while recharging, for example.

A nifty touch is the ability to move the front and rear seats around (electrically) through a screen on the multimedia suite, allowing the driver to set the cabin up without having to move a muscle.

The rear seat offers a mega amount of room. This is one of few SUVs in the mid-size class which can truly accommodate an adult in the centre seat with no trouble at all, while leg- and headroom are both incredible.

There’s no third climate zone for rear passengers, but there are adjustable air vents on the backs of the B-Pillars. (Image: Tom White)

The doors are so big and the cabin so adjustable, loading luggage and adjusting child seats should be a breeze for family buyers.

Amenity-wise rear passengers get large bottle holders in the doors, a set of two much smaller ones in the drop-down armrest, netted pockets on the backs of the front seats, dual USB ports on the back of the sliding front console, and a small, rubberised tray underneath for loose objects.

There’s no third climate zone for rear passengers, but there are adjustable air vents on the backs of the B-Pillars, as well as rear seat heating.

Rear seat passengers can also adjust the seating arrangement from buttons on the side of the front passenger seat if need be.

Boot space comes in as an on-par for a mid-size SUV. It’s officially rated at 527 litres (VDA), but the space is unusually shaped. It’s deep and wide, but not particularly high, especially given the aggressive angle of the rear window.

It holds our three-piece CarsGuide demo luggage set with ease, but required the largest case to be laid flat. You may have trouble with taller objects.

Up front there’s a ‘frunk’ although in all-wheel drive models it offers just 24 litres of space, ruling out anything but charging paraphernalia. The rear-drive model offers nearly twice the room, at 57L.

The Ioniq 5 can be chosen with either a single electric motor on the rear axle, producing 160kW/350Nm, or a dual-motor arrangement, with a second motor on the front axle producing an additional 70kW/255Nm. Hyundai rates the combined output of the dual-motor AWD model at 225kW/605Nm.

The Ioniq 5 can be chosen with either a single electric motor on the rear axle or a dual-motor arrangement. (Image: Tom White)

Both versions have a single-speed reduction gear transmission, and the AWD model has a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of just 5.2 seconds.

AWD versions also offer four drive modes -'Eco', 'Normal', 'Sport', and 'Snow', which each adjust the amount of torque applied by each motor. It can also disconnect the front motor when cruising to reduce drag and maximise efficiency.

On the topic of efficiency, the single Ioniq 5 grade in Australia has a 72.6kWh battery pack with an 800-volt architecture, good for a WLTP-rated range of 451km for the rear-drive version or 430km of range in the AWD model.

If you drive predominatnly around town, expect to see even more thanks to this car’s aggressive regenerative braking capabilities, which Hyundai dubs ‘Smart Regenerative braking 2.0.'

This system builds on the already good regen braking system employed by predecessors like the Kona electric, offering three levels as well as a new ‘i-Pedal’ mode, which is an even more aggressive regen setting allowing the car to be driven almost with the accelerator pedal alone.

I spent most of my time with the AWD test car in either i-Pedal or level 3 regen, which resulted in a computer-reported consumption number of 17.3kWh/100km, a sight less than the official 19.0kWh/100km for this variant.

I expect the RWD version to consume even less. It’s worth noting this means you’ll see a range close to on-par with combustion mid-size SUVs, virtually eliminating the concept of 'range anxiety' if you spend most of your time in or around a big city.

The Ioniq 5 charges via a single European-standard Type 2 CCS port located on the driver’s side rear panel. Its 800-volt architecture means it can charge at 350kW, one of the highest speeds of any EV on the market. At that rate, the Ioniq 5 can charge from 10 – 80 per cent in just 18 minutes.

The single Ioniq 5 grade in Australia has a 72.6kWh battery pack with an 800-volt architecture. (Image: Tom White)

Few of these chargers exist in Australia presently, but on the far more common 50kW chargers, the Ioniq 5 will charge from 10 – 80 per cent in around an hour, with a slight variation depending on whether it is AWD or RWD.

For AC charging, the Ioniq 5 has a 10.5kW inverter, allowing a charge from 10 – 80 per cent in just over six hours on a charging unit capable of 11kW or more.

This kind of AC outlets is now quite commonly found in council or supermarket parking lots in capital cities, and the charge rate is a significant upgrade on the 7.2kW which can be accepted by the Kona electric.

If you have no choice but to charge using the wall outlet adapter, the Ioniq 5 and its massive battery will take a whopping 31 hours to juice up.

Lastly, the Ioniq 5 is one of the first EVs in Australia capable of vehicle to load (aka V2L) functions. This means its Type 2 port is capable of sending power both ways, and in this case comes packaged with an adapter which converts to a standard household outlet port.

This opens up all sorts of exciting possibilities, like being able to power campsites, small business stalls, coffee machines, or even other vehicles.

It’s a little sample of something I think many buyers are looking forward to in the electric era. The adapter is capable of outputting more power than a standard wall socket, too, at 3.6kW (250V, 15A).

The Ioniq 5 offers Hyundai’s standard five year and unlimited kilometre warranty, with a separate eight-year and 160,000km warranty for the high voltage battery components.

As expected, there’s a capped price servicing program as there is for all other Hyundai products, and the Ioniq 5’s schedule is very affordable (as it should be given the lower complexity of its drive components).

The Ioniq 5 offers Hyundai’s standard five year and unlimited kilometre warranty. (Image: Tom White)

You’ll need to have the Ioniq 5 looked at once every 12 months or 15,000km, and the yearly cost is $220, with a major jump to $805 at the 48 month/60,000km mark.

It still works out at an average yearly cost of $336.80 for the first five years of ownership, which is impressive for any car in this segment.