Hyundai Ioniq 5 2022 review: AWD

The Ioniq 5 with all-wheel drive and two motors sits at the top of the range and has a list price of $75,900. I know that sounds like a lot of money for a Hyundai that’s not a giant SUV, but compared to other rival electric vehicles - such as the Tesla Model 3 or Kia EV6 - it’s priced well.

The value for money when it comes to standard features is excellent, too.

Coming standard are two impressive 12.3-inch displays, a Bose sound system, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery, power-adjustable front seats – they’re heated and ventilated, too – a proximity key and retractable door handles.

Coming standard are two impressive 12.3-inch displays, a Bose sound system, sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, dual-zone climate control, leather upholstery, power-adjustable front seats. (Image: Richard Berry)

The LED headlights with black bezel pixel graphics are also standard, as are the taillights, along with the 20-inch alloy wheels and smart cruise control.

The price for Spot, is about $100,000. He does have some pretty amazing standard features, though. With five cameras and can see in infrared and through 360 degrees, he can carry 14kg, run at almost 6km/h and function at -20C.

If you still think that’s expensive, at least it’s more affordable than Spot. Spot’s price is about $100,000, and you can’t even ride on him. He does have some pretty amazing standard features, though. Spot has five cameras and can see in infrared and through 360 degrees, he can carry 14kg, run at almost 6km/h and function at -20C.  He can also dance – I’m serious, watch the video and be amazed.  

The Ioniq 5 is a room with four wheels. That’s how it feels to sit inside. That’s because, as I mentioned earlier, the vehicle’s wheels have been positioned at the furthest reaches of the car, giving the Ioniq 5 a three-metre wheelbase. And because passengers sit between the front and rear wheels of a car, in this case they’ve been given more room.

So you get a whole room on wheels. All while keeping the overall length of the car down to 4.64m. Clever.

So, rear legroom for me, even at 191cm tall, is so good that I can sit behind my driving position with about 15cm to spare, and headroom back there is excellent, too.

With the Hyundai Ioniq, you get a whole room on wheels. All while keeping the overall length of the car down to 4.64m. (Image: Richard Berry)

Storage is also vast, with a sliding centre console, cup holders and door pockets.

The are two boots – one at the back with a cargo capacity of 427 litres (VDA) and one at the front under the bonnet that has a 24-litre volume.

For charging devices there are two USB ports up front and two in the second row.

The concrete jungles of Australia’s streets get hot in summer, but the rear windows are heavily tinted and have pull-up sunshades.  Directional air vents for the second-row occupants are great to see as well.

Spot doesn’t have a boot, but he can carry up to 14kg on his back.

The all-wheel-drive Ioniq 5 I tested has two motors, one at the front and one at the rear. The front motor produces 70kW and 255Nm, while the rear makes 155kW and 350Nm.

The Ioniq 5 all-wheel drive has superb acceleration, with 0-100km/h coming in 5.2 seconds.

Urban cars really don’t need all-wheel drive, but it can provide extra traction in the wet, and that’s good for safety. If the budget doesn’t stretch to the dual-motor all-wheel-drive version of the Ioniq 5, go for the rear-wheel drive with the single motor.

The Ioniq 5 has a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 72.6kWh. The large onboard 10.5kW inverter means charging is quick and with a 50kW fast charger you can fill the battery from 10 to 80 percent in 61 minutes and 42 seconds. (Image: Richard Berry)

The Ioniq 5 has a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery with a capacity of 72.6kWh. The large onboard 10.5kW inverter means charging is quick and with a 50kW fast charger you can fill the battery from 10 to 80 percent in 61 minutes and 42 seconds.

At 100 per cent charged, Hyundai says you’ll have a 430km range (WLPT).

Realistically, the range will depend on how you drive the Ioniq 5, and blasting cold air on a hot day via the climate control can also drop the range significantly in any electric car.

There is not a better powertrain for an urban car than an electric one. Environmental benefits aside, they’re just incredibly smooth and easy to drive in traffic with no changing gears, no noise and instant and strong acceleration on tap.

The same goes for Spot. A petrol-powered Spot would be ridiculous and probably very dangerous in a city apartment.

Hyundai says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Ioniq 5 should use 19kWh/100km. I only tested the Ioniq 5 in the city where, after almost 200km, the trip computer was reporting 16.1kWh/100km.

The Ioniq 5 is also a bit like a mini power station, and you can use it to provide electricity through a regular plug-in power point.

I was able to charge Spot, for example, using the Ioniq 5.

Spot take two hours to charge and has a run time of about 90 minutes.

The Ioniq 5 is covered a five-year/ unlimited-kilometre warranty. The battery has an eight-year/160,000km warranty.

Services are needed every 15,000 kays or 12 months and the servicing over five years comes to about $340 per service.