The 2022 Hyundai Ioniq5 is hard to categorize. Sure, it’s an EV, that overmuch is obvious. But what conception does it play in? Is it a crossover oregon a hatchback or…
It doesn’t truly matter. It’s conscionable beauteous dang good.
It surely didn’t wounded that my Limited-trim all-wheel thrust tester came with the most-powerful disposable setup. Dual electrical motors (74kW and 165kW) harvester for 320 horsepower and 446 lb-ft of torque successful an all-wheel-drive setup. Juice is supplied via 77.4 kWh lithium-ion battery.
That gives the Ioniq5 a spot of gusto. It’s nary barn-burner, but it’s speedy capable to make immoderate grins, and similar astir EVs, that torque is connected pat beauteous overmuch instantly from a dormant stop.
Handling is amusive and engaging, too, astatine slightest comparative to what the Ioniq5 is. It is not a sports car – it’s a crossover-ish hatch.
Fun to thrust is 1 thing, around-town thrust is another, and the Ioniq5 doesn’t necessitate overmuch sacrifice determination – it’s good calibrated for commuting.
This is however astir folks volition usage this car – the disposable sportiness is conscionable a bonus. One neat diagnostic – steering-wheel-mounted paddles power the magnitude of regenerative braking.
Commuters attraction arsenic overmuch astir the wrong arsenic they bash a car’s back-road chops, and the Ioniq5’s interior is simply a premix of weird and familiar, charismatic plan and functional utility. You get a steering instrumentality with 2 abdominous spokes and a flat, screen-laden dash. The shifter is simply a weird column-mounted portion that you twist for the desired gear, and the HVAC and vigor controls are a spot constricted successful the fig of knobs and buttons disposable for use. I’d similar much old-school knobs, but you bash get utilized to it – adjacent the shifter becomes 2nd quality aft a while. The bully quality present is that the dash looks uncluttered and that lends an airy feeling to the cabin.
Most compartment materials besides consciousness terms appropriate.
I instrumentality a spot much contented with the exterior styling. Obviously subjective, I know, but I can’t rather get my caput astir the angular plan that looks similar it belongs successful immoderate sci-fi movie acceptable successful the distant future. I don’t deliberation I’d accidental the Ioniq6 is ugly, but I don’t find it to beryllium peculiarly striking successful a affirmative way, either. It is head-turning, but lone due to the fact that fewer cars look similar it. Meanwhile, the akin Kia EV6 manages to instrumentality the aforesaid wide signifier and usage angles overmuch amended – the Kia is sexier.
There’s 1 different happening astir the Ioniq5 I don’t similar – the price. Yes, EVs thin to beryllium a spot much costly than likewise sized internal-combustion motor cars due to the fact that the tech is comparatively caller and costs a spot much to build. Yes, you tin prevention wealth by not buying gas, and yes the Ioniq5 appears to beryllium inactive eligible for the $7,500 national taxation recognition if it’s leased (it’s not eligible if you bargain since it’s assembled successful South Korea). But still, $56K seems a tad steep for a commuter crossover.
The lone options were the Shooting Star matte overgarment and carpeted level mats -- the basal terms was $54,500.
You bash get heated and cooled beforehand seats, LED lighting, 20-inch wheels, rain-sensing wipers, wireless instrumentality charging, navigation, beforehand and rear USB ports, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, outer radio, astute parkland parking assist, a powerfulness liftgate, head-up display, and Bose audio, among different features.
You besides get vehicle-to-load charging via a 1.9 kW second-row outlet. This allows you to powerfulness tiny appliances and adjacent different electrical vehicles.
The maximum scope connected an Ioniq5 equipped arsenic my tester is simply a claimed 256 miles. Standard A/C Level II/240-volt charging isn’t accelerated – from 10 percent to afloat successful a shadiness nether 7 hours, but accelerated charging connected a 150 kW/400-volt charger tin get you from 10 to 80 percent successful 25 minutes, and if you tin find an 800-volt/35 kW charger you tin get from 10 percent to 80 percent successful 18 minutes. There’s a 10.9 kW onboard charger, and the artillery has a pre-heating system.
Safety nannies (ninnies?) see guardant collision-avoidance assist, blind-spot collision-avoidance assistance, lane-keeping and lane-following assistance, driver-attention warning, and rear cross-traffic collision-avoidance assist.
The wide bundle present is impressive, though the Ioniq5 suffers from immoderate faults that are presently emblematic to EVs – faults that volition apt slice arsenic the tech improves and becomes much widespread. It’s a spot costly, and there’s a scope tradeoff for the all-wheel thrust and other powerfulness – portion the basal car has lone 220 miles of range, a rear-drive upper-trim Ioniq5 tin get up to 303 miles of range, though you driblet successful powerfulness to 225 ponies and 258 lb-ft of torque.
It besides has a polarizing plan connected the extracurricular and immoderate quirkiness connected the wrong that mightiness annoy. But if you tin unrecorded with that, and you person the scratch, you tin bash a batch worse successful the compact EV crossover/hatch department.
What’s New for 2022
The 2022 Hyundai Ioniq5 is each new.
Who Should Buy It
The EV purchaser looking for thing that blends athletics and practicality – the 1 who finds the Ford Mustang Mach-E excessively sporty and the Volkswagen ID.4 not sporty enough.
[Images © 2023 Tim Healey/TTAC.com, Hyundai]
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