2021 (71) Hyundai IONIQ 5 160kW Ultimate 73 kWh 5dr Auto

By Jonathan Crouch

Introduction

Having shaken up the market with its very first IONIQ, in 2020 Hyundai did so again with this far more sophisticated IONIQ 5. This IONIQ was only an EV - and it was quite an arresting one, aimed at premium compact hatch and Crossover models then typified by cars like Volkswagen's ID.4, Ford's Mustang MACH-E, the Polestar2 and this Hyundai's close cousin, the Kia EV6. You have to offer something interesting and different in that kind of company. The IONIQ 5 very definitely did. Here we look at the earliest 2021-2023-era versions.

History

Exactly what is the EV automotive sector generally lacking - apart from extended battery range? Here's our nomination: design character. Most family EVs are about as interesting to look at or sit in as a wet day at Brighton Beach: in lockdown. But this one, Hyundai's IONIQ 5, isn't. The name might ring a bell. The very first IONIQ model, launched back in 2016, was the first car to be available in hybrid, electric and plug-in forms - a Prius rival that went further. And this one, launched in the UK in early 2021, aimed to go further still, the founding member of Hyundai's then-new IONIQ EV sub-brand, a line-up that shortly afterwards was bolstered by the IONIQ 6 (a mid-sized saloon). This IONIQ 5 was less easy to pigeonhole, not least because of its arresting looks, penned by Luc Donckerwolke, the man who styled most modern-era Lamborghinis. Larger than its predecessor, it was a family hatch with aggressive SUV overtones. And it made quite a statement. In a way that close rivals being targeted here, comparably priced mid-sized EV Crossovers like the Volkswagen ID.4, the Tesla Model Y and the Ford Mustang Mach-E, rather didn't. And that statement extended to the technology beneath the futuristic panelwork. This car's E-GMP electrified platform, shared with its close cousin the Kia EV6, accommodated the kind of uber-sophisticated 800-volt electronic architecture for super-rapid charging that back in 2020 we had only previously seen on mega-expensive Porsche and Audi super sportscar EVs. On top of that, there was an astonishingly spacious cabin that'll definitely get your passengers talking; you really will feel like you're in some sort of motorshow concept car. But Hyundai built this model and it could be sitting charging happily on your driveway if you were to be convinced by its charms. It's the earlier 2020-2023-erra versions of this model we look at here. A fast IONIQ 5 N performance model was introduced in early 2024.

What You Get

Where do we even start in explaining what the IONIQ 5 looks like? This Hyundai looks like nothing else. Well, almost nothing else. Designer, ex-Lamborghini stylist Luc Donckerwolke, said it was inspired by a 1970 Hyundai Pony, a model remembered as the brand's very first production car but more representative, you'd think, of an aesthetic era the company might prefer to forget. But no, here that old car was in the IONIQ 5, reinterpreted with avant garde swagger for our new electric age and a faithful translation of the eye-catching 'Concept 45' car that Hyundai had revealed at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show. One thing's for certain: there'll probably still be nothing like this on your street. Approach it and you realise the smoke-and-mirrors effect of all this dramatic detail, disguising a profile perspective that might look Golf-sized in the pictures but turns out to be closer to the size of something like a BMW X3 SUV in its 4.6-metre length, though with the curious quirk of a 3-metre wheelbase between the axles larger than a hulking great X5. And inside? Well Hyundai doesn't call it a cabin; what you get instead is a 'living space'. However you brand it, this is quite different from anything you'll have tried elsewhere, light, airy, spacious and, like the exterior, rather self-consciously avant garde. There are though, a few elements of design that might feel dimly familiar. The walk-through footwell is a throwback to old Minis and Beetles; there's the same kind of weirdly-shaped two-spoke wheel as you'll find on a Honda e; and what you'll notice first and foremost is a similar kind of widescreen twin-monitor dash layout as is used by larger Mercedes models, with a couple of joined-together 12.3-inch displays, the 'Driver's Supervision Instrument Cluster' instrument screen complementing a central 'Touchscreen Satellite Navigation & Media Centre' monitor. You sit quite high and SUV-like and unusual design flourishes are almost everywhere you look. There are no door handles for instance - you pull instead on a backlit rail. Gear selection is taken care of by a chunky, rather phallic lower right hand wheel stalk; the pedals get 'plus' and 'minus' designations; and the huge glovebox is actually a slide-out tray. Stretch to the top variant and you get an unusual 'Universal Island' centre storage console that slides back and forth. Original customers could pay extra for glorious 'Relaxtion premium' front seats, which extend right back and feature power-retractable calf rests so that you can comfortably nod off for forty winks while powering up at your local charging station. And in the back? Well if you thought the front of the cabin was spacious and airy, you'll find the rear is on a different level, truly comparable to a much larger car in the next segment up, thanks to the 3-metre wheelbase; to give you some perspective, that's 50mm longer than something of the size of a Porsche Panamera; in a Crossover with the vehicle length of a Porsche Macan. Such are the advantages of creating an EV model platform from scratch rather than botching it together from one designed for a combustion engine - which is the sort of thing that at the time of this IONIQ 5's launch you'd have found in this segment with cars like the Mercedes EQA and the BMW iX3. There's a V2L port in the back that can allow you to charge external devices from the car's drive battery. Using an extra cost adaptor, you can also activate a second 'V2L' port within the powered driver's side charging flap, where you'll find the usual conventional socket, embellished with ten illuminating pixel squares designating battery charge status. This second 'V2L' socket is arguably more useful because you can use it when the ignition's off, so, for instance, when you're camping to power a kettle, a microwave oven, a mini fridge or an air pump. You could even use it to power another EV if a friend or family member who has one should find themselves stranded charge-less at the side of the road, although the 'V2L' port output is limited to 3.6kW so it will only trickle charge. Let's finish by considering the boot, which (providing you avoid base trim) will have a tailgate that's electrically powered - and can be operated with a swipe of your foot beneath the bumper should you be approaching your IONIQ 5 laden down with bags. The tailgate rises to reveal a predictably high load platform - those huge battery packs have to sit somewhere - but a pretty reasonable 527-litre cargo capacity. To give you some segment perspective, that's similar to a Volkswagen ID.4 and a massive 125-litres more than you'd get with a rival Ford Mustang Mach-E. Not all EVs in this segment give you extra storage space for the charging leads beneath the bonnet (the ID.4 doesn't for instance), but you get that here. If you go for the top AWD model with its extra front-mounted motor, this 'frunk' space will inevitably suffer - to the point where you won't be able to fit anything much more than a slim laptop bag inside - but with more common rear-driven variants it's quite a usefully-sized space.

What to Look For

There's not too much. We've come across reports of infotainment glitches and charging irregularities. And there was a recall for the electronic parking brake, which was found in a few cases to be disengaging unintentionally. We've heard reports of thermal throttling. And one owner had a tyre issue in which foam from the inside of the tyre carcass was disconnecting from the inside of the tyre, wrapping itself into a ball and bouncing inside the tyre. If you find steering vibration on your test drive, this is what could be causing it. One owner had issues with the charging door opening. And an issue with the active front wing vents getting stuck open. We've heard lots of reports of general rattles, so look out for those on your test drive. Tailgate rattles are the most common, solved by some owners by putting a pair of rubber washers under the two top bumpers. The drive battery should have quite a bit of life in it, unless you happen to be looking at one of the very earliest '21-plate versions. When the battery is on its way out, you'll obviously find that it won't go as far on each charge - and when it starts to run low on charge, you'll find that the car will particularly start to struggle going uphill. When it gets old, the lithium-ion battery used here can suffer from the ionised liquid in the battery freezing certain cells; those cells are then unable to receive charge. Before going to all that trouble though, make sure the issue really is the battery. If the car won't charge, it could be a problem with your home electrics (or those at the public charge point you're using). Check the charge light to make sure that electricity really is going through the charge port. And make sure there really is charge in the socket you're using to power from - plug something else into it to see - say, your 'phone. If that charges OK, it could be that your charging cable is demanding too much power, so try another power source. Another problem could be that the circuit may have tripped due to a circuit overload. Or perhaps there could be a problem with the charge cable: this needs to be cared for properly. Repeatedly driving over it (as previous owners may conceivably have done) will damage it eventually. Make sure you do a charge-up before signing for the car you're looking at. When you do this, make sure that when you plug in to start the charge cycle you hear the charge port and the cable locking and engaging as they should; that's all part of the charger basically confirming with the car's onboard computer that everything's good to go before releasing power. But if the charging cable fails to lock as it should, then that won't happen. If there is a failure to lock, the issue could be actuator failure, caused by a blown fuse. Otherwise, it's just the usual issues we tend to brief you on. Check all the media tech on your test drive - and the workings of the navigation system to see if it's been kept up to date. As we said, check the touchscreens and Bluetooth connectivity. Check the leather upholstery for cuts and stains. And inspect the alloy wheels for kerbing damage. And insist on a fully stamped-up service history.

Replacement Parts

(approx based on a 2021 IONIQ 5 58kWh - Ex Vat - autopartspro.co.uk) Front brake pads sit in the £19-£82 bracket; rear pad sets are around £20-£31. Front brake discs sit in the £60-£100 bracket; rear discs are around £56-£100. A cabin filter is in the £15-£28 bracket. Wiper blades are in the £7 to £9 bracket.

On the Road

As usual with this class of EV, an IONIQ 5 spears away from rest, though not in quite as pointlessly frantic a manner as some of its rivals. Most original buyers chose the mid-range rear driven model with a 217PS electric motor and the larger 73kWh battery, good for up to 298 miles of range. The same battery powers a top 305PS AWD variant with electric motors at both front and rear (that's good for 285 miles). Or you can choose a rear-driven variant with a smaller 58kWh battery, which is restricted to 238 miles. Whichever version you choose, on the move, you'll find this car set-up primarily for comfort, though it does clatter a bit over nastier tarmac tears. Things smooth out a bit on the highway though, where you'll find yourself more inclined to appreciate the ride and handling benefits supposedly inherent in this car's market-first adoption of integrated drive axle technology, which combines driveshafts and wheel bearings, supposedly to the benefit of ride comfort and handling stability. Another IONIQ 5 first - for this segment anyway - was the adoption of the 800 volt charging infrastructure made possible by this car's sophisticated E-GMP electrified platform. That allowed this car to use the new generation of super-rapid battery stations that could charge at up to 350kW: many rivals at the time of this car's launch were limited to charging at 125kW. Use the 50kW public charger you're much more likely to find and you'll be able to charge the 73kWh battery from 10-80% in 56 minutes and 30 seconds (no harm in being exact); it'd take 10 hours and 53 minutes to charge the 73kWh batter from 0-100% using a home 10.5kW 3 phase garage wallbox. Preserving charge will be that much easier to do if you make frequent use of the car's 'i-Pedal' feature, the most extreme of the various brake regen settings you can select using the provided steering wheel paddles. A wheel-mounted mode button also gives you settings ('Eco', 'Normal' and 'Comfort') that tailor steering feel and throttle response.

Overall

Is any brand faster at translating advanced concept to reality? What's even more impressive is that here with the IONIQ 5, Hyundai did so without diluting extreme stylistic expression into something more palatable. That certainly didn't happen here. Park an IONIQ 5 in the High Street and people are still going to look. Invite others to join you inside and passengers are going to comment. If that isn't the feel you're after with your EV, lots of other brands will better satisfy you. But if it is, this car is one you need to try. And when you do, you'll find that so much about it is different, clever yet at the same time somehow familiar, futuristic but in a way that manages not to be overtly odd. For someone bored with the clinicality of EVs, the IONIQ 5's certainly a breath of fresh air, especially once you step inside the futuristic cabin. Of course, this car isn't perfect. You might find some rivals a little sharper to drive, but that's because, rightly, this Korean maker has prioritised ride comfort and for the most part, that was been achieved here. This car sired a whole range of EVs, not only from Hyundai but also from its group partner marques Kia and Genesis. But it's even greater importance lay in the way that it redefined what people could expect from its brand. A confident statement of intent.