2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Review
Originally introduced at the end of 2021, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 has, in a lot of U.S. cities, become a familiar sight on our roads. Its distinctive, sharp-edged styling, which mixes retro touches like low-res “pixel” front and rear lights with a futuristic shape and detailing, certainly stands out in a sea of me-too crossovers, and thousands of families have embraced its offering of emissions-free driving with stress-free living thanks to its spacious cabin, range, and charging capability.
When we first drove the Ioniq 5 in 2021, we were impressed by its 800-volt electrical system, its rapid charging, and the overall value it offered consumers. But, progress happens rapidly with EVs – much more so than with gasoline cars – so three years on, is the Ioniq 5 still a good buy? After a few days behind the wheel of a 2024 model, we still think this is one of the best electric cars on the road.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 Range, Efficiency, and Charging
Hyundai was a relatively early arrival to the zero-emissions party. Early in the new century, the company leased a limited number of hydrogen fuel-cell Tucsons to customers on the west coast; in 2010, Hyundai launched its first limited-production battery electric vehicle in Korea. 2016 saw the introduction of the Ioniq, which was available as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or full EV, and Hyundai quickly followed with the Kona Electric, an impressively long-range EV targeted at, and priced for, mainstream buyers.
The company has been investing in EVs for a long time, and has never taken its foot off the metaphorical accelerator – and its technological leadership shows in the Ioniq 5. Not only does this large family-sized EV offer impressive EPA-estimated range – at up to 303 miles for the rear-wheel drive Long Range SE model, 260 miles for the all-wheel drive version – but its efficiency and charging are class-leading as well.
I regularly saw range estimates on the car’s trip computer that exceeded the EPA range estimates by a fair margin over four days of driving – and also averaged, in a mix of city and highway driving, over 4 miles per kWh. That’s deeply impressive for a vehicle of this size, and easily eclipsing competitors like the Tesla Model Y. The Hyundai’s efficiency means that it can make the most out of the 77.4-kWh battery capacity, without needing an unnecessarily large and heavy battery, which would reduce performance and increase charging times. Speaking of charging times, the Ioniq 5 is also class-leading; its 800-volt architecture, a high-end feature found on luxury EVs like the Porsche Taycan and Lucid Air, means that it can charge at up to 350 kW – going from 10 to 80 percent in less than 20 minutes, if you can find a compatible charger.
The Ioniq 5 achieves its impressive efficiency without imposing any real compromises on its driver or passengers. The heating and air conditioning operate very efficiently, and a “warming” function on the climate control panel uses the seat and steering wheel heaters to maximize efficiency in the cold. Clever aerodynamic sculpting of the angular body includes flush-mounted door handles, sleek outside mirrors, and disc-like wheels that reduce air resistance to a minimum.
What Is It Like to Drive the Ioniq 5?
And no matter what the drive mode – eco, normal, and sport are available – its intelligent brake regeneration can use a combination of data from the GPS and the sensors on the car to recuperate as much energy as possible without resorting to the aggressive “one-pedal” feel you’ll get in a Tesla. Paddles mounted to the back of the steering wheel let you manually adjust the level of regenerative braking by clicking up and down; a long pull re-engages the intelligent regen mode.
With 320 hp from two motors in all-wheel drive form (225 hp for rear-drive), the Ioniq 5 will smoothly, silently dash to 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds, faster than a lot of sports cars but without any of the drama. On the 19-inch wheels fitted to my all-wheel drive SE model, the ride could feel a little stiff on bumpy city streets, but it calmed down nicely at higher speeds.
Standard equipment even on the entry-level SE model includes an array of helpful driver assistance features, including lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic pre-collision braking, and even rear cross-traffic alert. I found the warning bongs and beeps of the driver assists – not to mention the steering intervention of the lane-keeping system – to be a bit intrusive, but it’s easy to adjust their sensitivity to suit your tastes.
When you’re steering yourself, the Ioniq 5 is not as hyper-responsive as a Model Y, and the wheel doesn’t transmit much feel from the road; the brakes are strong, but the pedal feels a bit soft, particularly in the last inch or so of its travel. While enthusiastic drivers who want to burn rubber and chase supercars will want to hold out for the high-performance 641-hp Ioniq 5 N, the “regular” Ioniq 5 models leave little to be desired in regular driving. This family crossover is quiet, smooth, and a great place to be for all five occupants.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
Even as the entry-level trim, the Ioniq 5 SE gives you and your family all you need to be comfortable. Larger than it looks, the Ioniq 5 was designed for electric power from the start, and built on a platform with a super-long wheelbase. That means it has a massive interior, with stretch-out space front and rear, with plenty of headroom, legroom, and elbowroom; it feels like a limousine in the back. No transmission tunnel down the middle of the cabin means that the center console has a space large enough to store a laptop bag, along with a covered storage bin in the armrest and a cubby at the base of the dashboard. There are also huge door pockets, and the luggage compartment’s flat floor can be easily expanded by folding the rear seats down.
Practicality aside, I also really liked the design of the Ioniq 5’s interior. Like the exterior, it has futuristic touches like twin 12.9-inch touchscreens, ribbed and high-tech textured finishes on the dash and door panels, and metallic trim on the gear selector and control stalks. But it’s also pleasantly old-school to use. Most of the important controls are physical knobs and switches, and the rest are easily accessed through a multi-function touch display below the center stack; standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto make it easy to use all your favorite phone features. The standard cloth fabric looks great and is hard-wearing; I’d prefer it over the synthetic leather that comes with higher-end models like the Limited. Reasons to upgrade to higher trims, other than leather, include the available panoramic glass roof, digital heads-up display, wireless phone charging, and some additional driver assistance features.
Which Ioniq 5 Should I Buy?
With a starting MSRP of $41,800 for the SE Standard Range, the Ioniq 5 is not an inexpensive vehicle. You’ll probably want to at least step up to the SE Long Range, which ditches the smaller battery with 220 miles of EPA-estimated range and bumps the starting MSRP to $45,850; add $3,500 for all-wheel drive. SEL and Limited models have starting MSRPs of $47,400 and $53,500 respectively, putting them into competition not only with the likes of the Tesla Model Y, but also with luxury hatchbacks like the BMW i4, which has a starting MSRP of $54,990.
The Ioniq 5, made in Korea with Korean-sourced batteries, isn’t eligible for the $7,500 federal tax rebate if you purchase it; however, you can access the rebate if you lease it, meaning that it can be a very attractive vehicle to lease, should leasing suit your lifestyle.
And, like all electric vehicles, the Ioniq 5 shines when you look not just at the cost of the vehicle, but when you consider its total cost of ownership. Set yourself up to charge at home, and you could save hundreds of dollars a month compared to increasingly-expensive gasoline, and your maintenance costs should be lower too, with no oil changes or tune-ups to worry about. Those advantages, combined with the Ioniq 5’s impressive efficiency and rapid charging on longer trips, continue to make it one of our favorite electric vehicles on the market – at any price.
