# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content
Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content.description
Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content[]
"headline":"Hyundai Ioniq 5 Review 2026"

# data.attributes.metatag[].attributes.content[]
"description":"Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare"

# data.attributes.field_cars_driving.value
The world has plenty of normal hatchbacks pretending to be SUVs. The Ioniq 5 is the opposite. This is a commanding driving position in a car that looks like a chunky hatchback. You sit eye-to-eye with van drivers.

But don’t let the headline figure of 321bhp deceive you. Emphatically, this is not a hot hatch. If it’s those kinds of thrills you’re after then you’ll need the Ioniq 5 N and its 641bhp.

No, this is a deeply unsporty car: throw it into a corner and the front end bobs about like a small boat moored up at a harbour. It tolerates tight turns but doesn’t revel in them. The suspension comes from the old school of soaking up bumps, not keeping the car as flat as possible in a bend.

Remind me of the powertrains again?

They are threefold: the entry-level car now gets a 63kWh battery and a sensible rear motor capable of 168bhp, achieving 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds. Not slow nor fast, merely fine. Step up to the 84kWh battery and the single motor jumps accordingly to 225bhp, enough for the same sprint in 7.5s.

Finally you can spec an AWD version with 321bhp, with that second, front-mounted motor propelling it to 62mph from a standstill in 5.3s. That only comes with the bigger 84kWh battery.

Sure it’s fast, but it tails off at about 80mph. There’s no discernible motor whine, and though Hyundai went for old-school mirrors (Shrek-eared wing cameras are a £1,250 option), wind noise is well-hushed. It steers quickly, to imbue a sense of agility, but here the weight and general unsportyness catches up with the Ioniq 5.

Sounds underwhelming…

Instead, you marvel at touches like a rear-view camera view popping up on the digi-dash whenever you indicate, to expose any hidden cyclists in your blind spot. You lope along and let the Ioniq 5 waft, as a big premium German SUV might, except without the bolshiness and sense of disdain from other motorists.

At times it can be a little too floaty over speed bumps, but generally it’s just an extremely comfortable way to travel.

How’s the range?

Not bad, but not groundbreaking. With its new battery the facelifted entry-level car promises 273 miles from a full charge of its 64kWh unit, while the 84kWh battery claims up to 354 miles: though be warned that going for more power and AWD comes with a cost. Figuratively and literally. You’re looking at 311 miles on a charge.

We managed to eke impressive efficiency of 4.0 mi/kWh out of the most powerful all-wheel drive model. The caveats here are little time on the motorway and warm test conditions (EVs dislike cruising at speed and being cold). So maybe count on two-thirds of the official figures in the winter.

Bear in mind also that the most efficient electric cars will peak at 5.0 mi/kWh in the summer months. Maybe that sharp jaw needs chamfering…

Is the Ioniq 5 easy to use?

The drive selector is a bit of a fiddle, hidden low and to the right of the slender steering wheel. Twist it this way and that for Drive and Reverse. The paddleshifters intuitively add and remove regen braking. Slowing up for a roundabout by clicking them – instead of tapping the brake pedal – quickly becomes the Ioniq 5’s in-built game.

Brake pedal feel itself is better than you’ll find in some rivals: more progressive and reassuring. As you’d expect for a car that’s quicker from 0-62mph than a Golf GTI in top-spec guise, this twin-motor grunt shrugs off the Ioniq’s two-tonne kerbweight and makes this car a serious piece of A-road overtaking kit.

And yet, we’d probably still do our usual EV thing and buy the biggest battery with the least amount of power. That way you still get 225bhp and maximum range.

# data.attributes.field_cars_driving.processed
The world has plenty of normal hatchbacks pretending to be SUVs. The Ioniq 5 is the opposite. This is a commanding driving position in a car that looks like a chunky hatchback. You sit eye-to-eye with van drivers.

But don’t let the headline figure of 321bhp deceive you. Emphatically, this is not a hot hatch. If it’s those kinds of thrills you’re after then you’ll need the Ioniq 5 N and its 641bhp.

No, this is a deeply unsporty car: throw it into a corner and the front end bobs about like a small boat moored up at a harbour. It tolerates tight turns but doesn’t revel in them. The suspension comes from the old school of soaking up bumps, not keeping the car as flat as possible in a bend.

Remind me of the powertrains again?

They are threefold: the entry-level car now gets a 63kWh battery and a sensible rear motor capable of 168bhp, achieving 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds. Not slow nor fast, merely fine. Step up to the 84kWh battery and the single motor jumps accordingly to 225bhp, enough for the same sprint in 7.5s.

Finally you can spec an AWD version with 321bhp, with that second, front-mounted motor propelling it to 62mph from a standstill in 5.3s. That only comes with the bigger 84kWh battery.

Sure it’s fast, but it tails off at about 80mph. There’s no discernible motor whine, and though Hyundai went for old-school mirrors (Shrek-eared wing cameras are a £1,250 option), wind noise is well-hushed. It steers quickly, to imbue a sense of agility, but here the weight and general unsportyness catches up with the Ioniq 5.

Sounds underwhelming…

Instead, you marvel at touches like a rear-view camera view popping up on the digi-dash whenever you indicate, to expose any hidden cyclists in your blind spot. You lope along and let the Ioniq 5 waft, as a big premium German SUV might, except without the bolshiness and sense of disdain from other motorists.

At times it can be a little too floaty over speed bumps, but generally it’s just an extremely comfortable way to travel.

How’s the range?

Not bad, but not groundbreaking. With its new battery the facelifted entry-level car promises 273 miles from a full charge of its 64kWh unit, while the 84kWh battery claims up to 354 miles: though be warned that going for more power and AWD comes with a cost. Figuratively and literally. You’re looking at 311 miles on a charge.

We managed to eke impressive efficiency of 4.0 mi/kWh out of the most powerful all-wheel drive model. The caveats here are little time on the motorway and warm test conditions (EVs dislike cruising at speed and being cold). So maybe count on two-thirds of the official figures in the winter.

Bear in mind also that the most efficient electric cars will peak at 5.0 mi/kWh in the summer months. Maybe that sharp jaw needs chamfering…

Is the Ioniq 5 easy to use?

The drive selector is a bit of a fiddle, hidden low and to the right of the slender steering wheel. Twist it this way and that for Drive and Reverse. The paddleshifters intuitively add and remove regen braking. Slowing up for a roundabout by clicking them – instead of tapping the brake pedal – quickly becomes the Ioniq 5’s in-built game.

Brake pedal feel itself is better than you’ll find in some rivals: more progressive and reassuring. As you’d expect for a car that’s quicker from 0-62mph than a Golf GTI in top-spec guise, this twin-motor grunt shrugs off the Ioniq’s two-tonne kerbweight and makes this car a serious piece of A-road overtaking kit.

And yet, we’d probably still do our usual EV thing and buy the biggest battery with the least amount of power. That way you still get 225bhp and maximum range.

# data.attributes.field_cars_editor_title
Hyundai Ioniq 5 review: facelifted EV still stops us in our tracks

# data.attributes.field_cars_inside.value
All Ioniq 5 trim levels still get the same pair of 12.3-inch screens in a single panel atop the dash. It’s very Mercedes-esque in look, and the materials aren’t far off either. Lots of light tones – nothing dark or oppressively sporty – and the right amount of minimalism.

The steering wheel features masses of buttons, which can be a trifle fiddly, but once you’ve got the displays how you want them, it’s relatively easy to learn and graphically crisp. There are also shortcuts here to turn off some of the more annoying active safety bongs and interventions. The centre touchscreen works rapidly but you might be asking your passenger to hit some of the controls at the extremes of the display if you’re short in the arms.

We’d also prefer physical climate controls, but the ever-present touch-sensitive panel is at least preferable to hiding the air-con in a sub-menu.

Is it spacious?

Enormously. Because the Ioniq 5 rides on a platform designed never to contain an engine it can make a boon of that fact by stretching its wheelbase. The boot is a 520-litre giant, with a cellar of stowage beneath for your charging cable. If it’s likely to be buried by a shopping trip, there’s a 57-litre carry cot under the bonnet for the cable instead in RWD cars, although that drops to 24 litres in AWD versions.

With three metres between the axles, the Ioniq 5 is roomier than a BMW 5 Series inside – and that’s before you start fiddling with the furniture.

Can I remove the seats like an old Renault Espace?

Nope, but you can shift the centre console. Hyundai calls this, dubiously, the Universal Island. Vom. Anyway, by sliding the armrest and its charging ports fore and aft by 140mm, you can either present more convenient charging ports to your screen-zombie children, or offer them more legroom to lose sweeties in. Once the ‘island’ has experienced some tectonic shift towards the back, the driver can elegantly sidestep out via the passenger door – handy if you’ve parked in a narrow street.

So, it’s welcoming, airy, feels extremely well-built and has all the tech you could ask for, with phone mirroring, over the air updates and even reclinable chairs that can flatten out like a sun-lounger… when you’re parked up. This is a car that uses ‘being electric’ for a serious packaging advantage inside.

You mentioned wing-mounted cameras earlier…

We did. These are among the goodies available as optional extras. We’re not sure about the appeal, ourselves: we have to assume that with enough time in the car you’d get used to looking at a pair of interior screens for look-signal-and-manoeuvreing, but they just don’t offer the depth of vision of a humble mirror and it takes longer to focus your eye on other road users. Nor is there any gain in range over the conventionally-winged car. Hmm.

# data.attributes.field_cars_inside.processed
All Ioniq 5 trim levels still get the same pair of 12.3-inch screens in a single panel atop the dash. It’s very Mercedes-esque in look, and the materials aren’t far off either. Lots of light tones – nothing dark or oppressively sporty – and the right amount of minimalism.

The steering wheel features masses of buttons, which can be a trifle fiddly, but once you’ve got the displays how you want them, it’s relatively easy to learn and graphically crisp. There are also shortcuts here to turn off some of the more annoying active safety bongs and interventions. The centre touchscreen works rapidly but you might be asking your passenger to hit some of the controls at the extremes of the display if you’re short in the arms.

We’d also prefer physical climate controls, but the ever-present touch-sensitive panel is at least preferable to hiding the air-con in a sub-menu.

Is it spacious?

Enormously. Because the Ioniq 5 rides on a platform designed never to contain an engine it can make a boon of that fact by stretching its wheelbase. The boot is a 520-litre giant, with a cellar of stowage beneath for your charging cable. If it’s likely to be buried by a shopping trip, there’s a 57-litre carry cot under the bonnet for the cable instead in RWD cars, although that drops to 24 litres in AWD versions.

With three metres between the axles, the Ioniq 5 is roomier than a BMW 5 Series inside – and that’s before you start fiddling with the furniture.

Can I remove the seats like an old Renault Espace?

Nope, but you can shift the centre console. Hyundai calls this, dubiously, the Universal Island. Vom. Anyway, by sliding the armrest and its charging ports fore and aft by 140mm, you can either present more convenient charging ports to your screen-zombie children, or offer them more legroom to lose sweeties in. Once the ‘island’ has experienced some tectonic shift towards the back, the driver can elegantly sidestep out via the passenger door – handy if you’ve parked in a narrow street.

So, it’s welcoming, airy, feels extremely well-built and has all the tech you could ask for, with phone mirroring, over the air updates and even reclinable chairs that can flatten out like a sun-lounger… when you’re parked up. This is a car that uses ‘being electric’ for a serious packaging advantage inside.

You mentioned wing-mounted cameras earlier…

We did. These are among the goodies available as optional extras. We’re not sure about the appeal, ourselves: we have to assume that with enough time in the car you’d get used to looking at a pair of interior screens for look-signal-and-manoeuvreing, but they just don’t offer the depth of vision of a humble mirror and it takes longer to focus your eye on other road users. Nor is there any gain in range over the conventionally-winged car. Hmm.

# data.attributes.field_cars_owning.value
Prices start from £40,695 for the base model, having been £35,995 a couple of years ago. Inflation, eh? Advance is now the entry-level trim, which bags you parking sensors, smart cruise control, the 12.3in touchscreen, a leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, heated front seats, 19in alloys, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity and a heat pump. Not bad at all.

Stepping up to the 84kWh battery with its more powerful single motor costs another £3,500 from here. The AWD option isn’t unlocked unless you bypass the next trim level (Premium) and make the step to N Line. At that point you’ll be paying £51,755 for your extra power. Yikes.

Ultimate trim (which, since the addition of the N Line S, is no longer ‘ultimate’) costs from £50,255 and adds ventilated and leather-finished front seats, heated rear seats, a digital rear view mirror, a Bose premium sound system, a head-up display, 20in wheels and more besides. Here you only get the option of the bigger battery, but you can still choose between rear- and all-wheel drive.

The N Line S is the most expensive of the lot. Priced from £53,255, it gets seriously sporty styling, electric sliding rear seats, Alcantara and leather trim and a panoramic roof.

Which would you go for?

We’d lean towards Premium trim, but with the larger battery and slightly perkier rear motor for maximum range. That spec adds intelligent LED headlights, part cloth and part leather seats, V2L capability and the clever sliding centre console.

So equipped, it’ll be £46,755. Or an £8k deposit will secure monthly repayments of £555 over a four-year term with an annual limit of 10,000 miles. Depends on the price of electricity (and fuel, of course), but you’d hope to see a significant reduction in running costs over a petrol or diesel car.

What's the recharging situation?

So far as ownership goes, Hyundai is betting hard that the Ioniq 5’s clever charging will win over new adopters. The car supports 800-volt charging – like the much more expensive Porsche Taycan – and you can juice up from nearly flat to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes.

Only got time for a five-minute pit stop? Even that buys you 62 miles. Sounds great… until you learn that all this only occurs if you can find a 350kW rapid-charger, and they’re still scarce.

# data.attributes.field_cars_owning.processed
Prices start from £40,695 for the base model, having been £35,995 a couple of years ago. Inflation, eh? Advance is now the entry-level trim, which bags you parking sensors, smart cruise control, the 12.3in touchscreen, a leather-wrapped heated steering wheel, heated front seats, 19in alloys, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity and a heat pump. Not bad at all.

Stepping up to the 84kWh battery with its more powerful single motor costs another £3,500 from here. The AWD option isn’t unlocked unless you bypass the next trim level (Premium) and make the step to N Line. At that point you’ll be paying £51,755 for your extra power. Yikes.

Ultimate trim (which, since the addition of the N Line S, is no longer ‘ultimate’) costs from £50,255 and adds ventilated and leather-finished front seats, heated rear seats, a digital rear view mirror, a Bose premium sound system, a head-up display, 20in wheels and more besides. Here you only get the option of the bigger battery, but you can still choose between rear- and all-wheel drive.

The N Line S is the most expensive of the lot. Priced from £53,255, it gets seriously sporty styling, electric sliding rear seats, Alcantara and leather trim and a panoramic roof.

Which would you go for?

We’d lean towards Premium trim, but with the larger battery and slightly perkier rear motor for maximum range. That spec adds intelligent LED headlights, part cloth and part leather seats, V2L capability and the clever sliding centre console.

So equipped, it’ll be £46,755. Or an £8k deposit will secure monthly repayments of £555 over a four-year term with an annual limit of 10,000 miles. Depends on the price of electricity (and fuel, of course), but you’d hope to see a significant reduction in running costs over a petrol or diesel car.

What's the recharging situation?

So far as ownership goes, Hyundai is betting hard that the Ioniq 5’s clever charging will win over new adopters. The car supports 800-volt charging – like the much more expensive Porsche Taycan – and you can juice up from nearly flat to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes.

Only got time for a five-minute pit stop? Even that buys you 62 miles. Sounds great… until you learn that all this only occurs if you can find a 350kW rapid-charger, and they’re still scarce.

# data.attributes.field_cars_stand_first
Sensational-looking Ioniq 5 blurs boundaries and makes us yearn for a Korean crossover. What a time to be alive

# data.attributes.field_cars_verdict.value
The Ioniq 5 has been around for a good while now and has even been through its first facelift, but to our eyes it’s still one of the best and boldest-looking EVs on sale. And the fact this retro XXL hot hatch bodywork conceals one of the most complete family EVs money can buy is downright remarkable.

By taking the punt that people are more likely to be converted to EV ownership if the car is desirable as an object and an experience – and gambling that there’s more to life than the European players’ softly-softly, don't-offend-anyone approach – Hyundai has built an exceptional electric car.

Course, we said much the same about BMW’s brave old i3 hatch, and that pretty much sunk as a business case. Whoops. But judging by how many of these we see out on the roads, Hyundai’s nailed it.

# data.attributes.field_cars_verdict.processed
The Ioniq 5 has been around for a good while now and has even been through its first facelift, but to our eyes it’s still one of the best and boldest-looking EVs on sale. And the fact this retro XXL hot hatch bodywork conceals one of the most complete family EVs money can buy is downright remarkable.

By taking the punt that people are more likely to be converted to EV ownership if the car is desirable as an object and an experience – and gambling that there’s more to life than the European players’ softly-softly, don't-offend-anyone approach – Hyundai has built an exceptional electric car.

Course, we said much the same about BMW’s brave old i3 hatch, and that pretty much sunk as a business case. Whoops. But judging by how many of these we see out on the roads, Hyundai’s nailed it.

# data.attributes.field_cars_verdict_against
Heavyweight boat-y handling, badge snobs scoffing “how much?!”

# data.attributes.field_cars_verdict_for
Hyundai’s best-looking car ever, lounge-y interior, comfort, clever charging, healthy range

# data.attributes.field_cars_verdict_text
The fact this retro XXL hot hatch bodywork conceals one of the most complete family EVs money can buy is remarkable

# data.attributes.field_cars_what_is_it.value
The Ioniq 5 was the first of a new, genuinely desirable family of all-electric cars from Hyundai, which has since been followed by the Ioniq 6 and the chuffing massive Ioniq 9. A smaller Ioniq 3 has already been shown off and will arrive on UK roads soon. Expect that to be a rather excellent machine, if this first effort is anything to go by.

Was this Hyundai’s first go at an EV?

Nope, the Koreans have been quietly making decent electric cars for some time now. The old teardrop-shaped Ioniq was available as a pure EV (though most left the factory as mild hybrids) and for a few years before the Ioniq we were quietly impressed by the Kona Electric: a small crossover which embarrassed stuff like the Audi Q8 e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace for range.

And yet worthy as those cars were, Hyundai realised it wasn’t going to get a foothold in the EV gold rush unless it wrapped up everything it had learned about going electric into a body that turned a few heads. And then dropped jaws into laps when we saw the interior.

And this is what makes the Ioniq 5 one of the stand-out electric cars you can buy right now. It’s an EV you’ll want to own just from clapping eyes on it, after which range and features seal the deal.

Let’s talk about those looks.

This is still one of the biggest head-turners among EVs right now. The Ioniq 5 was facelifted in 2024 with new alloy wheels and front/rear bumpers, but Hyundai knew it had a winner on its hands so barely changed the look at all. It just grew in length by 2cm.

The 5 has no fake grille, just a light motif that ‘bleeds’ through the front trim. The front frown looks purposeful, the creased sides are brave, and the LED-festooned rear is pure Pixar movie robot. It’s a tremendous piece of car design that somehow hits all the aero and pedestrian safety targets while looking like a cross between a DeLorean hot hatch and a prop from Blade Runner.

I can’t work out how big it is. A city car?

Optical illusion, that. While the Ioniq 5 can appear in pictures to be the same size as the wee Fiat 500e, it’s actually a large Range Rover Evoque-sized crossover masquerading as a family hatch. It rides on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform that also underpins a bunch of Kia and Genesis EVs. Everything from the teeny EV2 to the giant EV9, in fact.

Hyundai’s made a boon of that by giving the Ioniq 5 a raised seating position and an upright, airy glasshouse. So it feels spacious, and it’s easy to place in town.

Let’s be having those specs then.

The Ioniq 5’s hardware has been updated numerous times in recent years, but now it comes with a choice of two batteries and three powertrains in the UK, with various combos across many different trim levels.

You can click through to the Buying tab of this review for the full lowdown, but just know that the entry-level Ioniq 5 currently costs £40,695. That gets you a 63kWh (gross rather than usable) battery and a 168bhp rear motor for 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds and 273 miles of WLTP range.

The other battery pack is the 84kWh ‘Long Range’ version, with up to 354 miles of range available if you go for the right spec and a single motor. Ticking that battery box does unlock a twin motor option with more power and all-wheel drive though. Prices for that powertrain can reach up to almost £57,000 at the top trim levels.

Blimey. Hyundai sees itself as a premium player now, huh?

Sure does. Badge snobs might still baulk at it, but with looks this sharp you can see why Hyundai feels comfortable in such premium territory. The Ioniq 5 certainly feels posher than a Tesla Model Y.

Other rivals? Where do we even start? It’s in the same pack as the likes of the Kia EV6, Genesis GV60, Audi Q4 e-tron, Polestar 2, VW ID.4, Skoda Enyaq, Nissan Ariya, Volvo EX40, Mini Countryman Electric and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Strong field, that.

And what’s all this I’ve heard about a performance version?

Ah yes, that’ll be the brilliant Ioniq 5 N. Unveiled in full at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023, there’s so much to talk about we’ve given it its very own review. Click these words to go there right now. All you need to know here is that it has up to 641bhp, a drift mode and fake gearchanges. It’s awesome.

Oh, and it has also inspired some new trims for the standard car, so if you want the looks without the yobbishness you’ll need either the N Line or N Line S.

# data.attributes.field_cars_what_is_it.processed
The Ioniq 5 was the first of a new, genuinely desirable family of all-electric cars from Hyundai, which has since been followed by the Ioniq 6 and the chuffing massive Ioniq 9. A smaller Ioniq 3 has already been shown off and will arrive on UK roads soon. Expect that to be a rather excellent machine, if this first effort is anything to go by.

Was this Hyundai’s first go at an EV?

Nope, the Koreans have been quietly making decent electric cars for some time now. The old teardrop-shaped Ioniq was available as a pure EV (though most left the factory as mild hybrids) and for a few years before the Ioniq we were quietly impressed by the Kona Electric: a small crossover which embarrassed stuff like the Audi Q8 e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace for range.

And yet worthy as those cars were, Hyundai realised it wasn’t going to get a foothold in the EV gold rush unless it wrapped up everything it had learned about going electric into a body that turned a few heads. And then dropped jaws into laps when we saw the interior.

And this is what makes the Ioniq 5 one of the stand-out electric cars you can buy right now. It’s an EV you’ll want to own just from clapping eyes on it, after which range and features seal the deal.

Let’s talk about those looks.

This is still one of the biggest head-turners among EVs right now. The Ioniq 5 was facelifted in 2024 with new alloy wheels and front/rear bumpers, but Hyundai knew it had a winner on its hands so barely changed the look at all. It just grew in length by 2cm.

The 5 has no fake grille, just a light motif that ‘bleeds’ through the front trim. The front frown looks purposeful, the creased sides are brave, and the LED-festooned rear is pure Pixar movie robot. It’s a tremendous piece of car design that somehow hits all the aero and pedestrian safety targets while looking like a cross between a DeLorean hot hatch and a prop from Blade Runner.

I can’t work out how big it is. A city car?

Optical illusion, that. While the Ioniq 5 can appear in pictures to be the same size as the wee Fiat 500e, it’s actually a large Range Rover Evoque-sized crossover masquerading as a family hatch. It rides on Hyundai’s E-GMP platform that also underpins a bunch of Kia and Genesis EVs. Everything from the teeny EV2 to the giant EV9, in fact.

Hyundai’s made a boon of that by giving the Ioniq 5 a raised seating position and an upright, airy glasshouse. So it feels spacious, and it’s easy to place in town.

Let’s be having those specs then.

The Ioniq 5’s hardware has been updated numerous times in recent years, but now it comes with a choice of two batteries and three powertrains in the UK, with various combos across many different trim levels.

You can click through to the Buying tab of this review for the full lowdown, but just know that the entry-level Ioniq 5 currently costs £40,695. That gets you a 63kWh (gross rather than usable) battery and a 168bhp rear motor for 0-62mph in 8.5 seconds and 273 miles of WLTP range.

The other battery pack is the 84kWh ‘Long Range’ version, with up to 354 miles of range available if you go for the right spec and a single motor. Ticking that battery box does unlock a twin motor option with more power and all-wheel drive though. Prices for that powertrain can reach up to almost £57,000 at the top trim levels.

Blimey. Hyundai sees itself as a premium player now, huh?

Sure does. Badge snobs might still baulk at it, but with looks this sharp you can see why Hyundai feels comfortable in such premium territory. The Ioniq 5 certainly feels posher than a Tesla Model Y.

Other rivals? Where do we even start? It’s in the same pack as the likes of the Kia EV6, Genesis GV60, Audi Q4 e-tron, Polestar 2, VW ID.4, Skoda Enyaq, Nissan Ariya, Volvo EX40, Mini Countryman Electric and Ford Mustang Mach-E. Strong field, that.

And what’s all this I’ve heard about a performance version?

Ah yes, that’ll be the brilliant Ioniq 5 N. Unveiled in full at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2023, there’s so much to talk about we’ve given it its very own review. Click these words to go there right now. All you need to know here is that it has up to 641bhp, a drift mode and fake gearchanges. It’s awesome.

Oh, and it has also inspired some new trims for the standard car, so if you want the looks without the yobbishness you’ll need either the N Line or N Line S.

# data.attributes.field_cars_what_we_say
Ticks all the grown-up sensible boxes and looks this flipping special. Tesla’s worst nightmare

# data.attributes.field_cars_wildcard_text
The other fast, interesting Hyundai hatchback. Thirsty, but a better all-rounder than a Golf GTI