Hyundai Ioniq 5 review

Prices stretch from a £35,995 base model to just under £50,000 for the Ioniq 5 Ultimate with dual-motor drive and the big battery. For our choice, the big battery 72.6kWh with RWD in Premium trim, it’s £41,495. Or more relevant, around £500 per month.

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 charged 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 scarce. If you were quick enough to buy a ‘Project 45’ launch edition then early Ioniq 5s were blessed with a two-year membership of the UK’s Ionity network, which is fast and reliable, but rather expensive. 

On your 7kW home wallbox, a full recharge for the 72.6kWh version is going to take just shy of 12 hours.

Once you are charged, the Ioniq can use its battery reserves creatively. Optional on mid-spec Premium models and standard on the Ioniq 5 Ultimate is vehicle-to-load charging. This means you can run electrical appliances – like a campsite beer fridge – by plugging them into an adaptor on the car. You can even donate charge to a stranded EV if your cocky Tesla-owning mate runs out of juice. And you’re feeling extremely kind.