Hyundai Ioniq 5 review

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.