This week’s test corresponds to the Hyundai Ioniq 5, an electric car with a very groundbreaking style, between compact and SUV, with a modern and striking aesthetic and a very spacious interior and a spectacular minimalist finish. A car of 10, which marks the future of mobility.
Hyundai is a very advanced brand when it comes to car electrification. It was a pioneer in launching a new car concept, the Ioniq, with which it combined three mechanical options: hybrid, plug-in hybrid and 100% electric at a time when car electrification was still very limited. And since then it has continued to bet on electrifying its range of models. But without a doubt the next important step, along with the Hydrogen Nexus, is this new Ioniq family.
A family of models that represents the future, and the present, of the battery electric vehicle. And within this family is the Ioniq 5, the first, which we have had the opportunity to test this week and which represents a great step forward towards electrification. It is because it uses efficient mechanics and a fairly small battery for what is on the market. In fact, this 73 kWh battery is the largest this vehicle offers, while there is a smaller 58 kWh one.
Other manufacturers are committed to putting larger batteries, and therefore also more expensive and heavy, to offer better autonomy data. But Hyundai has achieved a very reasonable balance between the two thanks to a fairly tight consumption of 16.8 kWh per 100 kilometers.
The driving position is magnificent, with two large screens to which is added the head up display with augmented reality.
The version that we have tested on this occasion is the most reasonable, because it combines powerful mechanics, 218 horsepower, with a 73 kWh battery, which translates into an approved autonomy of 480 kilometers. That means that if we are going to drive on the motorway all the time and at 120 km/h (legal maximum) we will have a margin below 400 kilometers, around 360, depending on what we have been able to do during our test.
481 kilometers of autonomy
But this changes radically when it comes to driving in the city. In this case, the 480 kilometers of approved value can reach up to 600 kilometers and even exceed that figure. It is clear that electric cars have an ideal environment in urban traffic, where constant braking and starting favor the use of a mechanism of this type.
This Ioniq 5 has another very important aspect, such as its load capacity. The vehicle has advanced technology in its electrical system, operating at 800 volts. Only Porsche models, such as the Taycan, offer this technology, which is also used by Kia and Hyundai. This allows it to offer a truly impressive recharging capacity, being able to recharge at almost 300 kW.
That means that at such a powerful charging point we could recharge our battery from 0 to 80% in just over 10 minutes. And that is another level in the world of the electric vehicle. The problem is that points like this are almost non-existent in Spain, at the moment.
But above all, the new electric Hyundai stands out because it offers excellent dynamic behavior that stands out for the great serenity that it transmits to its occupants, its interior silence and its great spaciousness. It is like traveling on the road in a bubble and also with zero emissions in its use. This is the mobility of the future, which only lacks a small detail to be already accessible, a recharging infrastructure that allows many kilometers to be covered. An infrastructure on the roads that allows you to travel by electric car to get to the beach, for example, now that we are in the month of July and with the heat a swim is appreciated.
electric platform
This model debuts the compact electric platform of the Korean group that it shares with the Kia EV6. It is characterized by offering a long wheelbase of 3 meters, which allows it to provide that great interior habitability, in a model with fairly contained exterior dimensions, of 4,603 meters.
Its driving is very smooth and calm, silent, but if we step on the accelerator hard it is very agile.
The new Ioniq surprises for everything. The first for its really impressive exterior styling. It is a model that the Korean brand itself defines as an SUV, but that surprises with its exterior appearance, very compact and quite low. But thanks to a higher ground clearance and its protected wheel arches, it has that sought-after off-road-type aesthetic.
Perhaps more than an SUV what we could say is that it is a coupe SUV. In the Hyundai Ioniq family there will also be conventional passenger cars, with even numbers, such as the recently presented Ioniq 6, which represents a sedan, but there will also be higher and somewhat more country-style SUV models than this Ioniq 5 with this same platform. They will be the odd models of the family.
When entering the interior, its great luminosity and the generous space available are surprising, not only in the rear seats, really generous, but also in the front seats. Its driving position with two large screens where the driver finds everything he needs, with easy configuration and a lot of available information, to which a very interesting head up display is also added.
Augmented reality
The reason is that in addition to the normal information on the speed limit, the speed at which we drive or indications of our route, it incorporates augmented reality. With this, driving is much simpler and more relaxed, because it tells us where we should turn when we reach a crossroads, at a traffic light, or what we have to do at all times.
Thanks to its new platform, the interior habitability, especially in the rear seats, is incredible.
But without a doubt the aspect that has caught my attention the most is the feeling of tranquility, of silence, of circulating as if in a bubble that we carry when we go inside the vehicle. It conveys to all occupants a serenity that is almost impossible to find in any other model, not even the most luxurious. It is a real pleasure to take a tour with this vehicle.
It is a vehicle that stands out for its smooth running, but that does not give up very agile behavior on all types of terrain, including the road. To do this, the driver can choose between three driving modes, Eco, normal or Sport. The best thing is that even when we drive in eco mode, when we need to press the accelerator harder, the vehicle responds with full throttle.
Added to these three alternatives is management by means of cams of the degree of retention. This achieves a new way of choosing how we want to drive. It allows four degrees of retention, from zero (to circulate under sail without any retention up to level 3, the highest. At this maximum level the car works as a single pedal, that is to say that except for some unforeseen event the car brakes automatically, which makes it the ideal mode for driving in the city, for comfort and fuel savings.
To these four modes is added the option that I think is the most interesting, the automatic one. In this case, it is the vehicle itself that determines which mode to activate depending on the terrain, the slope, the distance to the car in front or the route. To activate this mode, all you have to do is keep the right cam pressed for several seconds.
reasonable range
You have to talk about its range. Basically, we have two battery levels, the small one at 58 kWh and the large one at 72.6 kWh. And associated with each of these two batteries we have two different engines. The small one incorporates a single 170 horsepower engine on the rear axle while if we talk about the four-wheel drive version we will have two engines with a combined power of 235 horsepower. In the case of the larger battery variant, the access version has a 218 horsepower rear engine and rear-wheel drive, while in the 4×4 variant, with the larger battery, its power increases to 305 horsepower, thanks to its two engines.
The result is that the new Hyundai Ioniq 5 is an interesting electric model, with a range of up to 481 kilometers in the WLTP cycle but reaching up to 686 kilometers if used only in the city. It offers excellent dynamic behavior, it can go very fast on the road, it is a very safe and comfortable vehicle that transmits, above all, a great feeling of silence and serenity.
Both its front and rear are surprising, they mark a new way of making cars thanks to electrification.
A perfect car for new mobility. The only thing missing is for this mobility to become a reality. But this Ioniq5 is already real, reasonably priced and a great car for those who can have a recharging point. The rest, for now, will have to wait.
Data sheet Hyundai Ioniq 5 RWD
Electric motor in rear position.
Power: 218 hp
Engine Torque: 350Nm
Battery: 73 kWh
Top speed: 185km/h
Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h, 7.4 seconds
Autonomy: 481 km
Traction: Rear
WLTP approved consumption in combined cycle 16.8 kWh/100 km.
Dimensions (length/width/height), 4.63 x 1.89 x 1.60 meters
Trunk capacity: 531 litres.
Empty weight: 1,975 kg.
Price: from 45,000 euros.
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