As handsome an appliance as they come

You know those modern refrigerators with the Android tablets in the front? The ones that somehow jump out at you as you pass the entirely ignorable appliance aisle at your local big box store? Brushed stainless, slick trim, cool LED lighting, and an ice dispenser? 

You don’t care about fridges; you just came to replace the stained pillowcase you’ve been drooling into since your school days. You remember that you have a perfectly serviceable fridge at home, yet somehow, the cutting futurism sparks envy. Those angular boxes can probably play TikToks as you dispense ice, and wouldn’t that be an important upgrade to your connected lifestyle?

The new Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a future-styled appliance. It’s a neat one, bringing Hyundai-Kia’s new EV platform to market with a competitive sheet of standout features and some of the most exciting commuter-car styling we’ve seen. But make no mistake: beneath tomorrow’s styling remains a straightforward appliance.

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If you haven’t seen one already, the first point to know is that despite its compact-car styling, the Ioniq 5 is big. Full-on crossover big. Thanks to its electric skateboard platform, wheels are pushed to the very corners, and no tunnels disrupt the centre floor. Though it triggers visual associations with small cars, the result is expansive, uninterrupted cabin space, easy loading, and confident long-wheelbase stability at speed. 

That skateboard is Hyundai-Kia’s new E-GMP platform, a modular framework introduced here in the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and in the Kia EV6 . Following a roll of impressive technical advancement from the Korean partners, it’s a serious first deployment. The 77.4-kWh long-range models are rated for a claimed 400 kilometres of range in AWD configuration, or up to 480 driving a single-motor RWD. Charging is likewise impressive, with Hyundai matching the Porsche Taycan’s 800V, 350-max-kilowatt charging rates on rapid infrastructure. 

If you can find a 250+ kW fast charger running at full capacity, that’s hypothetically good for an 80 per cent standard-range 58kWh-battery charge in just 18 minutes. More realistically, however, drivers will be looking at a few hours on Level 1 and 2 chargers at home and during errand stops along their commutes. Sweetening this reality, Hyundai has equipped the driver’s seat with a Maybach-style lounge function, laying back and supporting your legs like a proper recliner. Between this accommodation and the Ioniq’s ability to keep itself and its climate controls running while plugged in, and I’ve even enjoyed hours-long late-night winter naps at the local Ikea slow charger. 

Get underway once you’re charged up, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is an entirely pleasant runabout. The E-GMP’s electric torque flows smoothly and plentifully. Tall acoustic glass ensures a quiet ride and clear sightlines. The cabin experience is spacious and relaxed, with plenty of headroom for taller drivers, abundant legroom for front and rear passengers, and an open-concept layout that makes the car an unexpectedly delightful place to spend your hours. At 5’8, I can comfortably sit behind myself. And with a 770 litre boot, I can haul a pile of goodies too. Take a step back, and this really is the best of what we were promised from the early days of the skateboard architectural concept. 

At the centre of all this is the Ioniq’s infotainment setup. Beginning from behind the steering wheel, a pair of wide 12.3” horizontal displays stretch front-and-centre, providing users one of the slickest and most intuitive interfaces on the market. Vibrant designs, graphic textures, and abstract readouts amplify the futuristic experience, and with greater convenience than Kia EV6 drivers will find with that car’s contextual row of capacitive buttons. A dedicated home button would be nice, however. 

Accompanying this are Hyundai’s usual tricks, including its impressive Highway Driving Assist with precise lane-keeping and smooth adaptive cruise (standard on the Ioniq 5), signal-activated blind spot displays in the cluster, and a 3D 360º parking camera. 

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New to the Ioniq, however, is something slicker still: augmented reality vehicle tracking in the standard heads-up display. With driver assists activated, the HUD assures drivers of the car’s awareness of its surroundings by placing glowing pads beneath vehicles ahead. Looking through the windshield, these floating details laid over real-life surroundings make a distinctly advanced impression that lasts long after you climb out. 

Looking out the rear window, however, early adopters of the Ioniq 5 will experience a pretty backward concession in the name of style: the absence of a rear wiper. Despite early assurances that the vehicle’s aerodynamics would blow enough water and dirt away from the hatch glass to obviate an old-fashioned wiper, reality has proven otherwise. Drive in the wet, and the rear glass gets dirty in a hurry. Ioniq drivers — particularly those driving slushy or dusty gravel roads — are thus likely to make frequent visits to their local gasoline pump to sneak a squeegee wipe. Fortunately Hyundai has finally relented on this point, and has stated that wipers are being considered for future production. 

Beyond this gripe, shoppers should remind themselves of how much work that styling is doing here. Design is an important part of the Ioniq 5 formula, and has driven significant media hype since demo units started hitting pavement late last year. A modern take on the classic Giugiaro-designed Hyundai Pony, the Ioniq 5 translated almost directly from concept to production form. It’s a striking vehicle, sharply faceted with contrasting gloss, matte, and illuminated surfaces. And right now, this EV gets more attention than any vehicle I’ve experienced, excepting perhaps the iconic (and like-styled) DeLorean. 

The novel pixelation seems forgotten inside, however. Despite its exterior maximalism, the interior is decidedly minimal, if not disappointingly plain. It’s here that shoppers will come to terms with the crossover’s appliance-like utility, with several fantastic features, its few confusing ones, and its ultimate straightforwardness. 

All this is not to say that over-delivery on exterior looks should count against the Ioniq, but rather that shoppers should pinch themselves to ensure they aren’t just being taken in by the neat paint finishes and unique bodywork. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a strong product and a big step for the industry, but it isn’t a time machine. 

Now, as legacy manufacturers are finally getting a wave of new products to market, shoppers should keep diligent and make their way between dealer lots. Suggested matchups in Driving ’s new Compare Tool include the Kia EV6, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Volkswagen ID.4, smaller Polestar 2 , and even the tepidly received Toyota BZ4X/Subaru Solterra .

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