Hyundai Ioniq 5: This South Korean EV is a true game-changer!

Hyundai Ioniq 5

When you hear the words "electric vehicle", or the abbreviation EV, which car comes to mind first? I'm sure most of you think about a Tesla. Some of you might mention a car made by one of the Germans (Audi, BMW, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, or Volkswagen). And if you live in India, it could even be a car from Tata Motors.

But did you know the car that won the coveted 2022 World Car of the Year award was not from any of these brands? It was the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which was also named the World Car Design of the Year and World Electric Vehicle of the Year. Let's understand how this South Korean automobile company managed to beat everyone else and become the first carmaker to win these three awards in the same year.

Hyundai first showcased the Ioniq 5 as the 45 Concept in September 2019 and it instantly captured everyone's attention for its retro yet futuristic styling. The concept also paid homage to the Hyundai Pony, South Korea's first mass-market car. I got a chance to see this concept at the 2020 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Canada. However, at the time nobody could have imagined that the production version would be so close to the concept.

The Hyundai 45 Concept at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show

To be fair, Ioniq is not an entirely new brand from Hyundai, as the company sold hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and electric variants of the Ioniq compact liftback during 2016-2022. The name Ioniq apparently came from a portmanteau of ion and unique, signifying its electric car focus. However, the Ioniq 5 is the first model developed on Hyundai Group's new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP), which has also spawned the Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60. Since it is a modular platform, E-GMP can support various vehicle sizes and configurations (hatchback, sedan, crossover, and SUV) and we can expect to see more vehicles on this platform in the future. Hyundai has already launched the Ioniq 6 sedan and previewed the Ioniq 7 three-row SUV in 2022!

Kia EV6 (top) and Genesis GV60 (bottom)

The Ioniq 5 is unique because it stands out from not just every other EV, but also every other car on the road. Hyundai's design team has managed to create a car that looks like an oversized hatchback, but is actually a crossover SUV. It may not be clear from the images, but this car has a length of over 4.6 m and a wheelbase of 3 m (which is a LOT!) In an industry where car manufacturers are trying to make hatchbacks look like SUVs (that's what led to the invention of the crossover), this might be the first time an automaker has intentionally gone the reverse way. The Ioniq 5 also has a Parametric Pixel design on its headlights, tail lights, and wheels, which is unlike anything we have seen on cars and looks awesome when seen up close!

There are other interesting bits inside the Ioniq 5. It is one of the few cars to have a sliding front central console that can move backwards by 14 cm (5.5 in). It also comes with a built-in Vehicle to Load (V2L) function that can supply up to 3.6 kW of power to all kinds of external appliances! So, the car can act as one of the world's largest portable power banks!

In terms of powertrain options, the Ioniq 5 comes with three different battery packs (58 kWh, 72.6 kWh, and 77.4 kWh) and can offer a driving range up to 481 km. It is also the first car that has 800V charging capabilities, which means it can use a 350 kW charger to top up its battery from 10% to 80% in just 18 minutes!

With the Ioniq 5 and its siblings (Kia EV6 and Genesis GV60), the Hyundai Group has cemented its place as one of the world's leaders in the development of electric vehicles. The design of these cars is truly world-class and they are game-changers that will be remembered as the pioneers that made EVs desirable for the mass-market. I plan to test drive it soon and hope to see it in my driveway someday! If you have not seen it yet, please check it out at your nearest Hyundai dealership and let me know what you think.