Hyundai updated its Ioniq 5 all-electric SUV for 2024 – and it’s better than ever.
Although this family car might look like a hatchback at first glance, it’s actually a small-ish SUV, with a bit of a party trick when it comes to rear space.
Interior and tech
The Ioniq 5’s interior really leans into its EV character, but manages to avoid being overly quirky. The cabin design is minimal and devoid of clutter, with two large screens that stretch across the dashboard acting as the car’s techy hub. The N Line S spec helps add a few fanciful flourishes too, like red stitching on the door trims and steering wheel, as well as sports-style branding on the seat backs and foot pedals.
The infotainment system has a ton of essential – and not-so-essential – features seamlessly built-in. All Ioniq 5 models get a 12.3in touchscreen with sat-nav and Bluetooth, heated seats, heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors and LED daytime running lights. Annoyingly, the Android Auto and Apple Carplay system requires a wire to connect to your phone.
Add-ons with the N Line S model – besides the red stitching we already mentioned – include a glass Vision Roof, Alcantara seat trim, a surround view monitor (SVM) and electric sliding rear seats. The SVM is a particularly impressive feature, giving you a drone-like, 360-degree view of the car.
Another impressive quirk of the Ioniq 5 is its sliding centre console. When pushed back, this makes the cabin feel huge, and also makes accessing the rear seats easier as you have somewhere to place your feet.
The rear seats are perhaps the most impressive interior aspect of the Ioniq 5. The passenger space on offer is fantastic, bordering on chauffeur territory. And the rear bench can also slide back and forth, and recline, to add extra finesse to said space. The rear doors also open to nearly 90 degrees for ease of access and the floor is nice and flat, so moving between seats is easy to do.
The boot isn’t quite as mind-blowing however. While it does still offer a decent, SUV-worthy amount of space at 520 litres, that figure puts it behind quite a few of its rivals. Although the boot floor isn’t very deep, it does sit flush with the load lip and therefore aids loading. The parcel shelf also has two different configurations to help accommodate the aforementioned reclining rear seats.
Being an EV, all Ioniq 5s get a ‘frunk’, a mini storage compartment under the bonnet. This space is enough for a small soft bag – or two – in the two-wheel-drive model, but shrinks considerably in the four-wheel-drive model.
Performance and drive
For 2024, Hyundai updated the batteries for the Ioniq 5, giving its entry-level models a larger 63kWh battery, and its flagship models an 84kWh battery. These provide up to 273 miles and 354 miles of range respectively (307 miles with the N Line S 325hp AWD version tested here). Impressively, as the 84kWh battery is capable of accepting charging speeds of up to 260kW, it can go from 10-80% charge in just 18 minutes.
Driving the Ioniq 5 is an absolute pleasure. It ticks all of the best EV boxes, offering an effortless, smooth drive and instant acceleration. In fact, we’d argue that the Ioniq 5 is marginally more comfortable than a lot of family-orientated EVs out there, with a slightly more finessed suspension, making for a more relaxing drive.
That suspension set-up does however mean that the Ioniq 5 isn’t the best in the bends, as it has a tendency to lean a little. And the steering – which is absolutely fine for casual driving – doesn’t have the best levels of responsiveness when changing direction quickly. But as an A-to-B family car, or even as a motorway mile muncher, the Ioniq 5 is pretty faultless.
Positive: Rear passenger space, comfortable ride, impressive electric powertrain
Negative: Boot space, lacklustre driving dynamics, steering wheel can obscure speedo
Standard equipment: Bluetooth connectivity with voice recognition, LED headlights and daytime running lights, 12.3in touchscreen with sat-nav, heated steering wheel, heated seats
Engines: Electric: 170hp, 228hp, 325hp
Equipment grades: Advance, Premium, N Line, Ultimate, N Line S
Transmissions: Single-speed automatic
| Model | Hyundai Ioniq 5 N Line S Long Range 84kWh 325PS AWD |
| P11D | £55,845 |
| Residual value | 43.9% |
| Depreciation | £31,324 |
| Fuel | £3,645 |
| Service, maintenance and repair | £3,517 |
| Cost per mile | 64.14p |
| Range | 307 miles |
| CO2 (BIK%) | 0g/km (2%) |
| BIK 20/40% a month | £19/£37 |
| Luggage capacity | 520 litres |
| Battery size/power | 84kWh/325hp |
| Score | 9/10 |
