2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Preferred Long-Range AWD
Price As Tested: $66,580 CAD
Colour: Cyber Grey
Human beings are absolute creatures of habit. We can talk all we want about being comfortable with being uncomfortable but for most of us, this is aspirational nonsense aimed at selling t shirts. I like what I know, and I don’t need anything drastically new. Hyundai seems to understand this about people and its reflected heavily in their BEV car designs. While they are a bit different, bold and unusual, it’s not so significant that it rattles you. The 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a prime example of this. It’s new for sure, but not shocking. It mostly looks and feels like a lot of other 5-passenger SUV’s you can buy from Hyundai and others. The only real difference is how it powers its wheels. The Ioniq 5 is a clinic in how you introduce new ideas to people who don’t want them.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has three trims on offer in Canada. The Preferred Standard Range is Rear Wheel Drive, offers a total range of around 375kms from a 63 kw/h battery and has a 125kw motor over the rear axle. The Preferred Long Range has Rear Wheel Drive, delivers a range of approximately 500kms in total delivered to the rear axle through a 168kw electric motor. The top shelf model is the Preferred Long Range AWD which offers, yes you guessed it, All-Wheel Drive, an 84 kw/h battery, gives just under 500kms in range and two electric motors totalling 239kw. Any of these options will give you a great car you will enjoy driving. If you’re looking for the purest driving experience the Preferred Long Range would be my choice as it retains rear-wheel drive and there’s nothing like putting all those kilowatts through the rear wheels. The most practical choice is of course the AWD variant as it gives you what you need when you need it in any situations, and it still hauls but is far more stable due to the AWD.
The Interior of the Ioniq 5 is another area where the car shines brightly. It’s a modern interior, slightly unusual in its design and layout which tells you immediately you’re in an EV. For the most part though, this could be a Palisade or Santa Fe given how familiar it all is. Another indicator that you’re not in a petrol-powered car is the sense of space. There’s a lot of room in the Ioniq 5 and it feels like a very large warehouse. The only thing missing was an earie echo. This is of course a plus as there is little to complain about being able to nearly “walk through” the front and rear foot wells.
One of the biggest differences between BEV and ICE vehicles is of course how they drive. That now infamous and addictive instant torque of electric drive is as thrilling as your first kiss as a teenager. It catches you completely off guard and releases things inside you that you didn’t know existed. You can instantly become a proper wheelsman when you climb behind the wheel of an EV with a decent amount of power. While this feels nothing like a conventional car to drive that’s actually a plus as who doesn’t want to be thrown back into their seat and have their kidneys squished?
As a car reviewer it’s remarkably easy to become a little snow blind to new cars. After a while they all start to look and feel the same and finding things to be thrilled about or interested in becomes a challenge. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has been an amazing pallet reset. It provides so many new things that fire your imagination but wraps it all in a conventional bit of packaging that feels so familiar and comfortable. This is how a battery electric vehicle should be.
