Large electric car gets a bigger battery and retuned suspension. So, is it now a match for the Kia EV6? On sale Now Price from £43,150
Max Adams Max.Adams@haymarket.com
THE HYUNDAI IONIQ 5 was already a strong electric car, but it’s been spending time at the gym – bulking up its battery size and paying attention to its rather flabby suspension.
So, while the model started out with a smaller battery than the closely related Kia EV6 (73kWh in higher-spec versions, versus 77.4kWh) and fell short on range, it now gets one with the same capacity as its rival. That pushes up the official range of the rear-wheel-drive Ioniq 5 in Premium trim to a much more competitive 315 miles (against the equivalent EV6’s 328 miles and the Genesis GV60’s 321 miles). And unlike its stablemates, the Ioniq 5 is also offered in a cheaper guise with a smaller, 58kWh battery.
All three cars can charge at up to 239kW, so it’s possible to get the battery from 10-80% in less than 20 minutes via an ultra-fast charger. A Skoda Enyaq iV 80 can’t charge as quickly but has a similar range to the updated Ioniq 5.
That’s not all. Tweaks have been made to stiffen up the suspension, which was softer in its original form, leading to a bouncy and at times unsettled ride at higher speeds. The changes have resulted in a car that’s tauter, with less body lean in corners and increased stability on the motorway.
The increase in stiffness also makes it far more responsive to your steering inputs in corners, although the EV6 still has the edge in this area, making it our choice for keen drivers – unless they can stretch to a Porsche Taycan.
We’ve driven the updated Ioniq 5 in mid-spec Ultimate trim, which has bigger wheels than the entry-level Premium version (20in against 19in). In this form, the ride at speed still feels a touch too busy, with bumps from scruffy sections of road reaching the car’s occupants. We expect the Premium’s smaller wheels to improve on that and generate less road noise.
In other respects, the interior is peaceful, with relatively little wind or motor noise. The GV60 does even better here, though. It has foam-filled tyre inserts to dampen down road noise to incredibly low levels, and thicker side windows are available with some of the option packs.
While Hyundai has been busy tweaking the Ioniq 5’s underpinnings, little else has changed. The model retains its distinctive angular styling, inspired by the 1975 Hyundai Pony, with its sloping rear roof design, chunky rear pillars and square headlights.
Inside, you get a much more SUV-like driving position than the
