Why the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the world's BEST electric car: 1000 mile review

Steve Sutcliffe covered 1000 miles in a Hyundai Ioniq 5, and it blew him away. Here's why it's the world's best electric car.

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The Ioniq 5 represents a real shift forward in Hyundai’s ability to chase down premium electric rivals, helping to persuade EV buyers who are motivated by stylish design, great on-board tech and practical range and charging speeds, to invest in the Korean brand. With stunning looks and a sense of cool that sets it apart from the pack, the manufacturer has added to the Ioniq 5’s strong kerb appeal with competitive pricing, generous standard kit and advanced active safety systems.

Such are its talents, we named the Ioniq 5 our 2021 Car of the Year. But we wanted to delve even deeper under the skin of this radical EV, so our man Steve Sutcliffe spent two weeks with one, covering 1000 miles in the process. As he found out, living with an Ioniq 5 gets even better as the miles roll under the wheels, and it might just be the very best electric car you can buy today.

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[chashughes]

Ours was delivered 2 months ago and we totally love it. It's the ultimate with tech pack and is the nicest car to drive. We've owned various BMW, Range Rovers etc and this is as good to drive as any and better than most. Love the performance (0-60 is <5secs in real conditions) and the drivability and highly recommend it, but not cheap. So far our longest round trip is about 200 miles mixed driving in cold weather with heater etc on and got back with about 20 miles to spare. Fortunately we have a 7Kw smart charger at home and make use of its ability to charge overnight, or during sunny days use our solar panels to charge with. This cut the full charge down from £14 to about £6. Not bad for current 240 miles range!

[phillipellis]

I've driven the SEL version of the Ioniq 5 at Round Rock Hyundai, along with many other EV's and this car is by far the smoothest, quietest, most luxurious, comfortable, and most fun to drive than any other!

[davestarkie]

Love my Ioniq 5. Its a great car. mines the base model and its still full of kit and super rapid.

[eliotsalandybrown]

Steve your experience, clarity, enthusiasm (when deserved) and charisma make your reviews an insightful pleasure to watch. Thanks!

[wouterlevering]

We got ours last month... It surpassed all our expectations. Best car we've ever owned. By the way, i was shocked to here about the lack of fast chargers in the UK. Here in The Netherlands they're everywere... But we charge at home at 22kw

[freelancehugh]

Great to hear a straightforward, honest, real-world assessment. Impressed by the video and the vehicle - just ordered mine!

[kevinnet]

When you are inside of Ioniq 5, you can feel some unique airiness, which is difficult to feel in other cars. If you're considering electric car, you should definitely test drive this.

[nathanb]

This is an awesome EV :D. Hyundai have really been nailing it with these more recent models 😃👍

[toddolson]

Great review Steve. I also just passed 1000 miles on my i5 and love it. Mine is an RWD, SEL, white (& light grey interior--very sharp!) As happy as I am with the car, it's key that new owners stay realistic about range & charging. Before buying, I figured that its "303 mile" range turned into a 200 mile range after considering highway speeds and recharging before hitting 10% so you don't end up stranded; and that's proven pretty accurate in actual practice. I live in Minnesota, USA and it's handled snow, ice, rain and gravel roads quite well and its 225 HP is plenty peppy-enough for getting on the highway. We've got enough DC charge stations that I could make the 300 mile trip home from my Chicago-area dealer, but took more planning than it would have with a Tesla. But at $15-20K less and a solid & comfortable build quality, definitely worth it. I chose RWD for the much better range. SEL offered the optimal set of "extras" and I remain happy with that choice, too. Enjoy!!! 😃

[thesoundofleadership-solfl]

I've got one as well (about 20000km driven) and I would like to add to your great review (thanks for that!!): if you've got the chance to charge the car at home, it is MUCH more convenient than all the combustion engine cars, because I just plug it in coming home and have never have to stop at a gas-/loading-station, except I drive really long ways. And then you normally do it along motorways, where the hyperchargers (350kW) are located. So: nearly no waiting at all!

[wozzerwozzer]

16k in mine since September 21. Fantastic car, charge at home and work, no issues whatsoever. Did over 100k in previous Ioniq, this is a different class again though. I wouldn't swap it for that Lambo that's for sure! Well only to sell the Lambo buy the Ioniq back and pocket the spare cash!

[underbarrelpbcam]

I test drove this at my local dealer, it's a great ev. The only reason why I didn't buy one is because the dealer wanted $53k usd for a se trim.

[slosarik]

This is how its done, masterclass. The journous around the world should watch and learn how it’s done. A really nice EV, well presented.

[neilt]

I've had mine for two weeks and am driving at no cost - I have a solar PV system and a Zappi charger which ensures I don't use grid power. It's the only way to go.

[dalroth]

Great review and I'm looking forward to test driving the Ioniq5 myself soon.
I'm also really looking forward to seeing what the final production design on the Ioniq 6 is going to be, as I'd prefer a saloon rather than a hatchback. I've had a Kona 64kWh Ultimate model, (my first EV), for almost a year now and have been very impressed by the experience so far.
I honestly can't see me going back to an ICE car now.

[randyrice]

Have had my Ioniq 5 (SE with long range battery). I have been unable to put into words how it feels to drive it. So, I really was so pleased to hear you say it's deeply impressive and refined. I agree totally. It sounds corny, but after every drive I feel like I've meditated. And today a young lady waved me down in a parking lot to tell me what a "cool" car it was. Planning my first road trip in a couple of months. Nervous about charging on the road, but must start sometime. And, here in U.S. new, fast chargers are popping up all over.

[limpetr]

I bought my first Hyundai (an i30N) 18 months ago, after years of German stuff, and apart from loving the way the car drives, the big difference between this, and the German stuff I've owned previously is that the Hyundai has just been painlessly, unfailingly reliable. None of the silly, niggling faults that BMWs and Audis seem to consistently suffer with. Everything works, every day. It goes in for a service, you pay the agreed price (between 40 and 50% cheaper than BMW's), it comes out again, and runs reliably to the next one. Nice long warranty to fall back on if needed as well. This, or the upcoming 6 will undoubtedly be my first EV.

[guybrushthreepwood]

Had my Ioniq 5 Ultimate awd for approximately 1 day, amazing bit of kit, love it so far

[hankthetank]

Love a Steve S review. Would love to see Steve do more EV reviews.

[YTYTYTY]

I owned the top of the line one for 4 months. And I can say this is truly a luxury car. It's quiet, rides very smooth, and 4.6s fast. I can charge the thing less than 20 minutes on the road trip. Only thing I could maybe ask for is a bit of bigger trunk space for road tripping.