Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the Wheels Car of the Year 2022 runner-up

With an expanding array of global accolades being notched into its belt, the Ioniq 5 looked strong on the pre-event form guide.

And its fortunes only became stronger, on merit of performance, once COTY got underway. Its landmark status, for spearheading the electric Ioniq sub-brand and as the first model spun off its maker’s dedicated E-GMP platform, brought ample COTY equity, in terms of both innovation and technology. It’s an originator, set to spurn, at most recent count, some 17 new models across the Hyundai/Genesis fold by 2030 at an estimated investment of A$22 billion.

Then there’s Ioniq 5’s inimitable design, one that’s as commanding as it is utterly distinctive. Brave and downright ballsy, though, was Hyundai’s decision to prescribe an oversized hatchback form, rather than a safer and oh-so-predictable SUV-cum-crossover proposition. The Ioniq 5’s deftly executed sense of adventure, bringing something that feels genuinely fresh and distinctly different to the motoring landscape, wasn’t lost on COTY’s judging panel.

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“I love that it’s not trying to be an SUV,” Dan noted. “Yet the ride height, the AWD and spaciousness do lend an SUV-like utility.”

“It makes a statement with cool, retro-modern exterior styling and funky pixelated graphics,” Richard added. “Ioniq 5 owners send a message: ‘I’m ready for the future now!’”

The plaudits kept rolling on as judges climbed through the Hyundai’s cabin during walkarounds. While sharing certain hardware DNA with rival Kia EV6, the Ioniq 5 is different, joyously bright and conspicuously dipped in space-age kitsch. It’s a theme that deliberately avoids those well-trodden sporty or overly dark-tinged, premium-by-the-numbers stylisms.

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“The cabin oozes showroom appeal and sheer wow factor,” Alex added. “Outward vision is excellent though the front seating position is good if not ideal…” Many judges agreed – you sit ‘on’ the Ioniq 5 rather than ‘in’ it as you do in the EV6.

“Its value advantage over the Kia will be plenty for some” – Alex Inwood

Packaging is excellent. Its jumbo hatchback form sculpts impressions of airiness and roominess its key Korean EV rival couldn’t quite muster and judges noted its build quality andmaterial execution is a little more uniform, from windscreen to boot lid, than the EV6 manages.

“The innovative sliding console and (electric) rear seat is a real packaging win,” Richard noted.

Inwood: “The clever central island offers ample storage while the flat floor and lack of centre console really contribute to the sense of space.”

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What the Ioniq 5 proved early was that its design is as wonderfully functional as it is flamboyant in form. But once it did convert electrons to forward motion, the Hyundai started to really show the depth of its ability.

The gun-blazing AWD version of Ioniq 5 fronted up for COTY’s new variant-based format, its dual-motor layout plying 225kW and 605Nm, and vastly more energetic than the range’s 160kW and 350Nm RWD variant. Both use a 72.6kWh battery, though our all-paw competitor yields a vastly superior 5.3sec as-tested 0-100km/h sprint compared to the single-motor’s more leisurely, claimed 7.4. Response is instant and thrust is relentless, even in default Drive, no mode fiddling required. Activate Sport, though, and there’s a conspicuous lift in enthusiasm.

Praise, too, was heaped on the brake-regen adjustment, adjustable from near absence to forceful, one-pedal stop-start convenience. Emergency braking, too, across both gravel and hot-mix, proved impressive.

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Its 430km claimed range is competitive among COTY’s EV crop, if not world-beating in outright terms. On 350kW DC fast-charging, the battery will replenish from 10 to 80 percent in around 18 minutes.

A key point is that the Korean EVs aren’t identical twins under their disparate skins: from wheelbase to suspension hardware and tuning, there are key differences at play. And yet the general poise, balance and driver interaction of both Korean EVs sailed well beyond expectation, and exceeded that of so many COTY rivals. Similar enough, in fact, that early on, judges began to question if the pair could, or in fact should, be split in final standings.

Through the swerve-and-recover test and punted with vigour at the proving ground’s simulated twisty road loop, the Hyundai continued to impress, demonstrating a composure and outright point-to-point pace that raised many judges’ eyebrows. Back the pace off and relax, however, and the Ioniq 5 turned wonderfully refined, quiet and comfortable.

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By end of Day Three at AARC, the Ioniq 5 had marched confidently to the sharp end of the COTY standings. But so too did its key EV nemesis from Kia. Thing is, the Hyundai, at $75,900 list, is around $7K more affordable and therefore held
a not-inconsiderable value-for-money trump card entering the Day Four road loops. And proceeded to drop it into the first
real-world pothole…

One-up, the Hyundai’s long legs and rapid pace couldn’t compensate for its occasionally flustered ride and handling balance. Across the properly crook bitumen, it becomes more unsettled with the rising road speed, demanding more correction and chasing to track true than the Kia EV6. Or the C-Class. It’s not bad per se, just confidently outclassed compared to the more settled and composed EV6.

Three-up, with luggage, that polished refinement the Ioniq 5 spruiks around town or across smoother bitumen is replaced by thumping compressions and a degree of bump steer of a chassis stretched out of its comfort zone.

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Further, rack rattle that hadn’t exposed itself during AARC assessment was also rearing its head to weigh against the Hyundai’s fortunes. And the road loop’s humpback bridge exposed the Ioniq 5’s rear axle topping out in what Dylan coined its “billy goat kick”.

“The road loop was really illuminating,” said Alex. “Ioniq’s body is less controlled than the Kia and ragged edges appear a fair bit earlier.”

How hard the Hyundai should be punished for an isolated if significant dynamic shortfall was a big topic of discussion amongst the judges, if one that ultimately found consensus.

It was fairly simple. One other COTY competitor, so similar in so many ways, hadn’t dropped any ball quite so large to count against it, thus proving itself the better and more accomplished all-rounder.

2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 specifications