Success at a premium
Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 Namsan looks good and performs well. Steve Teale liked putting it through its paces – but wasn’t sure about the door mirrors which are actually cameras.
IF we haven’t started already, we are going to have to begin looking afresh at every car we drive. Take this Hyundai. A mid-range model from this up-and-coming Korean manufacturer would have been simple to assess at one time. You would have quickly decided that it was good value, reasonably styled and affordable. Reliability would not have been in question but you wouldn’t impress other motorists. As a cynical friend once said, Hyundais are for people who don’t enjoy driving.
My, how things have changed. Hyundai all of a sudden is a premium brand which stands comparison with the best that more renowned marques have to offer.
A friend who knows a thing or two about premium models (he’s a BMW fan) enthused about the Ioniq’s styling, and I couldn’t help but agree. The crisp lines and bold nose are admirable. Less so the gimmicky door mirrors which in fact aren’t mirrors at all but cameras. You don’t look at a mirror but at a mini-screen on each door.
To be honest, it works better than I imagined and the image is clearer, but you do wonder if it’s worth the effort. It is what car designers call a “surprise and delight” feature, a talking point if you will. Just because the creative types can do something doesn’t mean they should.
Having said that, I warmed to it. I prefer traditional features (handbrakes, glass mirrors and the like) but I guess we will have to get used to door-mounted cameras instead.
Things move pretty swiftly in the car industry these days so we have barely got used to the Ioniq 5 (it landed here in 2021) than we have a very big update.
This, by the way, is not a hatchback or an SUV. Rather it is officially something in between – a CUV or crossover utility vehicle. That’s Hyundai’s title for it and I’m not sure it will become an everyday term.
There is a new, slightly larger 77.4kWh battery (up from 72.6kWh) at the upper end of the range, and a more powerful dual-motor configuration to go along with it – 321bhp, enough for a 0-62mph time of 5.1 seconds.
We are still getting used to the fact that electric power means cars can be pretty quick, even family-oriented motors like this.
The trim levels have been improved too with some notable additions to the kit list if you’re willing to spend. The previous entry point, SE Connect, has been dropped, so the line-up now starts with Premium, priced from £42,665 when it’s equipped with a 58kWh battery and a single 168bhp motor. It’s also available with the larger pack, though, along with a more potent rear-mounted motor that now produces 225bhp (up from 214bhp), or the upgraded fourwheel-drive configuration. This vehicle features vehicle-to-load tech, allowing the Ioniq 5 to power other devices, along with part-leather upholstery, upgraded interior trim, 64-colour ambient lighting and a sliding centre console. There’s no doubt the cabin is impressively different.
There’s also a proposed solution to one of the Ioniq 5’s biggest flaws, its lack of a rear wiper, in the shape of a digital rear-view mirror that shows an image from a camera in the rear portion of the roof.
Ultimate sits above Premium, but it’s no longer the top of the line-up.
That honour goes to the Namsan Edition – the model tested here.
It costs from £54,150 and gets a full-length panoramic roof. It also features a heat pump as standard; this is optional on some of the other versions, although all Ioniq 5s now get a battery warmer, for more predictable charging in cold weather.
You can feel the improvement in the Ioniq 5’s cabin when you climb into a Namsan. It is still a really spacious with bags of leg, knee and headroom in the rear seats.
But there’s padded trim in a few more key areas, and more of the utilitarian grey plastics have been replaced too, for a more polished finish.
For me, and for most folks, I imagine this car
‘We are still getting used to the fact that electric power means cars can be pretty quick, even familyoriented motors like this.’
will be sporty enough. It is quick in a straight line and comfortable enough on corners. But if you really want something firmer and faster, the Ioniq 5 N can now be ordered with prices starting from £65,000.
It’s the first in what is predicted to be a new range of ‘N’ electric vehicles, with this version being a completely overhauled version of the firm’s Ioniq 5.
It has been completely reworked by Hyundai’s
N performance department, however, and receives a larger battery than the standard car while power can be as high as 641bhp when the car is put into ‘N Grin Boost’ mode. As standard, it produces a still-respectable 600bhp.
The brakes have also been fully upgraded to help combine the regenerative system with the traditional hydraulic setup as effortlessly as possible. It also sits 20mm lower than the standard car and is 80mm longer due to the large diffuser. The front end is redesigned with a new air curtain and active flaps for improved cooling while an exclusive Luminous Orange colour is used at the bottom of the bumper and along the side skirts.
Inside, the centre console has been fitted with both knee and shin pads to help the driver to brace when cornering heavily, while the N bucket seats are finished in a combination of leather and Alcantara. The seat frames themselves are also positioned 20mm lower than in the standard car to give a sportier driving position.