Hyundai Ioniq 5 Review 2026 | Price, Interior & Electric Range – Carwow
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has incredible retro styling and a spacious, comfortable interior. Alternatives are more satisfying to drive, though, and it’s not as compact as it looks
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is an electric car with deceptive proportions – it might look like a compact hatchback, but it’s closer in size to the Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6 SUVs. It’s also a truly excellent electric car with a long range, fast charging and a superb interior – but unless you opt for the wild Ioniq 5 N it’s not much fun to drive and it is outdone by newer alternatives on efficiency.
Though it was launched way back in 2021, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is still a true standout on the road. It’s testament to how good the madcap, 8-bit styling is that even several years on it still looks funky and fresh. It’s like having a friend with a rainbow mohawk – no matter how often you see it, your head still turns.
The Ioniq 5’s design is a bit more conventional inside, falling in line with Hyundai’s other SUVs such as the Santa Fe and Tucson – but it still looks and feels great. You get a pair of big screens set underneath one seamless sheet so they look like a single widescreen display. That is, if you opt for the darker interior trim – light trim has white bezels which spoils the effect.
The rest of the cabin is truly excellent. You get a nice array of physical controls including a climate control panel, a row of shortcut keys and a button-laden steering wheel. It’s also super-practical.
Range: 273-354 miles
Efficiency: 3.4-3.9 miles per kWh
Battery size: 63kWh / 84kWh
Max charge speed: 260kW
Charge time AC: 8hrs 30mins, 0-100% at 7.4kW / 11hrs 20mins, 0-100% at 7.4kW
Charge time DC: 18 mins, 10-80% at 260kW
Charge port location: Left rear
Power outputs: 170hp / 228hp / 325hp
Up front, the seats are wide, spacious and comfortable, and on some models can even recline with a leg-rest to keep you extra-comfortable while waiting for the car to charge. The centre console has loads of storage, even for bigger items like handbags, and you can also step-through due to the open centre console design – which is one of those really underrated features that you don’t realise you need until somebody’s parked too close to your driver-side door.
The lounge-like feeling extends to the back, where you’ll find ample room for six-footers to stretch out and even enough width to accommodate three adults across the rear bench for short journeys. As with some other electric cars, the floor is a little high, but there’s so much space to slouch and stretch out that it doesn’t really matter.
There’s also a big 520-litre boot and a small storage area under the bonnet, which are both very useful. However, a Tesla Model Y or Skoda Enyaq have more room overall.
There are two different batteries available for the Ioniq 5. The smaller of the two is 63kWh in capacity and can do a still-impressive 273 miles per charge. The larger model gets an 84kWh battery and will do 354 miles on a charge. While those are good figures, the latest alternatives such as the long-range Peugeot E-3008 can manage over 400 miles between top-ups.
The dual-motor version’s performance is nice to have; but the 84kWh, single-motor version is cheaper to buy, and goes further on a charge. That’d be my pick
The halo model is the ballistically powerful Ioniq 5 N, which has over 650hp – but the more sensible versions aren’t lacking in performance. The small-battery version gets a single motor for rear-wheel drive with 170hp, while the big battery ups this to 228hp. There’s also a dual-motor all-wheel drive version with 325hp, but this is a bit unnecessary as it cuts range without really adding anything meaningful to the driving experience.
In everyday driving, the Ioniq 5 is super-comfortable on the motorway and quiet and refined no matter where you go. It’s not quite as much fun on a twisty road as a Kia EV6 or Ford Mustang Mach-E, though – it feels heavy and remote – but if you’re not looking for ultimate driving thrills then you’ll enjoy driving the Ioniq 5.
So if you’re after an electric car that’s roomy, practical, thoughtfully-designed and so stylish it’ll turn heads wherever you go – the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a great option.
If it sounds like the car for you, head on over to our Hyundai Ioniq 5 deals page to see how much you can save through Carwow, while you can check out used Hyundai Ioniq 5s on Carwow as well. You can also check out other used Hyundai models, and you can even let Carwow help you to sell your old car when the time comes.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a RRP range of £40,695 to £57,755. However, with Carwow you can save on average £7,532. Prices start at £34,407 if paying cash. Monthly payments start at £378. The price of a used Hyundai Ioniq 5 on Carwow starts at £13,495.
Our most popular versions of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 are:
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is not hugely dissimilar to the Kia EV6 in many ways – the two cars share many bits underneath – which means it will come as no major surprise that the pricing is not a million miles apart between the two. The Hyundai shades it though, coming out fractionally cheaper when you look at the entry-level price. However, that cheaper Hyundai gets a smaller battery than the Kia.
That model fits into a lower insurance group, too, but the others are all much the same as one another. It is competitive with the comparable versions of the Skoda Enyaq and VW ID4.
The hugely powerful Ioniq 5 N would be my pick for driving thrills – the regular Ioniq 5 is okay but it’s best suited to motorway cruising than taking corners
The Ioniq 5 is comfortable and impressively refined, but it’s not especially sporty and alternatives offer more range
A jacked-up driving position and big windows make the Ioniq 5 an easy car to see out of, which is handy when you’re trundling down tight lanes or trying to navigate busy car parks. Its light, accurate steering also steps in to make things a lot easier here; as do a range of sensors and cameras. Generally speaking, the Ioniq 5 feels like a car that’s easy to keep out of trouble.
There are four levels of regenerative braking to choose from, and the most powerful setting will let you bring the car to a stop simply by lifting off the accelerator. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you’ve wrapped your head around it chances are you’ll use it all the time.
Its suspension set-up makes it a comfortable car to drive, too. There can be a little bit of agitated fidgeting at low speed on poorly surfaced roads, and really big ruts will send a bit of shock back into the cabin, but generally this is a cushy, quiet car to waft around in. It’ll certainly take the stress out of the school run – that’s for sure!
The cameras on the Ioniq 5 are brilliant, producing really high definition pictures on the screens. You can zoom in on the overhead image, too, and use it to look all around the car, which is really handy for parking. The only downside is that the rear camera is positioned quite low down, and there is no dedicated cleaning system so you might need to wipe it off in grotty weather.
The Hyundai is composed and pretty quiet at higher speeds on the motorway, with automated cruise control and lane-keeping assist (which can be a bit hyperactive) helping to up the levels of relaxation. There is a bit of tyre noise but not much else at higher speeds.
Eco mode might be good for keeping the range high but it does really dial back the responsiveness of the throttle so it’s more for cruising than overtaking slower vehicles. Equally, the new bigger battery means you don't have to worry about range quite so much.
The seats might have plenty of adjustment but aren’t necessarily the comfiest on longer journeys for all drivers – make sure you test them on a longer trip if you can.
Trundle out of town and onto the open road, and it keeps its cool. At a cruise there isn’t much road roar or wind noise at all, and that relaxed suspension comes into its own.
Pop it into Sports mode and the throttle response gets much sharper and the suspension gets a little stiffer. But even with that it doesn’t feel quite as composed around the corners as the Kia EV6 and it’s not as much fun on a twisty road as a Ford Mustang Mach-e. But there’s good grip, and it doesn’t wallow about too much. The lightweight steering means it doesn’t really feel all that sporty though. Still, in terms of ride comfort you’ll definitely find that it’s the easier car to live with.
If you like the idea of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 but would prefer it be sportier to drive, the Ioniq 5 N could be the car for you. It's incredibly quick and has had loads of upgrades that make it great fun to drive down a twisty road. You can even make it sound like a petrol car, complete with fake gear shifts, but that's for another review…
I can get really comfortable in all of the Ioniq 5’s seats at 6’2 – I can even sit behind my own driving position
With plenty of adjustment you can get comfortable very easily in the cabin, but the boot space is down on the closest alternatives
The sliding ‘Universal Island’ centre console up front in the Ioniq 5 has a couple of good-sized cup-holders, as well as some larger cubbies and trays for various odds and ends. The door bins are a bit on the small side though, so fitting in larger drink bottles and the like might take a bit of careful coordination. The glovebox is a great space, though, and is better described as a drawer as it slides out to give you a huge amount of storage.
The design of the centre console means that there is a lot of room around the footwells and, because it can be slid forwards and backwards, it means that either of the front occupants can slide over to get out of the car on the opposite side if you end up parked in a tight spot. It doesn’t add much more in the way of storage, but it does add to the general feeling of space in the cabin.
It’s generally pretty easy to get comfortable behind the wheel. The one gripe is that the steering column could do with a bit more in the way of reach adjustment, if only so you could set your seat slightly further back from the pedals. Hardly a deal-breaker, though.
In the back there is loads of headroom, and loads of legroom. Higher-spec models get control buttons on the front passenger seat too, which means you can slide it forward from the comfort of the back seats if you want.
Because the floor is totally flat, you can easily fit an adult in the middle seat too. Even taller adults sitting here will still find there’s a good amount of space between the tops of their noggins and the roof lining. Should you want to fine-tune your levels of comfort even more, then you can do so by reclining the rear seats. The only quibble is that the floor is relatively high up, so taller passengers might find that their legs are more folded up than they would like.
The ISOFIX car seat anchors are easy to find too, and the back doors open up fairly wide – so loading in a car seat or strapping in an unruly toddler shouldn’t be more stressful than it needs to be.
There are storage pockets on the front seat backs, where kids can keep things like books or, more realistically, iPads and other tech. Again, there are doorbins where you’ll be able to stash smaller drink bottles, and if you don’t have anyone sitting in the middle row you can fold the armrest down to reveal two further cup holders. Handy.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 doesn't have the biggest boot among similar electric cars – the Skoda Enyaq (585 litres) and VW ID4 (543 litres) are both larger overall in the boot area – but it still has a decent 520 litres of luggage room to play with. That's also more than the 402 litres you get in the Ford Mustang Mach-e. The motors under the floor mean the boot isn’t as deep as would be ideal, but you get a wide opening and a shallow loading lip. On higher-spec models you get a hands-free tailgate, too.
Up front there is a good storage compartment under the bonnet, providing you go for the rear-wheel-drive model, which gives you 57 litres of space. Go for the all-wheel-drive model and this drops to just 24 litres, which isn’t good for much beyond the charging cables.
I prefer the lighter interior trim as it brightens the cabin, but the white bezels on the touchscreen look appalling
With a unique look, the Ioniq 5's cabin is very lounge-like and modern, but there are some materials that don't feel too great
The cabin of the Ioniq 5 is unlike any Hyundai that came before, because it just looks and feels (for the most part) pretty cool and minimalistic. It's so good that you can see its influence in every Hyundai that's come since.
The quality is decent all round, and the seats and steering wheel can come covered with a soft-touch, eco-friendly leather upholstery while the extensive ambient lighting on the doors and dash adds to the Ioniq 5’s lounge-like appeal.
Other smart-looking touches include the graphite-effect trim inlays in the doors, and the metallic covers that have been fitted to the ends of the indicator and washer stalks, which are cool and smooth under your fingers.
Not all of the plastics are great, with the shortcut buttons that run below the infotainment screen feeling a little bit on the cheap side, but things like this are smartly balanced out by other neat details.
Unsurprisingly, Hyundai goes heavy on the tech, with all versions of the Ioniq 5 getting a pair of crisp 12.3-inch digital screens mounted on top of the dashboard. The first is in place of an old-fashioned instrument cluster and holds all of your driving data, while the other is the touchscreen and the focal point of the infotainment system.
It is straightforward to use with a series of handy shortcut buttons along the bottom edge that help you get from one function to another without having to delve into the menus. That said, they are touch-sensitive buttons rather than physical ones and there isn’t anywhere to rest the heel of your hand while you are using it so you might find it easier to alter things while you are parked up anyway.
The graphics are slick enough, and fairly responsive too. You might find the massive, portrait-orientated screen in the Ford Mustang Mach-e to be a bit more visually impressive, but the Hyundai’s set-up is still good overall. You get satellite navigation, Bluetooth connectivity, DAB radio, a wireless charge pad, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity all included as standard.
Range-topping models get a head-up display that can project directional prompts from the satellite navigation into your field of vision using augmented reality.
There are USB sockets in the front and back, although somewhat strangely they are the older versions, rather than the more modern USB-C connections.
The Ioniq 5 also comes with a Vehicle-to-Load charging function. Basically, this means you can use it as a massive mobile battery pack to charge up e-bikes and scooters, camping equipment, laptops – practically anything you can think of. It should, theoretically, be able to charge another electric car, but you’ll be waiting some time if you go down that route.
Hyundai has kept things pretty straightforward here, so you’ve only got a choice of three different battery and engine combinations for your Ioniq 5.
The entry-level model has a 63kWh battery that’s paired with a single electric motor. This sits at the back of the car, and generates a modest 170hp and 350Nm for a fairly brisk 0-60mph time of 8.5 seconds. With that smaller battery in place, Hyundai says you’ll be able to cover up to 273 miles on a single charge – quite a lot better than the older, smaller-battery model.
Sitting above that car is the single-motor, 84kWh model (up from 78kWh for the pre-2024 version). This car gets a slight power boost (up to 228hp for a 0-60mph time of 7.4 seconds); but the main attraction here is that it gets considerably more range than the 63kWh model – up to 354 miles from a charge, and that's way better than the older 78kWh version.
Then, there’s the range-topping model. This version has the same 84kWh battery, but instead of just one electric motor it has two – one at the back and one at the front.
Together, these motors produce 325hp and 605Nm, which means this version of the Ioniq 5 can really get a shift on. The run to 60mph takes just 5.2sec – which is practically as quick as some of the faster hot hatchbacks you can buy these days, and our tests managed even quicker than that
The additional performance is certainly nice, but because there are two electric motors for the battery to keep running instead of just one, range takes a bit of a hit. Hyundai reckons you should be able to do up to 307 miles on a charge.
And as for charging? Well, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 can charge at up to 260kW, making it one of the fastest charging cars on sale right now. That means a 0-80% charge will take about 18 minutes if you can find one of the few chargers that can hit this speed. Plugged into a 7kW home wallbox you’ll top the biggest 84kWh battery up overnight very comfortably. On a 100kW public charger you can expect to get 80% of charge back in around 35 minutes. Regardless of which model you go for, you will get fast charging capability included as standard.
It is worth noting that some alternatives have a claimed range that's better than that of the 84kWh Hyundai Ioniq 5. The Skoda Enyaq Coupe claims 365 miles on one charge, for instance, while the Polestar 4 claims up to 385 miles.
As an electric vehicle, you don't have to pay Vehicle Excise Duty because it doesn't produce emissions. With that in mind, the Ioniq 5's company car tax rate is very low – making it a smart option if you have a regular place to charge it.
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has the full five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP, which means it not only performs well in a crash versus its rivals but it also comes equipped with the sort of safety kit that is required to get a high score these days.
It scored well in the adult and child crash tests and also got a high rating on the technology front too. Lane-keep assist, intelligent speed limit assist, emergency braking, navigation-based cruise control and a driver fatigue warning system are all included as standard.
Security-wise, all versions get much the same kit including an alarm and remote locking and a smart key with keyless entry and a power on/off button. Said key can also be used to remotely park the Ioniq 5 slowly without anyone in it.
The Ioniq 5 gets Hyundai’s standard warranty cover, which, at five years, isn’t as long as the Kia’s cover but it is above the three years most manufacturers offer, and you get the added bonus of unlimited mileage. It's also fully transferable so you still benefit if you are the second owner.
Hyundai finished a disappointing 17th out of 32 manufacturers in the most recent Driver Power owner satisfaction survey. The Ioniq 5 didn't feature in the top cars to own, but the closely-related Kia EV6 placed seventh out of 75 cars.
Some Tesla chargers are exclusively for Tesla owners. There are some which can be used by drivers of other electric cars, but you’ll need the Tesla app before you can use them. So, the answer is “yes and no” – there are some Tesla chargers that can be used by Ioniq 5 owners, but not all.
It all depends on the power of the charger and which battery the car has. A home charger with a 7kW output will recharge the 63kWh battery from 10-100% in just under six hours. With the larger 84kWh battery, a 7kW charger will boost the battery from 10-100% in seven hours 35 minutes. Using an ultra-rapid DC charger, a 10-80% charge could take as little as 18 minutes.
The capacity of the smaller battery is 63kWh. The larger battery has an 84kWh capacity. So that’s how many kWh it will take to charge from empty to full. Earlier models have slightly smaller battery capacities.
Good question, and a tricky one to answer. Driving style, road conditions, and temperature will all make a difference to the real-world range of the Hyundai Ioniq 5. With the smaller battery, over 200 miles is realistic. The larger battery model won’t be far off 300 miles. During our testing, most cars see about 80-90% of their claimed range in the real world.
*Please contact the dealer for a personalised quote, including terms and conditions. Quote is subject to dealer requirements, including status and availability. Illustrations are based on personal contract hire, 9 month upfront fee, 48 month term and 8000 miles annually, VAT included.
* Please contact the dealer for a personalised quote, including terms and conditions. Quote is subject to dealer requirements, including status and availability. Illustrations are based on personal contract hire, 9 month upfront fee, 48 month term, 8000 miles annually, inc VAT, excluding fees. Vehicle returned at term end.
** Our marketing claims explained.
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