Docile by default, slick by nature, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 gets eager and more responsive when it’s dialed into Sport mode. We give it a 7 for performance, with a point each for its powertrain and its suspension tune, even before the Ioniq 5 N bows later this model year.
Some are. If there’s a single motor in it, it’s rear-wheel drive. Two motors grant it all-wheel drive.
How fast is the Hyundai Ioniq 5?
Hyundai claims a 0-60 mph time of about seven seconds for the slower version, which packs a 58-kwh battery under the Ioniq 5’s floor and employs a single motor to deliver its energy to the rear wheels. With an automaker-rated 225 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, this Ioniq 5 sports an EPA rating of 220 miles of range.
With a second electric motor and a larger 77.4-kwh battery pack, the Ioniq 5 delivers 320 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque through all four wheels, and can drive for up to 260 miles on a full charge. It’s in the range of the Ford Mustang in terms of acceleration, with a claimed 0-60 mph dash in 5.0 seconds; with rear-drive and the big battery, it’s nearly as quick while it also goes for 303 miles on a full charge.
The electric Hyundai can tow up to 2,300 pounds.
New-age power propels the Ioniq 5, and that propulsion gets backed with progressive programming to the accelerator and smoothly integrated regenerative braking. Switch it from the default Normal drive mode into the Eco slot and it trims its e-sails for more moderate responses; in Sport it’s wired on roadgoing caffeine, with four levels of regenerative braking that allow it to stop via a squeeze on steering-wheel-mounted paddles.
The Ioniq 5 flaunts this driving verve though it has a softly tuned suspension. With a front-strut, five-link rear setup, it smothers small bumps without heaving over them as some rivals do. It’s refined and settled, with the ride of a plusher and larger car. That trade-off comes with more body lean than its boy-racer bod predicts, and in turn that generates some dithering in its steering, but on a curvy road it all knits together for a lively driving feel. We’re eager to see how that’s all resolved with the high-performance Ioniq 5 N yet to come.