Hyundai Ioniq 5 review, road test

The Ioniq 5’s interior is a sea of light and bright materials, with an underlying theme that shows off modernity and quality. Interestingly, the interiors are dressed up with the help of eco-friendly materials such as recycled plastic bottles, plant-based and natural wool yarns, eco-processed leather and bio colours with plant extracts. And what’s great is that fit-finish as well as the touch and feel of bits are simply top-notch. Expectedly, the light-coloured materials will need special care to keep clean. 

There’s a great sense of space thanks to the sheer width and height of the cabin; the bright colours and the massive greenhouse area thanks to the panoramic glass roof, further add to the experience, as does a flat floor. The dashboard is placed all the way front and tall drivers will particularly appreciate the fact that their left knee won’t foul with the dashboard. However, there are excessive dashboard reflections on the windscreen from the flat dashtop area, under the afternoon sun.

The focal point of the dashboard is the twin 12.3-inch screens – one for the instrument cluster and the other for the infotainment, both of which are surrounded by a white bezel. The display is crisp and the fonts are clear, however, certain bits of the broad instrument cluster are blocked from the driver’s field of vision by the steering. Speaking of which, it is a two-spoke unit, which feels great to hold and also features a round drive mode selector (Eco, Normal, Sport) mimicking some Mercedes-AMG models; however, it’s a push-button instead of a rotary selector. The Ioniq 5 also features a drive selector stalk placed beneath the headlamp stalk, but its functioning isn’t as intuitive as the Mercedes’s unit – instead of flicking it, this one needs to be rotated to select D, N or R.

Commendably, the Ioniq’s front seats offer exceptional comfort – they are broad, seat cushioning is soft and they get plenty of electric adjustment, including ottomans (leg rests) and a zero-gravity position that lowers your hip point and raises your legs. The driving position is more like a raised hatchback, than an upright SUV, still with a good seat height travel, even shorter drivers will be able to find an agreeable perch. Adding to the comfort, they are heated and ventilated, however, to access these functions, one needs to access the menus on the infotainment screen, which isn’t convenient.

Even the two (outermost) rear seats can be heated, although the ventilation feature is reserved for the front seats only. They are comfortable thanks to the supportive seats and soft cushioning, but you also sit in a knees-up position thanks to the battery below.

What’s nice is that you can alleviate this to some extent via the 60:40 backrest, which has a manual recline and the entire seat can be electrically slid fore-aft too. Space at the rear is ample and thanks to a wide cabin and flat floor, even a third passenger will feel welcome. 

Its skateboard platform opens up a flat floor with no hump or transmission tunnel. In fact, there’s so much free space, it is probably one of the most accommodating cars in terms of storage. There’s a massive storage drawer in place of the glovebox, large door bins, cupholders for the front passengers, a wireless charging tray, a massive bay to store a small handbag and some space in the centre armrest console too.  

The entire console slides fore-aft to liberate legroom at the rear for the middle passenger, however, we found it best to simply leave it in the forward-most position. The Ioniq’s boot is quite large and well-shaped, although with the floor being rather high, it is shallow. With the seats pushed forward, the rated boot capacity is a respectable 527 litres, which can be increased to 1,587 litres with the second row folded. There’s also a 57-litre storage compartment beneath the bonnet, which can easily hold a duffle bag and some other smaller bits.