Hyundai Ioniq 5 First Drive Review: Is it the Best Premium Electric Car in India?

We drove the Hyundai Ioniq 5 in Goan heat on coastal roads, here are some excerpts from the same, telling you if it is actually the best electric car out there.

Yes, electric cars came into existence before ICE models. With the latter offering more value over DC motors, internal combustion engines were chosen as the powertrain for the course. But now, with environmental concerns and to reduce the dependability of fossils, electricity is being examined and considered as the fuel for our future set of wheels. While new brands and luxury automakers have been selling electric cars for some time, India’s largest carmaker - Hyundai, has jumped into the pool with the Ioniq 5. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is priced at Rs 44.95 lakh and gets a claimed range of 631 kilometres on a full charge. So, is it the best premium electric car in our market, period? Read on to find the answer.

Electric vehicles are using egg-shaped cabins in an effort to boast a low aerodynamic drag coefficient. With the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the company has kept this rule at an arm’s distance with straight lines and sharp creases. So much so, we can bet designers only used a scale to carve out the Ioniq 5’s bodywork except for wheels and wheel arches. The Ioniq 5 has the essence of the company’s first-ever passenger vehicle - Pony. Thereby, retro-ness is a part of the appeal.

Modernity is not compromised in any way though. The nose gets a wide piano black panel mimicking the air dam and merging into slim LED headlamps, which also use Parametric Pixel LED DRLs. We admit, they transmit an angry face to the Ioniq 5, and the bumper gets adaptive vents, along with a contrast finish for the cladding, which runs across the sides. Doors flaunt concealed handles, and the design for 20-inch rims looks busy but appealing.

Step around the tail, and it shows that cohesiveness is a neat element, with the help of Parametric Pixel LED taillamps. Furthermore, the bumper gets a similar treatment as the nose. While the Ioniq 5 misses out on a rear wiper, the spoiler is designed with two larger voids. Moreover, crevices are used in abundance around the lower portion of the car, which we believe will make for an additional task while cleaning the car. The overall design is appealing with a crossover-like silhouette. What we did like is minimalism. There are no stupidly-funky green or blue elements to announce that it's an EV. The Ioniq 5 is sketched out keeping it conventional and contemporary.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Review: Cabin - Innovative & Intelligent Inside

Airy is how the Hyundai Ioniq 5’s cabin feels other than being feature-loaded to the brim. To ensure there is enough light on the inside, a colossal-sized moonroof is fitted on the top. Sadly, it is fixed and doesn’t slide or tilt. The highlight of the cabin remains the overall interior theme with the use of white, grey, and black colours. Yes, the interior thus has the tendency to get soiled easily. Also, there are too many quirks in this rather practical cabin.

Talking of features, Hyundai is using two larger 12.3-inch displays for the infotainment unit and instrument cluster. They are crisp and legible in all sorts of lighting conditions. In fact, there’s tons of information on disposal. The bezels of these screens are in white colour, which remains my personal dislike.

The steering wheel misses out on a Hyundai logo, but the hub felt cute. It is made out of recycled material and finished with biologically-extracted paints. While this is enough innovation, there’s more to it. The whole centre console is slidable, and it has a lot of space to store knick-knacks. There’s a wireless charger, along with two USB ports. While there are a total of 5 USB charging ports in total on the Ioniq 5, all of them are type-A examples. There’s dual-zone climate control on offer, and the rear AC vents are pillar-mounted.

Seats on the Ioniq are comfortable and large. It gets two-way adjustable front headrests, and the seats come with extra thigh support. The rear bench is very wide and spacious and comes with a reclining function. It should be noted that the rear seats are wide and spacious. Ioniq 5 further gets level-2 ADAS tech, in addition to other passive safety systems and an 8-speaker Bose sound system. Also, the Ioniq gets a frunk, which is practical enough to keep a duffle bag, while the boot can eat up a couple of full-size strollers.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Review: Performance - Brisk Hauler

Powering the rear wheels of the Ioniq 5 is an electric motor that generates 217 PS and 350 Nm of peak output. The acceleration is brisk, and the Ioniq 5 can reach the 100 kmph mark in just 7.6 seconds. Well, there are three driving modes in total, and the Sport gets the car in its wildest form. Yes, it can slide its tail, when the A-pedal is pushed hard with traction control turned off. Also, the battery pack sitting underneath the floor makes sure there’s not too much of a body roll to keep it grounded with a ground clearance of 163 mm.

Dialling in the Sport mode takes a press of a button sitting on the steering wheel. Also, plonking in gears (Read - Selecting drive mode) is not tough, a column-mounted selector is present here, quite like a Benz. Coming to the suspension, it is supple and comes with the right amount of damping for both bad roads and tight bends. No stress saying the Ioniq 5 offers the best balance of comfort and dynamics with a Hyundai badge in India.

Talking practicality, the claimed range stands at 631 kilometres. With our full-throttle test run, we can say that a full charge will last 500 kilometers with no sweat. In fact, there are multiple regenerative braking modes, which are selectable by steering-mounted paddle shifters. Our favourite is the intelligent mode, which offers a seamless single-pedal driving experience.

Yes, Hyundai has managed to keep the range anxiety away. In fact, retrieving the 500 km-range mark is not tough. Around 18 minutes of fast charging via a 350 kW charger is all it takes. The car can be charged via a 50 kW fast charger too. Well, the E-GMP architecture is a skateboard-style platform, and they are known for elevating a lot of space on the inside and assuring enough fun from the steering wheel.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Review: In Summation

By now, we believe you have already answered the question - Is the Hyundai Ioniq 5 the best electric car in India? Priced at Rs 44.95 lakh, the Ioniq 5 is the most-expensive Hyundai car you can buy in India today. Also, it is built as an electric car ground-up. The real-world range is over 500 kilometers and 350 kW fast charging capabilities are purely impressive. Besides, the Hyundai badge ensures easy peace of mind. Therefore, it comes out as one of the best premium electric cars in India, period.