2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD - a better EV

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has already won awards this year, including Car and Driver's 10 Best Trucks and SUVs and their 2023 Editor's Choice Electric SUV, and AJAC's (Automotive Journalists Association of Canada) Best EV and also their Best Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year. So you don't really need me to tell you that it is a darn nice car. But I will anyway.

The Ioniq 5 isn't a huge SUV, it is 182.5" long (a tad bigger than a Honda HR-V). It seats 5, and it has room for their luggage (27.2 cubic feet behind the rear seats, and 59.3 with them fold down). So it is big enough for a family of five as long as three of the five are children. 

I think some EVs just look weird. The Ioniq 5 is no shrinking violet but in my opinion it doesn't venture into the weird realm. It doesn't scream "Hey look at me, I'm an electric vehicle!" Time will tell if it is a lasting design.

The biggest criticism I have of the interior is that there is too much white. White seems to be the choice of many interior designers right now and I'll venture a guess that they do not have small children or work on their own cars (greasy hands often get wiped on work pants). White attracts dirt like flowers attract bees. An interior in shades of black is available - take it, you'll thank me.

I trust Hyundai when they say that the Ioniq 5 has a range of up to 303 miles with FWD, and 266 miles with AWD. The Ioniq 5 Limited I drove had AWD and it seemed to be accurate in its power usage; I started out with about an 80% charge (about 213 mile range showing when I got it), and after putting almost 115 miles on it, including around town, highway, and running the A/C while waiting in a parking lot it still had just under 100 miles left. 

Fuel (electricity) filler door.

Charging plug

I did not attempt to charge up the Ioniq 5. My experiences with charging stations have not been great, in fact they consistently raise my blood pressure. Too many of them do not work. 

The instrumentation and controls were fairly straight forward. I even found the little twisty shifter okay after I got used to it. It is a bit counter intuitive if you're used to the normal PRNDL shift sequence. You twist the end of the lever (the part with ridges) up for Drive, down for Reverse, and push it in for Park. For the first couple of days I would twist it up for Reverse but I got used to it.

The information layout was easy to read and use. I never paid attention to any of the EV info other than miles remaining. If something goes wrong a warning will pop up, and I mostly left the drive mode in Econ and drove it like I would drive any vehicle. Just selecting 'Sport' instantly decreased the miles remaining. 

There are storage spaces all over the interior including a large bin between the front seats. For me these areas usually end up as junk collectors but it was nice to have a spot to put books and the like without have them slide all over the place. 

It is cute how the door handles pop out to greet you but the Connecticut Yankee in me wonders how well they function after a freezing rain or heavy snow.

The true measure of an EV is when the only reason you know it's an EV is by the quietness. An EV should drive just like any other vehicle. Its job is to get you from here to there. The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD does just that, but it does it with style, and in my opinion better than many of its rivals. 

A base Ioniq 5 starts at $41,450, an Ioniq 5 Limited AWD starts at $57,835. If you opt for FWD that comes down to $53,935. I would go with FWD for the extra range. 

I would recommend the Ioniq 5 if you're in the market for an upscale EV with the caveat that the electric infrastructure is the weak link. Also bear in mind that although EVs pay no road taxes (state and federal gas and diesel taxes) I would expect that in the future governments will find a way tax EV usage.