Hyundai Ioniq 5 test drive.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 first became available in the US for the 2022 model year. The design was obviously based on the Hyundai 45 EV Concept from 2019. And was very heavily inspired by Giugiaro’s designs from the 1970s. Which, in my opinion, is a very good thing.

I am personally a big fan of the Ioniq 5 design and never get tired of seeing them around. Last year was its most popular ever, with over 47,000 of them sold. No doubt, thanks to such amazing lease deals offered by Hyundai.

As many have noticed before me, the Ioniq 5 is not a small car, and looks larger in real life. However, it is still about 5 inches shorter than the Tesla Model Y.

The interior is also familiar by now, but still very impressive. It is also a very nice and warm place to be. It’s not as sterile as a Tesla interior, and materials seem to all be of high quality. Every switch feels solid and smooth. The light grey/dark green combo of the car I am driving looks fantastic, too.

For 2025, Hyundai has redesigned the center console and added many physical buttons, which is a wonderful improvement. However, I don’t really see the point of that sliding feature. You can slide the whole console back and forth, something that actually seems useless to me in real life.

The armrest storage is also quite small, and you can’t really put much in there. Of course, you can leave more stuff underneath, but it’s all exposed.

The Limited model has an upgraded Bose sound system with a separate sub. At first, the whole thing sounded pretty flat, and the sub didn’t even seem to be working. Things got much better after a few adjustments, and my old friend Barry White ended up sounding pretty decent in the end. You just have to spend a bit of time.

The small touch screen above the center console is not a bad idea. It mostly controls the climate control. Unfortunatelly in bright sunlight, it becomes very, very hard to read. And just impossible to see when wearing sunglasses.

The seats are very comfortable, even on long trips. The driver’s headrest is adjustable in 4 ways (you can move it forward), which is extremely rare these days. And a great feature that makes a big difference on long trips.

The rear seat is surprisingly spacious.

The cargo area is not as roomy as you’d expect. The floor is pretty high, and there’s no room underneath since it is where the Bose subwoofer resides. At least on the Limited trim. Other models have more cargo space under the cover.

For 2025, Hyundai has installed a standard “Tesla Plug”. It also comes with adapters, so now Ioniq 5 drivers have access to every charger around. Well, almost.

I found out that many Tesla chargers are still labeled “Tesla vehicle only”. And many require the Tesla subscription, which I think is about $13 a month.

The Ioniq plug is also on the other side from Tesla cars. And Tesla doesn’t provide a cable long enough to charge cars with a port on the “other” side. So you basically have to park on the wrong side of the charger, which means using 2 parking spots. And blocking 2 chargers instead of one.

It’s also not cheap at all. (unless you have the subscription). I went on a trip a few days ago and charged for a few minutes for a total of around 230 miles added. At a cost of $38! The charging speed is also limited at 129kWh when using Tesla chargers.

I found out that non-Tesla chargers (when in working order and available) are much cheaper. And faster on the Hyundai.

Most of my charging at home is done with slow level one, using the provided charger and a regular household plug. Which gives me around 30 miles overnight. And more, of course, if I don’t drive the next day. That setup has been working just fine for me.

Driving the Ioniq 5 is quite a pleasure. With double glass windows all around, it is very, very quiet. All the time. The ride is quite smooth and always very comfortable, but it’s no magic carpet. And a small irregularity can be felt on some roads.

The RWD model I drove had plenty of power. And it’s quicker around town than most gas cars out there. I had actually been using the Eco model most of the time. It also has true one-pedal driving.

A few months ago, leases on these were just too hard to pass, and I am actually leasing the car I drove. Hyundai decided to lower the price by around $10,000 for the 2026 model year. But lease pricing hasn’t gotten better. And yet, I would be pissed if I bought one just a few months ago, instead of leasing it.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is a great car. In my uninformed opinion, it looks great inside and out. Feels smooth and solid.

And it is really a pleasure to drive. It is an easy EV to live with, and I would really recommend it to anyone interested in making the switch to an electric car.

I will post more about this car and my experience living with it on a daily basis.

Leasing a car can be a nightmare, but you are in the Los Angeles area. I just want to let people know that my leasing experience has been made very easy by these guys at SG Auto Connect.