Hyundai and luxury may not immediately spring to mind, but the Ioniq 5 Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) reinforces the association, with a premium and futuristic feel both inside and outside, and a combination of advanced technology, and simply being fun and feel-good to drive, that elevates the model and brand significantly.
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Hyundai NZ does offer the Ioniq 5 at a sub-$80k price designed to capture the Government BEV Clean Car Discount, but for this award we mainly considered the upper reaches of the range, in line with the category’s $100k-plus theme.
The Ioniq 5 is perfectly comfortable in the company of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz models. The interior is exquisite and the quality impressive; it’s as refined as you expect of a pure-electric vehicle, yet it’s also surefooted on the open road at speed.
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It’s a groundbreaking luxury car, but the Ioniq 5 innovates as a BEV too. The electrical architecture can switch between 400 and 800 volts, meaning a 200kW charging rate from a compatible station (200km range in 10 minutes). And a novel accessory to come is the Vehicle to Load (V2L) adaptor, meaning you can run electric appliances, power tools or camping equipment externally through the car’s charge port.
Runners Up
Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz EQC
HYUNDAI IONIQ 5
ENGINE: 58-72.6kWh lithium battery with single or dual electric motors
POWER: 125kW/350Nm (58kWh RWD), 160kW/350Nm (72.6kWh RWD) or 225kW/605Nm (72.6kWh AWD)
GEARBOX: Single-speed automatic, RWD or AWD
0-100KM/H: From 8.5sec (58kWh RWD) to 5.2sec (72.6kWh AWD)
POWER CONSUMPTION: 16.7kWh/100km (58kWh RWD, range 384km), 16.8kWh/100km (72.6kWh RWD, range 481km) or 17.7kWh/100km (72.6kWh AWD, range 460km)
PRICE RANGE: $79,990-$112,900