A current affair

THE TESLA MODEL 3 IS THE DARLING OF THE EV-BUYING WORLD, BUT HYUNDAI’S MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED PRODUCTION CAR YET IS OUT TO SHIFT THE STATUS QUO

- JEZ SPINKS

FOR AN EXPONENT of silent motoring, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 is making quite a noise.

The buzz surrounding the South Korean EV has nothing to do with its new dedicated battery electric vehicle platform that shares 800-volt rapid-charging capability with the Porsche Taycan and will underpin a large assortment of Hyundai Group models. Instead, it has everything to do with the crossover’s stunning retro-futuristic design – a metallic origami of chiselled panels and creases that combine with glorious details such as pixelated cubic LED head- and tail-lights, door strakes, and the first clamshell bonnet seen on a Hyundai.

The short-overhanged, five-door body with a limousine-like three-metre wheelbase also disguises a footprint only slightly longer than the company’s Tucson mid-sized SUV and virtually as wide as the Santa Fe seven-seater SUV. It’s essentially a mega-hatch that’s just 59mm shorter than the mid-sized electric sedan everyone now wants to beat, regardless of vehicle style.

Looking elegant from some angles, strange from others, and somewhat plain in the Hyundai’s company, the Tesla Model 3 – first introduced in 2017 – makes for more remarkable viewing in the sales charts. Not merely the best-selling electric vehicle globally (and locally, if unofficially), the smallest Tesla is now among the most popular cars in the world.

Earlier this year, perhaps in preparation for new competition, Tesla sharpened Model 3 prices by up to 12 percent. Significantly, the cost of entry to a Tesla dropped below $60,000 with our $59,900 Standard Range Plus. And while the best EV incentives currently available in Australia (NSW) can effectively wipe out its on-road charges, the Ioniq 5’s $71,900 starting price excludes it from the generous $3000 rebates offered by both NSW and Victoria.