HYUNDAI IONIQ 5

The retro-inspired first instalment of Hyundai’s new-generation EV line-up has substance worthy of its head-turning styling.

- Alex Grant

Timing is everything with a new product, and Hyundai’s is impeccable. The IONIQ 5 sits at the centre of an unlikely-sounding Venn diagram; simultaneously tapping into nostalgia for the dawn of the digital age while also satisfying surging demand for more sustainable technology, and it hasn’t arrived unnoticed. Launch versions were oversubscribed within hours, with customers placing orders based on little more than pictures. Their impatience in this case appears to be well placed.

Past experience speaks volumes. Hyundai and its sister brand Kia are already ahead of most rivals on range and efficiency, and the IONIQ 5 is building on that expertise. Previous models used multi-fuel platforms, but this is the first on a dedicated EV-only architecture and the beginnings of an all-electric sub-brand. The IONIQ 6 saloon and IONIQ 7 SUV are in the near-future pipeline, and recent concepts suggest they’ll be every bit as distinctive as the spearhead of the line-up.

It loses absolutely none of that visual impact in the metal. There’s a sense of unrestrained design freedom woven into every panel, from the visor-like grille to the pixelated rear lamps cut into a strip across the rear hatch, and the only real surprise is scale. Although it looks like an i30-sized hatchback, it’s actually longer and wider than a Tucson SUV and proportionally very different to anything else in the range. With aerodynamic 20inch wheels pushed out to the corners at each end of an underfloor battery pack, that footprint is almost all cabin space.