Hyundai Ioniq 5 - Practicality, comfort and boot space

​Hyundai has designed the Ioniq 5 with comfort and ease of use firmly in mind, although at first sight, you may be slightly taken aback by the oversized hatchback’s dimensions. Make no mistake, the Ioniq 5 is a big family car, but this does bring the advantage of plenty of interior space for the driver and passengers.

The Ioniq 5’s king-sized cabin is vast, and with the battery pack mounted beneath the floor, occupants benefit from a flat floor space, which really opens up the interior. Large windows add to the bright and airy feel.

Useful details that help make day-to-day family life slightly easier include sliding rear seats, rear parking sensors and dual-zone climate control, while top-spec versions add electrically adjustable front seats that recline almost entirely flat, a sliding centre console and an automatic tailgate.

A couple of downsides to note, though, are that the rear doors are very big, and could be awkward to use in tight parking spaces, while Hyundai, in its infinite wisdom, has decided not to fit a rear wash wiper. However, following an update in 2023, all Ioniq 5s now feature a digital rear-view mirror, which could help mitigate any problems with rear visibility.

Making longer journeys shouldn’t be too much of a chore with the Ioniq 5. During our own testing, we plugged into a 220kW charging station, which took an almost empty battery to 50 per cent range in under 10 minutes.

Size

The Ioniq 5 is 4,635mm long, just shy of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, but 51mm longer than the Volkswagen ID.4; the Ioniq 5 is the widest of the three at 1,890mm. By way of further comparison, the Ioniq 5 is longer and wider than its Tucson mid-size SUV sibling – though it doesn’t stand as tall.

Leg room, head room & passenger space

As mentioned above, the 5’s rear seats have a sliding function to help maximise legroom or boot space, as required. The completely flat floor is a welcome feature, particularly for those in the back, while the long wheelbase gives a limo-like feel inside.

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Boot

The rear boot is wide and provides easy access, although it’s quite shallow, and you’ll need to retract the parcel shelf to accommodate larger items. There’s 527 litres of space on offer, growing to a huge 1,587 litres with the rear seats folded. A ‘frunk’ or front boot adds a useful 57 litres of storage space under the bonnet. 

Towing

If you want to use your Ioniq 5 for towing duties, then you'll need to go for one of the 77.4kWh models; both the 225bhp and 321bhp versions have a 1,600kg maximum braked towing weight.