Hyundai Ioniq 5 - Practicality, comfort and boot space

Hyundai has designed the Ioniq 5 with a focus very much on comfort and ease of use, although at first sight you may be slightly taken aback by the oversized hatchback’s dimensions. Make no mistake, the 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, while the 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 fully 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, Premium versions and above (for the 2023 model year) now feature a digital rear-view mirror which could help to mitigate any problems with rear visibility.

Making longer journeys shouldn’t be too much of a chore with the Ioniq 5. During our own test 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 in length, which is just shy of the Ford Mustang Mach-E, but 51mm longer than the Volkswagen ID.4, although the 5 is the widest of the three at 1,890mm. By way of further comparison, the 5 is longer and wider than its Tucson mid-size SUV sibling - though it doesn’t stand as tall.

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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.

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, and this grows to a huge 1,587 litres with the rear seats folded. There’s a ‘frunk’ too which adds a useful 57 litres 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 77kWh battery models; both the 225bhp and 321bhp versions have a 1,600kg maximum braked towing weight.