The most powerful Hyundai Ioniq 5 gets a larger battery, more power and all-wheel-drive, but does that make it the best model of the range?

2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Inspiration AWD 77kWh

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Launched November 2023 – Price S$264,850 with COE (December 2023)
Five-door, midsize SUV/hatchback, five seats
320hp, dual motor electric drive, 19.1kWh/100km, 454km range

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PROS
Lots of power
Long list of features
All the good bits of the Ioniq 5 remains

CONS
Weight blunts performance
Doesn’t feel especially exciting to drive

Photos: Ben Chia and Hyundai

SINGAPORE

Many people like the rugged looks of an SUV, but prefer them to drive like a regular car, which has resulted in the emergence of the sporty ‘coupe-SUV’ genre. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 however seems to have inverted that formula somewhat. It looks like a regular hatchback, but it drives very much like an SUV. It has the dimensions to match too, being 4.6 metres long and nearly 1.9 metres wide, making it nearly as large as a Mercedes-Benz GLC.

And now it even comes with all-wheel-drive, available in the top-of-the-line model, called Inspiration. But rather than transforming into a tough off-roader, all-wheel-drive in this application (as it usually is for electric vehicles) simply means having an additional electric motor, one at each axle, and therefore more power.

How much power? About 320 horses worth actually. That’s quite a lot, and it’s about two and a half times more than the entry-level Ioniq 5 that sits in COE Category A. There’s 605Nm of torque too, and the result is a 0-100km/h sprint time of 5.1 seconds. In days of yore that would have troubled more than a few hot hatches.

The Ioniq 5 is also available in budget-friendly Cat A guise

So, is the Ioniq 5 Inspiration AWD some sort of mild-mannered performance machine then? Well, not quite. You see, the extra motor, as well as the larger battery pack that powers them, has resulted in the AWD model measuring in at slightly over 2.1 tonnes in kerb weight. That sorta blunts any supposed performance gains from the additional power, but a lot of it also has to do with how the power is delivered.

Sure, there is that instant burst of torque that almost all EVs provide, but by and large the Ioniq 5 channels its energy in a smooth and seamless fashion. In many ways, the driving experience is reminiscent of a mid-sized premium SUV with similar power, like, say, a BMW iX3. We drove the car on a road trip up to Desaru, and while it made light work of the North-South Highway, the operative adjective here is probably ‘effective’: it does its job well, but it never feels particularly urgent or rushed.

Our content creator drove the Ioniq 5 lineup to Desaru, and came away impressed

In any case, that’s not really the point of this car anyway. If you really wanted an Ioniq 5 that can burn your loins, there is the hot Ioniq 5 N (below) that fires out an eye-watering 650hp and comes with a drift mode to boot, although its availability for Singapore has not been confirmed as yet.

The rest of the car follows much of the same pattern too. Now that all four wheels are driven, as opposed to just the rears for the single motor variants, there is just a smidgen more stability and grip when cornering, although the difference is probably too slight for most to notice. It’s not quite as composed as a regular car with a lower centre of gravity, but at the same time it doesn’t feel as cumbersome or clumsy as a large SUV, so the Ioniq 5 strikes a neat middle ground that should satisfy many.

Equipment-wise, the Inspiration only gets a couple of extra bits over the other models, namely 20-inch alloy wheels (the rest gets 19s), and a seven-speaker Bose premium audio system. Otherwise, the car is as well-specced as the two Prestige variants that sit below it in the lineup, with a whole host of driving assistance features, and neat bits like the augmented reality head-up display and the remote smart parking system. Everything else remains as it is, including the inviting and well-thought out interior that’s spacious and filled with useful storage compartments everywhere.

Whether the additional power, extra driven wheels and Bose sound system is worth the Inspiration’s S$264,850 asking price (as of December 2023) is really a subjective decision though. For our money, we would probably opt for the model one level down, which is the single motor RWD Prestige with the same 77kWh battery and costs 30 grand less. It loses out on power over the Inspiration, with ‘just’ 225hp, but it compensates with slightly more range (about 507km) as it doesn’t have to carry the weight penalty of the extra motor, while remaining as similarly specced as the Inspiration.

Nevertheless, the Ioniq 5 Inspiration does make a compelling case for an SUV alternative for those who don’t necessarily dig into the rugged look. It has most of the trappings of an SUV, like the spacious interior, and feels similar to drive, so would probably make for a pretty left-field but practical choice.

Hyundai Ioniq 5 Inspiration AWD 77kWh

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