Hyundai Ioniq 5 gets Popular Science award for vehicle-to-load technology

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has added yet another accolade to its trophy cabinet, this time for its ground-breaking Vehicle-to-Load (V2L) capability, which has been awarded a 2021 Popular Science Best of What’s New Award in the Automotive Category.

Unveiled earlier this year, the Ioniq 5 from South Korean carmaker Hyundai has steadily garnered headlines and awards through the year. The SUV marks an all-electric departure from the former hybrid Ioniq sub-brand and is the first model in Hyundai’s new-look Ioniq family built on a dedicated electric drivetrain.

But it is the Ioniq 5’s Vehicle-to-Load capability that is drawing attention from American science magazine Popular Science.

Described by the magazine as “An electric car that doubles as a power station”, the Ioniq 5 was lauded by a panel of expert judges and editors from Popular Science for its V2L capability that “can use as much as 80 percent of its stored electricity to send juice to just about anything with a standard power cable—think of it like a giant battery pack on wheels.”

“With IONIQ 5’s cutting-edge V2L technology serving as a charger on wheels, drivers can now power their electrical devices, tailgate parties, camping trips, homes during power outages, and even other stranded EVs,” said Olabisi Boyle, vice president, product planning and mobility strategy, Hyundai Motor North America.

This latest award sits alongside an almost embarrassment of riches for an EV that was launched less than a year ago.

In the last month alone, the Ioniq 5 was awarded a German Car of the Year award in the “New Energy” category, named Green SUV of the Year award by Green Car Journal, and took the overall German Car of the Year award against winners from the other four category winners.

And, having seen its first Australian batch sold out within hours of online orders opening in October, The Driven’s Bryce Gaton in his review called the Ioniq 5 “An electric Tardis that can power your tools” and summed up his experience saying: “In the Ioniq 5 they have created a spacious, upmarket feeling, feature-laden full-battery electric vehicle (BEV) that matches, if not betters, its fossil-fuelled rivals on all counts.”