Hyundai’s popular Ioniq 5 wins yet another car of the year award

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 has won yet another award, this time from Car and Driver magazine.

Scoring number one place ahead of 19 other electric vehicles, the Ioniq 5 won out for its combination of performance, range, charging speeds and price.

The “space-age” Ioniq 5 offers oodles of room inside, in part because of the under-floor battery but also because Hyundai has executed a “loungeroom on wheel”concept with a moveable centre console that is disconnected from the dash, and optional moveable backseats, resulting in lots of space for storage of items like bags and devices.

It also has high-speed charging thanks to its 800-volt architecture, and in its rear-wheel-drive format offers more than 480km driving range (WLTP).

In its AWD format, it offers a speedy 5.2 second acceleration from 0-0100km/hr. In Austraia, the RWD Dynamiq is priced from $69,900 before on-road costs, while the AWD is priced from $77,500 before on-roads.

While that’s not particularly cheap in terms of automotive choice in Australia, it’s important to note the Ioniq 5 won out ahead of much more expensive competitors.

These include  the Audi e-tron GT, BMW i4, BMW iX, Chevrolet Bolt EV, Chevrolet Bolt EUV, Cadillac Lyriq, Ford Mustang Mach-e GT, Ford F150 Lightning, GMC Hummer EV Pickup, Lucid Air Grand Touring, Mercedes EQS, Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, Rivian R1T, Tesla Model S Plaid and Volvo C40 Recharge.

The Ioniq 5 is the first all-electric vehicle from the South Korean carmaker built on its dedicated e-GMP platform.

José Muñoz, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor North America says the upcoming Ioniq 6 and Ioniq 7 will benefit from the same combination of space and performance.

“Ioniq 5 continues to satisfy customers and we will build on this momentum with the launch of the Ioniq 6 and 7,” he said via a statement. “Accolades like the Car and Driver EV of the Year are particularly rewarding to the teams that designed and engineered IONIQ 5 to deliver standout charging speed, innovative features and driving dynamics.”

The new award-winning feather in the hat for the Ioniq 5 is just one in a string of top titles.

Most recently, the Ioniq 5 won a best towing award, beating down claims that EVs are not suitable for towing. In Australia, it is rated to tow 1.6 tonnes braked and 750kg unbraked.

Other awards include Autotrader’s “Best New Car,” a UK-based best company car award, and a Good Design award. And, let’s not forget the Popular Science award, as well as Green Car Journal’s green SUV of the year award.

The only problem for Australian drivers keen to get their hands on one is that there are very few for sale.

And while Hyundai Australia is now releasing more frequent tranches of Ioniq 5s via its online order page, demand for the electric crossover is so high that the small numbers made available (135 were available in the last tranche) are taken up within minutes.

The process – which currently only allows drivers living in capital cities (except Darwin) to place an order – has been likened to a “chook raffle” and a lottery.