• Digital instruments a little disappointing
• Clever infotainment screens
• Excellent cabin quality

How is the quality and layout?

The Ioniq 5’s cabin also represents a big step up for Hyundai in terms of touchy-feely quality. There are one or two cheap-feeling buttons around the place, but overall, the cabin feels well-made, with well-chosen and expensive-feeling materials.

The layout of controls is well thought-out, such as moving the gear selector from the centre console. It’s now a neat twist-knob behind the steering wheel, which frees up lots of extra space for storage between the seats.

Infotainment and tech

Of course, much of the cabin’s ambience is down to the big digital screens that dominate the interior. Hyundai has gone for a Mercedes-style widescreen setup, with two conjoined displays for the instruments and infotainment, both measuring 12.3 inches. The infotainment screen is very good indeed — its menu layout is reasonably logical and it reacts quickly to all control inputs. You can connect your phone to it via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, and all models come with a three-year subscription to Hyundai’s Bluelink live and connected services.

We’re also pleased to see that Hyundai has kept not only physical shortcut buttons for major menu items such as navigation, parking cameras and stereo volume, but better still there’s a separate panel below the screen for heating, ventilation and air conditioning so that slow software won’t stop you warming up the car when you climb in.

The driver’s instrument display is a little less satisfactory. For taller drivers, the rim of the steering wheel can obscure some vital information at times, and there’s a disappointing lack of variety in the different ‘themes’ and layout settings for the screen — they basically all look the same, aside from some slightly different shading and shapes.

40

Comfort

• Driver’s seat set slightly high
• Excellent seat comfort front and rear
• Digital instruments a little disappointing

The only real flaw with the Ioniq 5’s driving position is that you do sit slightly perched-up, which can make you feel as if you’re sitting on the car, rather than in it. That’s largely down to the flat floor, and the need for lots of electric motors to power the seat, but while it’s not a huge problem, as noted, it does mean that for taller drivers some key information on the instrument panel — not least the speed readout — can be obscured by the rim of the steering wheel.

Beyond that though, comfort levels are exceptionally good, especially if you’re in a higher-spec model with heated and ventilated front seats. Ultimate and Namsan Edition models also get heated rear seats, and an electrically-adjustable front passenger seat, along with that neat sliding centre console.

Top-spec Ultimate models also get laminated side glass, which definitely helps to cut down on wind noise when cruising, as does the acoustic film on the windscreen (which is standard on all models). Overall, the Ioniq 5 is pretty impressively refined inside. The optional ‘Premium Relaxation Seats’ are wonderfully comfortable to lie back in when the Ioniq is parked up – and, better yet, Hyundai claims that it uses ‘eco-processed leather’ and fabrics made partly from recycled fabrics to amp-up the Ioniq 5’s environmental credentials.

The only downside is that the rear cabin looks a little sparse — rear-seat passengers only get a pair of USB sockets, some air vents and, on some models, a domestic three-pin socket as well.

From 2023, every model now comes with the battery heater and conditioning feature that will warm the battery ahead of arrival at a fast charger, so you can top up more quickly. It’s clever enough to recognise locations entered in the sat-nav, so you arrive ready to plug in and recharge fast.