RYAN ZUMMALLEN: We've got two electric vehicles here and we want to find out what happens when you put one of our favorite EVs-- the Tesla Model Y-- up against this, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. No, it's not an Atari on wheels. Yes, it's a real car and it's here to make an '80s-inspired splash. The electric race is heating up these days. So can the Ioniq 5 stand the heat?
Before we get started, be sure to click Like and hit Subscribe so you can see our videos before all your friends. And if you'd like to sell your car, go to edmunds.com/sellmycar to get a cash offer right now. So here it is finally, the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Now you can get it in one of two flavors.
First, there's a standard range version. That comes with a single motor, rear-wheel drive only. But there's also long range versions. You can get that with rear-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive. The one we have today is a long range all-wheel drive, and that gets you up to an estimated 256 miles of range.
Now, here's where Hyundai really goes into their bag. The Ioniq 5 is going to start around $41,000 including destination. And those prices are similar to what the Volkswagen ID.4 or Ford Mustang Mach-E starts at. But with tax incentives and rebates, that number could dip into the mid $30K range. And even at that price, those base versions of the Ioniq 5 get a gang of extra cool features.
We don't necessarily consider those base models a direct competitor to the Model Y. But this one, a long-range, all-wheel drive in its top limited trim certainly is. You get 20-inch wheels, more tech, and more comfort, and a price starting under $56,000 with destination. Even before rebates and incentives, that makes it significantly less expensive than this, the Tesla Model Y.
Now the Model Y first debuted for the 2020 year. So Tesla has a leg up in the experience department. And there actually was a standard version of the Model Y that started around $40,000. But Tesla has since axed that from their website and it hasn't been heard from since. That means the base model is now the Model Y Long Range starting at $61,000 and that's more pricey than even the top-level Ioniq 5. So just keep that in mind.
This one is actually ours at Edmunds. We bought it last year for around $69,000. The reason behind that is that we included the optional full self-driving option, which Hyundai doesn't offer. And this is a performance model with the optional performance package, which Hyundai also doesn't offer. Not so performance-minded, the Ioniq 5.
So, no. This isn't an apples-to-apples comparison of these two models. But we do think the all-wheel drive Ioniq competes directly with the Model Y in this price range. And we think it's indicative of the choices that shoppers will be faced with when they're looking to enter the EV arena.
Also, we spent our own money on this so it gets to be in the video. If you think Tesla should send us a direct apples to apples, well send a letter to Elon maybe. He doesn't respond to my DMs anymore. Come on, man. I can see it's on read.
One of the hallmarks of owning an EV is clever use of interior space. And the Ioniq 5 sure tries real hard on that front. Let me walk you through some of the more interesting features. Right off the bat, there's a really attractive steering wheel right in front. There's a cool, textured center area, although these four squares are giving me Squid Game vibes, but moving on.
The glossy black buttons on either side actually are buttons. You have to press into them. It's not just touch-capacitive, which is nice. And then there's a cool fighter jet-looking button for the drive modes here.
Now behind that are paddles. And obviously, you're not shifting gears with them like you would on a sports car. But they're to control the power of the regenerative brakes. So you can have it where when you come off of the accelerator, the car continues to coast. Or you can do one-pedal driving, which is where you come off the accelerator and the car will basically brake on its own down to a complete stop.
One of the virtues I was excited to check out is this flat floor. Now obviously, you don't need a lot of space for a transmission tunnel in an electric vehicle, so you've got tons of extra room. But as I'm sitting here, I'm struggling to see the use case for it. I mean, first of all, you're not going to be loading a bunch of lumber up here. And second of all, if you have groceries over there and a water bottle or a piece of fruit or something potentially rolls over near your feet while you're driving, that could be pretty dangerous.
One of the other things is that on this Limited trim, you can take this center console area and actually slide it forward or backward, I guess to either-- move it forward-- create more space in the back to load items. Or if you're of different heights, maybe this is a more comfortable resting area for you-- easier to grab your bottles. For me, I think all the way back is nice.
Again, I see the idea and I understand trying to make the most functional use out of the space that you have. But I'm kind of struggling, at least initially, to see how this is adding anything to the experience. But again, by all means, leave a comment if you are really excited about this movable console.
The last party trick I can show you has to do with the seats, which I can say are very comfortable. On this Limited trim, they're perforated, there's nice support, and a really good shape to them. Also, just to touch on it, I do have lots of headroom and I like the outward visibility in here. So I'm enjoying the interior.
One of the things that's optional on these seats is this adjustable foot rest which moves quite slowly. Overall, a very nice place to be. I love the materials. I love the vibe. I'm just not sure everything is hitting the way they intended. Quick side note, on the Limited trim, both front seats are heated and ventilated.
Now let's move on to the back seats. So the back seat. OK, you may have noticed that I had to duck a little bit to get in, raise my knees up. That's because the rear seats are pretty elevated compared to the front seats because they're sitting on a whole bunch of battery packs.
So it is a little tricky to get in but once in, I've got nice headroom and a really good view of this sunroof which has a cool way of opening. It works like a football stadium almost, and then the two panels come together and meet in the middle. Just like the front seats, the rears are also really comfortable. But one cool thing that they can do is slide front and back, which is neat if you have to load things.
And they can recline. So right now, this is the most upright position. I could use a little bit more space. So you can go down one or you can go down all the way to here. And this is a much more comfortable seating position and on a Limited trim, you get sunshades too, which is nice.
One really helpful feature is the amount of ways you can plug in your devices back here. There's two USB ports and then under your seat, there's a power outlet. You're sitting on all this electricity, you might as well use it. Right?
Enough about this. Let's check out the frunk and the trunk. Under the hood of the Ioniq 5, nice engine cover, right? Wrong. It's a frunk, kind of. So to see what it could fit, I brought two sleeping bags.
And we're going to get them in here, nice and, nice and, nice and easy. All right. That's not going to latch. So let's do, let's just do one.
OK. I wonder how the Tesla would do. Huh? OK, so that wins. Let's check out the trunk. Hey!
Around back of the Ioniq 5, you can see there's pretty impressive cargo space. With the rear seats up, there's 27.2 cubic feet and with them folded down, that goes all the way up to 59.3, which is really competitive with cars like the Volkswagen ID.4 and Ford Mustang Mach-E. But it's not quite as much as what the Tesla has. And also, there's no underfloor storage because of the big battery pack. You have just enough for your charging supplies and a tire repair kit.
Let's see what the Tesla interior is all about. After coming directly out of the Ioniq 5 into here, here are some of the first things that stand out to me about the interior. First of all is Space. Now the Model Y is pretty spacious inside, especially in the front rows, but it does feel a little bit confined compared to the Ioniq 5 which felt really, really airy. However, one big plus is that in the Model Y, you can get an optional third row, which the Ioniq 5 does not offer.
Now that third row is basically only for small children because if I sat back there, the roof would go straight through the middle of my face. But it's great to have an option for up to seven seats if you'd like that. The other thing that stands out is the design and styling.
So if we were calling the Ioniq 5 minimalist, then what do we call this? Because this is simplified to the point that it makes the Ioniq 5 seem complicated, even though it's not. Everything revolves through the touchscreen, which we'll get to later. But that means there are no buttons really to speak of.
As far as storage, where the Ioniq 5 had that configurable center console, instead, with the Tesla, you have smartphone storage up here, center space here, cup holders, and that. It's plenty of space for small items. But in retrospect, it was pretty neat how the Ioniq 5 was at least being clever with its thinking.
So you've got a very simple, traditional-looking steering wheel here. It's only discerning features are these two small buttons, which will control some things like the mirrors and other things in the touchscreen. As far as the seats, these are really comfortable, soft, and supple, pretty supportive. They feel less, like, structural than the Ioniq 5. But I've done long road trips in these seats and they hold up great and feel really nice.
Now one thing that we should touch on is fitment issues. Because this car is electric and when you're driving it, it's nearly quiet you can hear everything that's going on. Same with the Ioniq 5. But with the Ioniq 5, we're not hearing a lot of creaking or parts moving around or things like that.
And in the Model Y, in the year plus that we've owned it, from the beginning, we've been able to hear all that kind of stuff. That's consistent with other Teslas that we've owned in the past, too, and something that you should know if you're trying to make a decision. If you'd like to read more about our experience with the Model Y, check out our long-term blog.
Now let's check out the back seat. So getting into the rear of the Model Y is easier for me than it was in the Ioniq 5. You may have noticed, it didn't make me step up so high and it didn't make me duck down so low. And once I'm back here, there's more headroom and lots of room to stretch out. Does feel like more legroom too.
I'm also not sitting up so high at an elevated level. It feels like I'm sitting in the same spot that I was when I was in the front seat, which is nice. Finally, of course, the big panoramic sunroof is a big selling point for some shoppers. And it is impressive when you sit back here and kind of bask in it.
However, the Ioniq 5 has that shade that comes over the top of it. The Model Y does not have that. And I know what you're thinking and the answer is yes. Sometimes it feels like the sun is just beating down on you through it. But right here, in a cloudy day, it seems pretty cool.
When it comes to cargo space, as you can see, the Model Y has a lot of it. Now Tesla is actually a little murky on exact figures but suffice to say there's more here than in the Ioniq 5. And if you fold down the rear seats, because of that really dome-like cabin, there is a ton of space in here to load large items or bicycles or something like that. Plus under here, where the Ioniq 5 had really limited space, this is a really deep well. So if cargo space is a big concern for you and you're trying to make a choice between the two, it's a big plus for the Tesla.
Technology is a real test for Hyundai here. So let's get into it. First, the center touchscreen is 12.3 inches and as you can see it's pretty bright, vibrant, lots of colors, which is really nice. And as you swipe through it, there are three different screens. The buttons and icons are all easy to find so you can get to the menu that you're looking for. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both come standard. However, wireless is not available.
But as you can see, the icons are nice and brightly colored so they're really easy to find. You can get back to home, and see a cool icon of the car, and get to the maps really easily. A big difference from the Tesla, which you'll see in a second, is that there are hard buttons down here. So when you need to jump to something quickly you can just do that by pressing media, or tune the radio station-- there's a button for that-- and also a volume knob right here.
Now the last button I want to show you is all the different camera views that you have. If you hit this camera button right there with the P on it, it brings up your standard overhead view and a rear view, which are really clear in a nice resolution so that you can get a good view of what's behind you. And here's a cool view. If you hit that button it'll give you a 360 that you can swivel around on.
And the final thing on the buttons and touching the screen is that I'm six feet tall and I put the seat pretty far back, I think compared to most drivers. If you are sitting more forward, maybe it's easier for you to use. But at least for me, there's going to be a lot of leaning and reaching involved when using the screen. Of course, there's another screen and that is this 12-inch screen right in front of the driver to display your speed, your trip information, and things like that.
Ahead of that, on this Limited trim, there's a heads up display to display that information. But also, there's a really cool feature where it provides augmented reality turn by turn directions. So it really feels like it's guiding you in real life as you're driving along the route that you've programmed.
Hyundai is going to issue over-the-air updates for the Ioniq 5. But don't get too excited. You're not going to wake up with extra range or extra power. Instead, that's to make sure that the maps and the multimedia stay updated, which it's still nice that you don't have to go into the dealer for that.
Up front, there's also one USB port under here and two in the center console. And my phone is in the wireless smartphone charging station, which is really nice. It would be great if you could combine that with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. But again, that's not offered here.
Let's talk about charging. First of all, you can open the charge port here using the key, which is pretty cool. And let's start with the coolest thing about this first. Hyundai has a system called Vehicle to Load, and that's where you can get an optional adapter, plug it into here, and then plug in other devices, either for speakers for a tailgate party, or like an emergency situation, or you need to run tools, or something like that. You take power from the car's battery pack and use it to power other things, which is super cool. It is optional though.
As for actually charging the Ioniq 5, the onboard charger is 10.9 kilowatts and that will help you get from 10% charge to a full charge in just under seven hours. But the really cool thing about the Ioniq 5 is that no matter the trim level, every one of them can use DC fast chargers, otherwise known as level 3.
And with a level 3 charger, the Ioniq 5 will go from a 10% charge to an 80% charge in just 18 minutes. Now one of the downsides is that Hyundai doesn't have its own charging network so there aren't designated Hyundai stations to go to like there are for Tesla. You need to go to Electrify America and other public stations like that.
Remember earlier when I said the Tesla is minimalist to the extreme? Well, here's the best example of that. Technology. Because as you can see there are no buttons, no dials anywhere. Instead, it's all about this 15-inch touchscreen. So let me walk you through it.
First of all, the screen is pretty easy to use because it's really responsive to your touchscreen. Everything's really bright, really clear, obviously big, so you can see it from a mile away. And there is a massive breadth of functions-- everything from unlocking the car doors, to the-- and opening the trunk, to activating autopilot, turning on the windshield wipers.
There's a separate thing for that. So a lot of the normal everyday functions that you would just press a button on in a traditional car have to be done through the touchscreen. And it's impressive that the screen can handle all of that stuff.
Now, the downside is there are all these different menus that you have to navigate in order to get to that stuff. That means you have to go through the screen to get to functions that would normally be right at your hand. A word on smartphone integration. You can link the car to your phone via Bluetooth connection. And for 2021, there's now a standard wireless charging pad, which is really nice and doesn't come on our 2020 model.
However, there's still no compatibility with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. I know that a lot of Tesla owners don't find that to be a drawback, and that's great. But in our Edmunds research, we found that a lot of shoppers want Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. They look for it and they will pick a car based on whether they can get it or not. So it is still a downside that Tesla doesn't offer it.
One of the things I like the most from a tech perspective is the different camera views you can get. Now, from just a standard rear-view camera, there's a really high definition and kind of a fish eye lens so that you can see pretty far in both directions, especially if someone is coming at you from the side. And if you press this little arrow, you get a view of the ground looking back from both sides, which is really helpful as well.
However, one of the things that stands out as a downside compared to the Ioniq 5 is there's just no screen right in front of you. Every bit of information that you're getting takes your eyes off of where you should be looking on the road. And that happens in other cars, too.
Other cars have central touch screens, but they also give you information here so that not literally everything you'll need to touch or see takes your attention away from what you're looking at. No heads up display, no display in front of the driver, it's just not as convenient.
Now you can't talk about technology without talking about over-the-air updates, which is a big deal for Tesla. Whereas, with the Ioniq 5, Hyundai is going to issue OTAs to make sure that things like the maps and the multimedia are updated. But with Tesla, everything is on the table.
That means maps, multimedia, sure, but also introducing games, or giving you extra autopilot features, or sometimes even giving you more range or more power. That means you could wake up in the morning and your car is better than it was yesterday for free. You didn't have to take it anywhere. It's pretty wild.
Let's talk about how the Model Y charges. To open the charge port you can, of course, do it through the touchscreen or mobile apps, or you can just walk right up and press it open. Teslas are known for being able to charge very quickly, which brings us to its supercharger network. We're still big fans of these very quick stations, which are conveniently located and proprietary to Tesla, which is super cool. We think that's still one of the big advantages of buying a Tesla.
OK. Behind the wheel of the Ioniq 5. Now the first thing I want to mention is quiet in here. You do get a little bit of whine from the artificial battery sound. You do get a little bit of bumps from the road. But other than that, it's just smooth and quiet.
And that's how it feels comfort wise, too. I drive these streets pretty regularly and they are not smooth or easy on suspensions. And the Ioniq 5 is just having no issues with them at all. I'm also coming to really appreciate these seats. They were nice to just sit in without moving. But now that I'm driving, you start to really sink into them. Plus they're supportive as well.
The front seat has a lot of adjustments and so I've been playing with it quite a bit to get as comfortable as possible and found a position where I'm leaning back a little, my legs are raised, and then those extenders come up and just kind of deliver my feet to the pedals, which is really nice.
As for power, let's see. Oh, that's a lot. So we got up over 50 miles an hour there pretty fast from a slow roll. Let's see if it has the same thrust if we're going about 45. Pretty close. Some electric cars, you get all the bursts in the beginning and then if you're at higher speeds, it's not so sudden.
The same goes for the handling, too. You could almost forgive this car for having steering that feels kind of loose or numb, not very communicative. But this feels very direct. When you combine that with the power, it's a really more lively feeling than I was expecting. This isn't a performance car by any means but this thing can be a lot of fun. No doubt about it.
What about the driver aid systems? Well, on the Ioniq 5, you can get the optional Highway Driving Assist 2, which is Hyundai's semi-automated safety suite. You can activate it by pressing the buttons here on the wheel. And it lets me know through that augmented reality system that we talked about earlier on the heads up display.
So right now I'm just cruising along at a pretty slow speed. But we've tested this system pretty thoroughly and we found that not only does the adaptive cruise control work well, so it keeps a nice buffer between you and the car ahead, as well as handling transitions well if it needs to speed up suddenly or slow down suddenly, but on top of that, there's also a nice hand-off between the amount of steering that the car will do on its own and the amount that it requires you to do to prove that you're actually paying attention. It doesn't make you do big dramatic inputs that will override the system just to prove that you're still awake.
It pretty much requires some gentle nudging here and there, now and again, just to prove your hands are still on the wheel and you're still paying attention. But otherwise, it'll handle a lot of the steering itself. Now, one thing that could be improved is the lane keep assist system where from time to time it will kind of ping pong you back and forth in between the lanes. But overall, we found that Highway Driving Assist 2 is a really comprehensive system and probably one of the best semi-automated suites that you can buy today.
Just like every vehicle that we test at Edmunds, we put the Hyundai Ioniq 5 through a battery of tests at our track to see how it performs versus the competition. This long range, all-wheel drive is packing 320 horses. That was good enough to get it from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 4.7 seconds in our testing. And it hit the quarter mile in 13.3 seconds.
Now, for sure, those are strong numbers for the class. But they significantly trail the Model Y we have today. Just remember, that is a Model Y Performance with an optional performance package. But we've also tested a Model Y long range and while that was just a tick slower to 60 miles an hour, it did beat the Ioniq 5 in the quarter mile.
To find its true total range, we put the Ioniq 5 through our Edmunds EV range test. Now that's where we leave from our office in Santa Monica and drive a standardized route to see how far the car can go on a full, single charge. The Ioniq 5 did 270 miles, easily beating its EPA estimate of 256 miles.
What's interesting is that for less money you can get a long range, single motor Ioniq 5, which has an EPA estimate of up to 303 miles. When we put the Model Y Performance through the same route. It ran for 263 miles. Now, that's a problem because at that time Tesla claimed total range of 291 and since then they've upped it to 303.
And we're into the Model Y. First thing I notice after jumping out of the Ioniq 5 and into the Model Y, it is not quiet in here. There is creaking, there is rattling. Something is loose somewhere or many things are loose somewhere and you can hear it and you can feel it every time we're hitting a bump or a crack in the road.
It's partly the suspension, it's partly these 21 inch wheels, which come on the performance package. But this is just not a smooth ride, especially coming out of the Hyundai. That's just how it is. As for the creaking and the rattling, yes, we've owned this car for over a year, but those were present the day we got the car.
It's not very hot out today but in Southern California it does get hot. You do get sweaty on black seats. It would be really nice if they offered ventilation. The Model Y does not. They do come on the Ioniq 5 in it's Limited trim. And for the amount that we paid for this car-- Come on. It would be really nice to have ventilated seats here.
Now, as for power. That has never been a question in the Model Y. We are up to speed and beyond, in a hurry. Yeah, that hasn't changed.
But here's what I'll say about that. The Hyundai felt more responsive. It did. As soon as you touch the accelerator, that thing was giving you power quickly. The Model Y feels a little bit slower. It's not slow, obviously. It's very quick. But just in comparison, the response is a little bit delayed.
In the Ioniq 5, there's less total output of power so eventually you're going to start to taper off. And in the Model Y, it just feels like it wants to keep going, always faster, always faster. It's constantly accelerating and pushing harder. So that's fun in its own right. But I think it should be noted that the Ioniq 5 was a bit sharper in the way that it delivered the power.
Handling is still really good in the Model Y. I find it crisp and it's easy to be pinpoint with where you want to go-- around a corner, or hitting an apex, or something like that. Fits this car. Especially for an electric SUV, it's really nice.
I'm a little bit less enthusiastic about the brakes. I know that this outbreak the Ioniq 5 on our test track. But driving it around on the road, if you're at speed and you need to come down in a hurry, I think it probably stop in a shorter distance.
But there's not a whole lot of confidence there. It doesn't feel like it's giving you a lot. And then all of a sudden it comes to a stop. I just think it should be noted for a vehicle this fast, it feels like there should be a little more consistency all the way through the pedal.
OK. So let's talk about driver aids. Obviously, autopilot is the name for Tesla's semi-automated driving system. You press down once on the gear selector stalk for adaptive cruise control and twice for full autopilot, which will take over some steering functions. Now that's a very cool feature and it works well in a lot of applications, especially gridlock.
It's also very cool that the car is capable of controlling so many functions on its own, even taking full control around turns sometimes. But we've tested this system a lot. And too many times, it has trouble recognizing things that it says it should be able to do, such as reacting correctly to cars moving in and out of the lane, or reacting to driving by a parked car, or coming up on lane mergers or construction zones.
We've had to intervene in order to make sure that the car performed safely. Autopilot is for sure an ambitious system, but it needs some pretty dramatic fine-tuning. And so far in our testing, we've found that Hyundai Driving Assist 2 is just a more refined and seamless overall safety suite.
You know I'm impressed by the Model Y and I always have been. But the Ionic is making some of its blemishes very apparent. Just as an example, I'm looking at the touch screen to see my speed which is positioned in the upper left corner. Why is it position there? Because that's the closest to me so that I have to take my eyes the shortest distance away from the road in order to see it.
So by putting it there, Tesla is basically admitting that we want the important information to be close to you so you don't have to take your eyes off the road. Then why don't I have a screen in front of me telling me exactly that kind of stuff? Why do I have to take my eyes away from here at all and bring it down here? For that and every other function?
The Model Y was a revelation when it came out and it made us question why we had been doing certain things a certain way in the first place. But the Ioniq 5 today is kind of reminding me why we did certain things in the first place.
Well, there's a lot to like about the Ioniq 5, from air-tight build quality to the innovative outbound charger. And there's less of a learning curve than in the Model Y. On the downside, it can't match the raw numbers of the Tesla. And you saw what happened with cargo capacity. Ouch.
On the other hand, the Model Y pushes the envelope in so many ways, from range to performance to expansive OTA updates, plus access to the supercharger network. Of course, the learning curve to that touchscreen is a doozy. And we're still concerned that Teslas consistently fail to match their EPA estimated range on our Edmunds EV range test.
However, even at its expensive starting price, the Model Y can still wow you. And that was enough, when it came out. Since then, Hyundai has been waiting in the wings, sharpening its knives, and the result is an Ioniq 5 long range, all-wheel drive that sets a new standard in this price range.
We're impressed by its superior ride comfort and build quality, plus more approachable tech for the masses. The Model Y set the standard, but the Ioniq 5 now stands on its shoulders. That's why it's our pick today.
Thanks so much for watching today. Be sure to leave us a comment, and let us know which of these two is the best bang for your buck. And of course, don't forget to subscribe so that you can see what's coming next in the wild world of EVs.
