√Hyundai Ioniq 5 wins 2022 Drive Car of the Year Best Electric Vehicle Under $100,000

The Ioniq 5 will not only challenge your preconceptions about Hyundai, it will change your reluctance to own an electric vehicle.

No longer just for the well-heeled, and perhaps not as eccentric as they once might have been, electric vehicles are invading the mainstream.

Hyundai rather boldly showed newfound confidence when it unveiled the 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 – a medium SUV with styling that references the brand’s formative years when Hyundai was better known as a budget brand.

Be that as it may, the Ioniq 5 generated a heap of interest, in part because of its distinctive design, and for its satisfying specifications as well. Not Hyundai’s first EV by a long shot, but the first to make a real impact.

In Australia, and put through its paces for 2022 Drive Car of the Year, the Ioniq 5 impressed on a number of fronts.

It’s superficially fresh and ‘clean’ inside, yet it also pays attention to how you might use the car. The front seat relax mode is just the thing if you’re fast-charging but don’t really care to wander through a shopping centre, or just want to stretch out and take a bit of a break from driving during a longer road trip, for instance.

Interior packaging really showcases the space available too. A flat floor and plenty of room between the two rows of seats mean that everyone gets space to stretch out – front and rear. Although not compact, the big dimensions are used to tremendous effect inside.

On the road, the Ioniq 5 is certainly swift, particularly the more powerful dual-motor model. More importantly, it rides with comfortable balance – just the thing for choppy city streets and rough-shod rural roads.

The single-spec Ioniq 5, from $71,900 for the single motor (with a claimed 451km range) or $75,900 for the dual-motor model (and its claimed 430km range), both before on-road costs, comes with an impressive list of standard features. Alongside similarly sized SUVs, even those within Hyundai’s own range, the Ioniq 5 stacks up well, and certainly puts prestige brands on notice.

Read about the Best Electric Vehicle Under $100,000 segment

Read about all the other 2022 Drive Car of the Year categories and winners