Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 will make electric cars easier to accept and enjoy.
As the car industry – and, just as importantly, car buyers and owners – continue to go through more change and face more challenges than we could ever have imagined, how we judge our awards has also been overhauled. It’s happened with one thing in mind: what the people who will live with (and hopefully love) our winners want and need from their cars.
So what have we learnt this year? Firstly, the EV has come of age. The Hyundai Ioniq 5 will travel the best part of 480km on a charge, then be ‘refuelled’ from 10 to 80 per cent ‘full’ in just 18 minutes. Whether we like the idea of electric cars or not (and plenty still don’t), cars like the Ioniq 5 make them easier to accept and enjoy.
It will arrive in Australia later this year and our first reviews testing it overseas show that it offers a lot of appeal, nice comforts plus a practical compromise for the electric technology underneath. We can;t wait to bring you the local drives, and even better will be knowing local pricing.
Secondly, car design is in a great place with plenty of originality, flair and clever features that all combine to make new cars more appealing than ever.
Then there’s the shift from the traditional body shapes (bye, bye Mondeo from next year) to SUVs and now towards crossovers. It’s what customers want – and who are we, or the industry, to argue with that?
The Ioniq 5 certainly pushes the boundaries and stands apart – and all of this from a South Korean maker that wasn’t making a song and dance ten years ago, but certainly is now. It has momentum due to cars just like this.
Plus, make a car that appeals to drivers and you’ll still reap the benefits – in sales and with reviews. Witness the incredible Toyota GR Yaris, Hyundai i20 N, Alpine A110 and even Bentley’s Flying Spur – all will make you smile.
Steve Fowler