Spent a week with Ionic 5

[PharaohHound138]

The wife and I parked the Mach-E and flew to Vegas. We rented a Hyundai Ionic 5 and drove to LA for a week, and back to Vegas.
Initially I was excited to really "test drive" a different EV. But after a week I was ready to drive the Ionic off a cliff!!

But let's start with the positives!
It charges FAST!!! like amazingly fast! That was great!
I ASSUME it was a dual motor. In "sport" mode that car took off like a rocket. It would definitely leave my premium single motor at the line!
It also had the flat bottom steering wheel, which does nothing special but I like it!
The interior was quite roomy for us also.

Now the negative (at least in my opinion & experience)
The navigation was pretty much worthless. It would fail to understand me when I asked for directions or charger locations. Solved by using Google through my phone.
No hands free driving. Which I know some of you don't like or want but I absolutely love my blue cruise.
The interface between driver and car is very confounding. I am sure over time, it gets better but I found it very unintuitive and (opinion) not very aesthetic.
This next one is something that is probably a setting issue....I hope....but Everytime I restarted the Ionic, it reverted to Eco drive and 1 pedal drive off.
And my last gripe, albeit a very minor "first world problems" thing....I hated having to remove a plug to access the DC ports in the car vs the one finger flip down flap on the Mach-E.
When we returned home and I got behind the wheel on the Mach-E, it just felt so much better.

No point to this post, just sharing my experience

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[pikepilot]

Thanks for the review....I initially hated the look of it but it is starting to grow on me, at least in certain colors.
Do you have any idea if it had either HDA or HDA2 (Highway Drive Assist, not hands off technically)? If so did you use it, and how was it on straight aways. I have a Kia with HDA2, does great in turns but squirly when straight about half the time

 

[tbrumleve]

I’ve rented many Kia / Hyundai cars in the last few years. I’m most definitely not a fan of the UI, although it’s faster than the Sync UI. I’m not a fan of the body either. It’s still capable and the 800v architecture is a huge plus.

 

[PharaohHound138]

Thanks for the review....I initially hated the look of it but it is starting to grow on me, at least in certain colors.
Do you have any idea if it had either HDA or HDA2 (Highway Drive Assist, not hands off technically)? If so did you use it, and how was it on straight aways. I have a Kia with HDA2, does great in turns but squirly when straight about half the time

It did have HDA and lane assist. It did a pretty good job. The front sensor was a bit hyper sensitive IMO. And it also would ding at a red light whenever the car in front of you moved.

 

[PharaohHound138]

I’ve rented many Kia / Hyundai cars in the last few years. I’m most definitely not a fan of the UI, although it’s faster than the Sync UI. I’m not a fan of the body either. It’s still capable and the 800v architecture is a huge plus.

I agree. It is not the worst car in the road and there were a few positives but over all it was nowhere near the Mach-E as far as user interface and general ride comfort

 

[CTZ]

It's not a setting. You have to select your regen level every time you drive it. I'll never buy another car like this. Ford gets this right.

 

[jay1122]

Ioniq 5 just can't save one pedal mode, but it will remember lvl 1,2,3 regen setting. I prefer level 3 over one pedal. Tesla only allows one pedal by default. MME has regen setting tied to drive mode. I use unbriddled with one pedal off. Take your poison.

 

[Maui]

This next one is something that is probably a setting issue....I hope....but Everytime I restarted the Ionic, it reverted to Eco drive and 1 pedal drive off.

I friend has complained about this as well, and he has been unable to find a setting that sets this as the default. This would be a huge pain for me.

Thought they are CarPlay friendly, so I don't know which feature would pull more weight with me in the future. But CarPlay is definitely a want/must have in a future car. Outside the Mach-e, I don't know what I would want to drive. Hoping to not have to choose. Come on ford, get your act together.

 

[Mark813]

That Ioniq 5 shape has grown on me and I like the idea of the 800v system with quick charging. I would like to find one used for one of my kids in college to beat around in.

My friend has the sister car Kia EV6 and had his ICCU die. His car was laid up two weeks until the part comes from South Korea.

He shared some recent write ups that show the problem has not been improved in later years. So the ICCU still fails in the newer Kia EV6/Hyundai Ioniq5 and can also fail again in his model after replacement.

I don't see a better looking car than the Mach-e out there. Maybe the Cadillac Lyric/Optiq are growing on me.

At this point really only thinking of upgrading my Premium ER AWD to a GT or Rally. But in the same 2024 model year to keep the big frunk lol

 

[jasn]

My only complaint with an Ionic 5 I rented for a week in CA last month was a maddenly unreachable, "lug nuts in a pail" rattle coming from the left rear wheel well. I tried everything to find it, but eventually gave up. Otherwise I liked the car but have no regrets choosing instead to buy my '21 ME Premium ER AWD.

The Ionic 5 felt smaller and a tad lower, but still posessed much of the EV driving experience I've embraced. Re-engaging 1-Pedal each time was a drag, but I liked being able to adjust it from the steering column. Decent info on the screens. No wireless Android Auto (at least on that model). The audio doesn't come close to the ME Premium. Would likely be a good buy in the used car market, IMO.

 

[200-OK]

My second car is a Kia Sportage PHEV. It has many of the same issues you called out with the Ionic. It was originally going to be my wife's car, but she disliked it so much that she took my Mach-e, so the Kia is now "my" car . Fortunately, I leased it, so it is going back when the lease is done.

 

[dking1981]

I have a question about your experience. Was the "Guess -o- meter" more or less accurate than the MME? Also did it show you when and how much it was regening? Did the interior materials feel like really cheap plastics?

Thanks

 

[phil]

Did you use the Digital Key? Any good?

 

[PharaohHound138]

My only complaint with an Ionic 5 I rented for a week in CA last month was a maddenly unreachable, "lug nuts in a pail" rattle coming from the left rear wheel well. I tried everything to find it, but eventually gave up. Otherwise I liked the car but have no regrets choosing instead to buy my '21 ME Premium ER AWD.

The Ionic 5 felt smaller and a tad lower, but still posessed much of the EV driving experience I've embraced. Re-engaging 1-Pedal each time was a drag, but I liked being able to adjust it from the steering column. Decent info on the screens. No wireless Android Auto (at least on that model). The audio doesn't come close to the ME Premium. Would likely be a good buy in the used car market, IMO.

Yes, that is true! At least turning 1pd on was a simple paddle tap vs opening a screen and toggling it on. Wireless Android Auto would be nice but usually I am plugged in anyway so I didn't think about that lacking

 

[PharaohHound138]

I have a question about your experience. Was the "Guess -o- meter" more or less accurate than the MME? Also did it show you when and how much it was regening? Did the interior materials feel like really cheap plastics?

Thanks

The GOM seemed to be fairly accurate for the most part. I "feel" like it was more accurate then my Mach-E. It shows your regen / pwr consumption via a back and forth animation on the display, similar to Tesla's. No numbers or wattages tied to it just animated lines representing power either direction. I didn't feel like the interior was really cheap but definitely not on par with the Mach-E. The materials were not junk but not the best and aesthetically far less impressive than the Mach-E, although that is in the eye of the beholder!

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