Can you really embrace heritage while catapulting into the future?
Can you really embrace heritage while catapulting into the future? It seems as though you can. Just ask Hyundai, as they appear to have done precisely that with their brand-new EV – the Ioniq 5.
By Dhruv Behl
It seems as though you can. Just ask Hyundai, as they appear to have done precisely that with their brand-new EV – the Ioniq 5.
It looks like a concept car that’s driven straight off the Auto Expo show floor, and yet it takes design inspiration from the Hyundai Pony – a model designed by Guigario in the 70s – which gives it a perfect mix of retro and sci-fi. An especially nice element are the individual pixels that make up the rear bar of the taillights – a touch of creativity that exquisitely blends 70s style with 21st-century flash.
The Ioniq 5 has been so widely acclaimed since its international launch that it won the triple crown at the 2022 World Car of the Year awards. It took home World Car of the Year honours of course, but also won titles for World Electric Vehicle of the Year and World Car Design of the Year as well.
Having spent the last couple of weeks with a matte silver Ioniq, I can see why. It’s one of those rare machines that makes an impression (a good one) every time you see it or get a chance to experience the cabin. The cabin is new age of course, but sensibly retains buttons and knobs for basic functions like AC controls and the speaker volume. It doesn’t require you to navigate through multiple touchscreen menus to adjust fan speed for instance, like so many cars these days that seem to be in a mad rush to eliminate all physical buttons from their cabins.
The massive glass roof, airy cabin and ridiculously impressive levels of refinement mean that it creates a cocoon of serenity on our crazy roads. The flat floor and multitude of cubby holes mean that it has about the same amount of storage as some studio apartments, and the front passenger seat, which reclines almost flat, is more comfortable than most loungers. The only concern is the pale colour palate, which will need some regular elbow grease to keep clean – well, detergent anyway. That apart, I simply can’t find fault with it.
Hyundai India has also been wise to assemble the Ioniq in India, which means that the price isn’t as stratospheric as the competition. So, keep your eyes peeled for the Ioniq 5 on our roads. You’ll know one when you see it because it looks like absolutely nothing else on the roads at present…
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