New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior, Release Date, Pictures
New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior, Release Date, Pictures – Even though February’s harsh winter has just begun as I write this, the year is still young, and one early contender for its most remarkable car has already surfaced. The New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 marks the beginning of a new age in popular electrification: a retro-futuristic vehicle that is stylish rather than oddball, with a respectable range and quick charging capabilities. Even if there are a few minor functional issues that keep it from being flawless, given how well this all-electric vehicle works overall, it could be worth overlooking them.
New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Redesign and Update Plan
Exterior and Interior
Where my height leads to issues in the driver’s seat is with what I can see – or, more appropriately, what I can’t. The way the all-digital instrument cluster is configured, the speedometer is completely obscured by the steering wheel. Of course, this is something of a unique problem, but tall drivers should take note nonetheless. New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
Otherwise, the cabin is a model of simplicity, which is mostly beneficial. There’s a selection of physical controls on the dash, as well as a haptic touch panel for climate adjustments. Notably absent, however, is any kind of convenient way to adjust the front-seat and steering wheel temperature controls; they’re housed within the infotainment system instead, and they can’t be manipulated using voice commands. Likewise, lane-keep assist can only be accessed through the touchscreen (although there’s a button on the steering wheel for the more advanced highway drive assist system that applies automated steering, too).
Perhaps the most confounding absence on a car like this is around back, with no rear wiper to keep the glass clear. While outward visibility is perfectly fine most days, this wintertime test was quick to find the fallacy in Hyundai’s decision to ditch one here. Moisture from falling rain or snow is easy enough to keep at bay with a spray-on repellent, but salt and road grime is quick to collect on the angled glass.
New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Specs
This isn’t Hyundai’s first foray into electrification and it shows, with past lessons applied in ways that show a commitment to getting better. Take the regenerative braking. While the Ioniq 5 keeps the trio of selectable settings that can be adjusted using steering wheel paddles found in its Niro, Ioniq, and Kona Electric predecessors, it’s capable of proper one-pedal driving, too.
There are some other unique features here, too, like vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability that allows the Ioniq 5 to operate as a 1.9-kW power inverter. To put that in perspective, the forthcoming Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is set to come with a 9.6-kW unit, but this Hyundai will be able to power items like laptops and small appliances, or even charge electric scooters by reverse-cycling the battery.
Otherwise, the Ioniq 5 can be had with the kind of stuff one might reasonably expect to find in a modern car, electric or otherwise. Heated front seats are standard, as are a quartet of USB ports, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connections, satellite radio, built-in navigation, and dual-zone automatic climate control with an efficient driver-only setting. New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
Stuff like power windows and locks, push-button start, heated door mirrors, and alloy wheels are also standard. Skipping the base trim adds ultra-fast charging capability, as well as a heat pump that recovers waste heat from the powertrain and uses it to warm the cabin, and a heated steering wheel, while niceties like ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, V2L capability (including a 120-volt outlet under the back seat), and the panoramic glass roof are all exclusive to the Ultimate package that can only be added to the top trim.
Engine and Performance
Where the all-electric Ioniq sedan that came before this featured a simple two-trim lineup and one powertrain between them, the Ioniq 5 can be had a handful of ways. There’s a single-motor setup that can be paired with either 58- or 77.4-kWh battery packs and sends all its electrified torque to the rear wheels, while the range-topping trim tested pairs the big battery with a dual-motor electric all-wheel drive system.
The single-motor version with the smaller of the two batteries makes 168 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, while the former increases to 225 hp with the 77.4-kWh battery. Meanwhile, the addition of another drive unit sees output rise to 320 hp and 446 lb-ft of torque. Since this is an EV, it’s best to think of the accelerator like a lighting dimmer switch; it’s not a case of how quickly that torque arrives, then, but rather how much is applied, with instantaneous throttle response that can send this all-wheel-drive version scampering from zero to 100 km/h in a claimed 5.1 seconds – not much slower than the Volkswagen Golf R hot hatch. New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Fuel Economy
The secret – or at least part of it – is the Ioniq 5’s 800-volt architecture that also enables ultra-fast charging capability. (The only other cars currently on the market with such high-voltage systems are the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT.) That quick-charging capability should help to alleviate concerns about this EV’s somewhat limited driving range, with this all-wheel-drive version good for an estimated 414 km. That’s a little less than a similar Ford Mustang Mach-E and its big battery, although it’s more than the Volkswagen ID.4 and Chevrolet Bolt EUV offer. The rear-wheel-drive version with this same battery is good for a claimed 488 km between charges, while the small battery has a Hyundai-rated 354 km of range. New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
Unlike gas-powered vehicles, electric ones like this are most efficient around town where they can utilize their regenerative braking to keep the battery topped up. That means the 200-km or so evaluation drive I do with every vehicle I test is bound to bring out the worst in an EV, with long stretches of major and secondary highways mixed in with a little city driving, too. Add in the range-sapping cold conditions, and the 55 per cent of the battery I used up wasn’t bad, although only once during this week-long test did the estimated range exceed 350 km.
New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Safety Features
Advanced safety items are nearly identical across the lineup, with standard lane-keeping and following functionality, the brand’s highway drive assist that provides automated steering assistance, forward collision warning with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and automatic emergency braking. There’s also junction turn assist that warns on oncoming traffic when turning left, automatic high-beam headlights, and also-called safe exit system that can warn of oncoming rearward traffic and even prevent the doors from being opened in such a scenario. New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
The only extras available are stashed in the top trim’s Ultimate package, including front parking sensors, low-speed reverse automatic braking, surround-view monitoring, an upgraded highway driving assist system that can automatically change lanes when the signal is activated, and an upgraded blind-spot monitoring system that provides a live view of either side of the car in the instrument cluster. It also comes with a head-up display that – lucky for me – puts a speedometer directly in the driver’s field of view.
New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Price and Release Date
Right, let’s just get this out of the way: EVs are expensive, and this one is no different. The cheapest Ioniq 5 has a sticker price of $44,999, plus a non-negotiable freight charge of $1,825. That’s for a rear-wheel-drive example with a decent selection of features and 354 km of range. Then there’s the Preferred trim that’s $2,000 more with the same battery pack, for a pre-tax total of $48,824, or $53,824 for the big battery and 488 km of range.
Finally, there’s the Preferred AWD like the one I tested – a $56,824 proposition, and that’s before the Ultimate package is tacked on. Add that with the $1,000 paint job seen here, and this $62,824 example of the Ioniq 5 is pricier than the most expensive Volkswagen ID.4 that comes with three years of charging with the brand’s Electrify Canada network – although it has slightly less range. New 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Interior
There’s also the crossover-like Chevrolet Bolt EUV and its cladding-free Bolt EV sibling, both of which are cheaper but front-wheel drive-only, while the Kia EV6 that shares electrical componentry with this Hyundai has a similar pricing strategy (a fully-loaded example will cost more). And, of course, there are federal and provincial tax rebates available that can slash thousands of dollars from the price tag of this or any of the others mentioned here.
