Hyundai’s popular electric car will soon become more affordable in Australia, with the addition of at least one new variant – but the local potential of features revealed overseas is less clear, including a bigger battery.
The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car range is poised to expand later this year with more affordable variants – but new features revealed for overseas markets are not confirmed for local shores, and the larger battery available in South Korea and Europe has been ruled out.
Mirroring comments from company officials last year, Hyundai Australia has confirmed it has “plans to expand the Ioniq 5 range and introduce lower trim grade models” – and while timing is yet to be confirmed, a launch later in 2022, or sometime in 2023 was previously rumoured.
“We can’t confirm any details or specifications at this stage but you can expect similar line-ups to those seen in overseas markets – including the smaller battery version,” a Hyundai Australia spokesperson told Drive, and it’s understood two new trim grades could be added, for a total of three.
Prices for these variants are yet to be confirmed, but using overseas figures as a guide, an entry-level model with the smaller battery pack and fewer features could be priced from $55,000 to $60,000 plus on-road costs – with a mid-spec model filling cap to the $71,900-$75,900 plus on-roads flagship.
This smaller battery is a 58kWh unit, paired with a 125kW/350Nm electric motor in rear-wheel-drive models, or two electric motors producing 173kW/605Nm combined in all-wheel-drive variants. These models offer less than 400km of claimed driving range.
While a smaller battery is expected to be offered in Australia, Hyundai’s local division says it has “no current plans” to introduce the larger 77.4kWh pack now available in South Korea, Europe and the US – which is shared with the Kia EV6, underpinned by the same E-GMP platform.
In Korean models, rumours suggest the larger battery will boost driving range to 480-490km, according to local testing protocols – compared to the 423km claimed for the current 72.6kWh ‘long range’ battery in South Korea, or between 431km and 451km in Australia.
Alongside confirmation the larger battery is destined for Europe, Hyundai announced a selection of other updates for its debut electric car for overseas markets – though it’s not clear if any of these additions are bound for Australian showrooms.
New Smart Frequency Dampers have been fitted at the front and rear in Europe (or at the rear only in the UK) to “increase ride comfort as well as improving both body control and handling”.
A new battery conditioning feature is on offer to “ensure optimal charging conditions when reaching the charging point”.
Available as options are a digital centre rear-view mirror – which displays a camera from the rear spoiler on the mirror, for an unobstructed view – while Digital Side Mirrors replace traditional mirrors with more aerodynamic cameras, which project their feeds onto screens inside the car.
The camera side mirrors were already available in South Korea, but are now on offer in Europe. It’s not known if the mirrors will make their way to Australia, however they are legal to sell in Australia, given similar units are fitted to Audi’s E-Tron electric SUV.
New “non-painted black bumpers” are available in Europe, with black trim and projector LED headlights.
The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 will launch in Europe in the second half of 2022, as a Model Year 2023 vehicle. Australian launch timing is yet to be outlined.
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