Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 teased

The digital cloak has been partially lifted on the much-anticipated IONIQ 5 that is set to make its global debut in February ahead of a slated Australian arrival later in 2021.

Hyundai’s first EV under the standalone IONIQ brand, the 2021 IONIQ 5 was exclusively revealed testing in South Korea last month by carsales, giving us a good look at its size, silhouette and some key styling cues despite wearing camouflage.

These new official teaser shots throw more light on the design of the all-new battery-electric mid-size SUV, further indicating that it will indeed draw heavily from the radical design of the Hyundai 45 concept first shown in 2019.

Visual details of the IONIQ 5 aside – including its mammoth 20-inch alloy wheels and clamshell bonnet – the pioneering EV will also be capable of delivering in excess of 100km of WLTP-verified range in five minutes when connected to a compatible fast charger, according to Hyundai.

It’s the first of three IONIQ EVs to be launched by Hyundai over the next four years and will be based on a new EV-specific chassis architecture dubbed the electric global modular platform (E-GMP).

The others will be the 2022 IONIQ 6 sedan, which was previewed by the 2020 Hyundai Prophecy concept, and the 2024 IONIQ 7 large SUV.

The IONIQ 5 should be good for a 500km range, and although it’s unlikely to extract the E-GMP’s maximum performance of a 260km/h top speed and a 3.5-second 0-100km/h sprint, it will be a rapid machine – just like the upcoming Nissan Ariya.

Hyundai is yet to come clean on the density of the battery pack, but if the Hyundai Kona Electric small SUV is anything to go by, we should be looking at around 60kWh.

Unlike Hyundai-badged EVs, which are based on combustion-engine platforms, the new IONIQ 5 and its relatives will have access to what the Korean car-maker claims is a world-first 400V/800V multi-charging and bi-directional power conversion.

In other words, the SUV will be able recharge its batteries and discharge power back into the grid, the home or even other cars or your laptop.

It’s not just the underpinnings and exterior design of the IONIQ 5 that will be high-tech either.

Hyundai is plotting radical interior fit-outs for its new EV brand, headlined by an LG-developed ceiling-mounted 77-inch flexible OLED screen. There are also speakers embedded in the head restraints and the IONIQ brand has floated the concept of overhead UV LED lights (to kill COVID-19) and a floor-cleaning robot to keep things tidy.