Was there ever a time when Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz launched new models back-to-back at around the same price, and the Korean car made the German one look underwhelming in every department? Can’t remember, but such a phenomena happened last week, where less than 24 hours separated the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Mercedes-Benz EQA launches.
Both are full EVs, but only the Ioniq 5 sits on an EV-specific platform. The Korean car looks like a Golf-sized hatchback, but is actually much bigger than the SUV-styled EQA, which is essentially a battery-powered GLA. The top-spec Ioniq 5 with the extended warranty and home charger is yours for RM276,888, just a whisker away from the EQA’s RM278,201. How dare Hyundai?
Well, the Ioniq 5 has a 72.6 kWh battery (66.5 kWh for the Merc) and an extra motor to make it AWD. Combined, the motors make 305 PS/605 Nm, good for 0-100 km/h in 5.2 seconds (190 PS, 375 Nm and 8.9 seconds for the EQA). Both have the same range of around 430 km per charge. And we haven’t even talked about design (one of the Ioniq’s unique selling points) and kit (there’s such a thing as business class-style reclining front seats).
That’s the top Max spec. The Ioniq 5 range starts from the RM199,888 Lite, which comes with a 58 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery and single-motor rear-wheel drive, while the RM229,888 Plus is a higher-spec version of the 58 kWh RWD car.
All prices are duty free, of course, but you’ll need to add RM10k to the RRP if you want the “extended warranty and service package”, which bumps the warranty to five years or 100,000 km, and includes service maintenance for three years or 50,000 km. The standard warranty is two years or 50,000 km. Whether you top up or not, the EV battery warranty is for eight years or 160,000 km.
Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) is offering two home charging stations, which are optional items. Choose from a 7 kW AC unit for RM6k or a 22 kW AC unit for RM7,000. Prices include “standard installation” but there may be extra charges for additional cabling and extended installation requirements.
Speaking of chargers, with a 350 kW DC fast charger, users can juice the Ioniq 5’s battery from 10 to 80% in just 18 minutes, and even just five minutes of plugging in will be able to net an extra 100 km of WLTP-rated range. Although we don’t have such powerful chargers in Malaysia yet, it’s good to know that the Ioniq is capable of faster charging when the hardware arrives.
Current DC fast chargers such as those on the Shell Recharge network are rated at 180 kW. At 50 kW, Hyundai says that the Ioniq 5 will replenish from 10% to 80% in 47 minutes, so expect much shorter waiting times at 180 kW DC chargers, even if it’s shared with another EV. Juicing up with a 11 kW home AC charger takes five hours for the 58 kWh and slightly more than six hours for the bigger battery. The Ioniq 5 has a CCS2 port.
By the way, the Ioniq 5 can play powerbank too, with vehicle-to-load (V2L) sockets under the rear seats that can supply up to 3.6 kW to power things like electric bicycles, laptops, scooters, camping equipment, or even another EV with a dead battery. The kit list is long – refer to our full launch report and check out the walk-around video above as we demo the Ioniq 5’s unique features, and those front Premium Relaxation Seats.
GALLERY: Hyundai Ioniq 5 Max, 72.6 kWh AWD
GALLERY: Hyundai Ioniq 5 Plus, 58 kWh
GALLERY: Hyundai Ioniq 5 Lite, 58 kWh
The post VIDEO: 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 EV in Msia, fr RM199,888 appeared first on Paul Tan’s Automotive News.
