Hyundai Ioniq 5: what independent tests say about range, charging, safety and recalls

Safety: five stars from 2021, with weak pedestrian protection

Euro NCAP gave the Ioniq 5 five stars in a rating published on 27 October 2021. The test car was a left-hand-drive, rear-wheel-drive long-range version with a 160 kW motor. It scored 88% for adult occupants, 86% for child occupants, 63% for vulnerable road users and 88% for safety assist.¹

Euro NCAP reviewed the rating after the facelift, on 13 June 2024, and kept the 2021 result. The updated car therefore carries a score earned under the test protocols of 2021. Euro NCAP labels every rating with its year, and buyers comparing the Ioniq 5 with a car rated in 2025 or 2026 should keep that label in view.¹

Pedestrian protection is the weak area. The car scored no points for a pedestrian's pelvis, and the base of the windscreen and the stiff windscreen pillars performed poorly. Automatic emergency braking was rated poor when reversing towards a pedestrian and when an adult crosses into the path of a turning car. On the positive side, the centre airbag between the front seats worked well in the side-impact test, and whiplash protection was rated good front and rear.¹

Efficiency and range against the official figures

ADAC published its test of the updated car on 20 August 2025, using an 84 kWh, 168 kW rear-wheel-drive Uniq. Its Ecotest measured 18.7 kWh/100 km including charging losses. The WLTP figures are 16.0 kWh/100 km and 570 km. ADAC estimated the real range at about 500 km in favourable conditions, with no snow or frost.³

The US figures point the same way on a different test cycle. The EPA rates the 2025 Ioniq 5 RWD at 318 miles (about 512 km) and 30 kWh per 100 miles, which is about 18.6 kWh/100 km. Wheel size matters. The AWD car is rated at 290 miles on 19-inch wheels but 269 miles on 20-inch wheels, and the XRT at 259 miles.⁴

The earlier 58 kWh car went through Green NCAP's laboratory and road tests in 2022. Green NCAP measured 58.8 kWh of battery capacity and estimated about 380 km on typical trips with moderate air conditioning. In its −7°C laboratory test, consumption rose by 85%. That figure comes from the older, smaller-battery car, so use it as a sign of direction, not as a forecast for a new one.²

Winter: what the Norwegian test measured

Norway's motoring organisation NAF and the magazine Motor ran their El Prix winter test in mid-January 2025. Temperatures ranged from −6°C to +8°C, with rain and slippery roads. Each car drove until it could no longer hold the speed limit, and NAF recalculated distances from GPS stop positions because trip computers were not accurate enough.^6,7

NAF's Ioniq 5 was a 2024 long-range AWD Premium with a WLTP rating of 546 km. It covered 440 km, 19.4% short of WLTP, at 18.7 kWh/100 km. The average shortfall across the field was also 19.4%, so the Hyundai finished exactly at the average. The best car, a Polestar 3, came within 4.1% of its rating.^5,6

By Norwegian standards that test was mild. In NAF's January 2026 test, with temperatures down to −32°C, cars lost 38% of their WLTP range on average. The Ioniq 5 did not take part, so there is no deep-cold measurement for the updated car.⁷

Charging: the claims hold up

Hyundai claims a 10–80% charge in 18 minutes and a peak of 260 kW. In the NAF winter 2025 charging test, the AWD car took 19 minutes 49 seconds and peaked at 256 kW, 1.5% below the claim.⁵

ADAC's test of the RWD car recorded a peak of 255.3 kW and an average above 200 kW between 10% and 80%. In NAF's winter charging test, only two of 24 cars finished the 10–80% charge in less time; times ranged from 16 to 47 minutes. Battery sizes differ, so the times are not a direct ranking, but they show the Ioniq 5 near the front.^3,8

Recalls: a long US list, three of them on the battery

NHTSA's database lists 15 US recall campaigns for Ioniq 5 model years 2022 to 2026, one of them replaced by a broader campaign. The best known is 24V-868, filed in November 2024. It covers 2022–2024 cars whose Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU) can be damaged and stop charging the 12-volt battery, which can cause a loss of drive power. Dealers inspect and replace the unit and its fuse and update its software.^9,10

Three campaigns involve the high-voltage battery. Two, 25V-482 and 26V-068, cover 2025 and 2026 cars whose bus bars may not be tightened properly, which can cause a short circuit. The newest, 26V-432 from July 2026, covers 2023–2024 cars whose cells may contain misaligned electrodes that can lead to a fire. Owners are told to park outside and limit charging to 80% until the battery assembly is replaced.^9,10

Other campaigns cover a driveshaft on 2023 cars, parking-mechanism software on 2022 cars, rear suspension fasteners and seat-belt retractors on 2025 cars, and braking software on the Ioniq 5 N. These are US campaigns tied to US vehicle identification numbers. A buyer in the UK or EU should check the exact car through the national recall service and ask the dealer for proof that open recalls have been done.^9,10

What the evidence adds up to

Side by side, the measurements tell a consistent story. ADAC's 18.7 kWh/100 km and the EPA's roughly 18.6 kWh/100 km are both about 16–17% above the 16.0 kWh/100 km WLTP figure for the RWD. NAF's AWD car used 11% more than its own 16.8 kWh/100 km rating in a wet Norwegian January.^3,4,6

Charjin's worked example: dividing the 570 km WLTP range by that 16–17% gap gives about 490 km, close to ADAC's 500 km estimate. On a long trip, where most drivers use the 10–80% window, that becomes about 340–350 km between charging stops in mild weather. Each stop should take about 20 minutes on a charger that can deliver the car's full power. Expect less in hard frost, where NAF measured average losses of 38% across other cars.^3,5,7

This review does not include owner reliability survey data. It also has no deep-cold result for the updated car, and the safety rating predates the facelift. Before buying, check the recall record of the exact car, the battery size, and the wheel size, which cost the AWD car 21 miles of EPA range on 20-inch rather than 19-inch wheels. Hyundai's own overview of the updated car gives no figures to check these against.^4,9,11