Hyundai Ioniq 5 bags World Car of the Year 2022

The all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 has been voted the 2022 World Car of the Year by the World Car Awards jury panel, which comprises of 102 judges from 34 countries, including Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor of Autocar India, and Renuka Kirpalani, Executive Editor, video, Autocar India and Editor of The Autocar Show.

Hyundai Ioniq 5: what you need to know?
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 is an all-electric SUV that falls under Hyundai’s Ioniq electric sub-brand. It is built on a dedicated E-GMP electric skateboard platform and is said to spearhead Hyundai’s global EV onslaught strategy. The most distinct feature of the car is its 80s-inspired design. The clean and crisp lines, flat surfaces, and a typical SUV stance, but with a highly-raked windshield give it a unique look.

Globally, the Ioniq 5 is available in two powertrain options. The entry-level version gets a single-motor set-up that produces 169hp and 350Nm of torque, and drives the rear wheels. There’s also a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version that produces 306hp and 605Nm of peak torque. The SUV is available with two battery packs configurations – 72.6kWh and 58kWh – with the larger battery pack delivering a maximum range of 481km on the WLTP cycle. The Ioniq 5 can also be had with both rear-wheel-drive and all-wheel-drive versions with either battery packs.

The Ioniq 5 clinched the title from the other two finalists – the Mustang Mach E and the Kia EV6. The latter even shares the same platform as the Hyundai. 2021 too saw an electric SUV – the Volkswagen ID.4 – take the top honour, and the Jaguar I-Pace won it in 2019. The Nissan Leaf became the first EV to win the World Car of the Year award in 2011, making the Ioniq 5 the fourth EV to get the award.

Renuka Kirpalani said, “When you see an EV winning the performance car category you know times are changing for sure. EV’s won five out of the six categories in this year’s World Car Awards, with Hyundai’s Ioniq sweeping up three of those six categories. No surprise, because the Ioniq – with its retro funky styling, spacious cabin, plush ride and good range capability – had all the jurors at the LA drive, me included, thoroughly impressed.”

2022 World Car of the year: who else won big
The Hyundai Ioniq 5 went home with two more awards: World Design of the Year, which it won against the Audi e-tron GT and Kia EV6, and World Electric Vehicle of the Year, which it won by beating the Mercedes-Benz EQS and the Audi e-tron GT.

The Audi and Mercedes-Benz, however, did win awards in other categories. The e-tron GT won the World Performance Car by beating the BMW M3 and M4, and the Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ. The EQS on the other hand was victorious in the World Luxury Car category, going up against the BMW iX and Genesis GV70. The Toyota Yaris Cross took the World Urban Car title. The other finalists in this category were the Opel Mokka and the India-made Volkswagen Taigun.

Hyundai Ioniq 5: the India angle
Hyundai will bring the Ioniq 5 in the Indian market as a full import sometime this year. It will sit as a premium product in Hyundai India’s line-up, and will be priced more than the Kona Electric, which is assembled locally. Later in 2024, the carmaker is also set to introduce a mass-market electric vehicle, which will be specifically developed for India. Upon launch, the Ioniq 5 may not have any direct rivals other than the Kia EV6, which the company plans to bring to our market by June. The EV6 was also spied testing on our roads recently.