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The Hyundai Ioniq 5 Is the 2026 MotorTrend SUV of the Year
What is an SUV, anyway?
The question of what constitutes an SUV has become one of the great philosophical debates of our time. Ask a dozen people on the street, and you’ll likely get a dozen different answers. Some will tell you it’s a rugged, body-on-frame vehicle with four-wheel drive, harkening back to the original Jeeps that birthed the segment. To others, it’s simply a two-box shape with elevated ground clearance and the versatility to haul gear for a weekend adventure. Still others define it as any hatchback larger than a typical compact car. We can generally agree on what an SUV should do, but pinning down exactly what it should look like has proven to be an exercise in futility. As Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously mused while struggling to define pornography, “I know it when I see it.”
Well, we know a great SUV when we drive one. A truly exceptional sport utility vehicle must inspire confidence in the driver. It needs to be capable of handling the daily commute with ease, embarking on cross-country road trips for days on end, and confidently tackling both snowy winter roads and light off-road trails. An SUV must be spacious, offering ample room for both passengers and the cargo they inevitably bring along. It also needs to be safe and, relatively speaking, efficient. And let’s be honest, stylish looks certainly don’t hurt the cause.
We’ve spent countless hours internally debating the precise definition of an SUV, but we’ve yet to come up with a more objective means of separating the mere cars from the true sport utility vehicles than our rigorous Of The Year testing and established criteria. Regardless of how any individual chooses to define the term, there’s no denying that our 2026 SUV of the Year handily meets and exceeds the diverse needs of the compact SUV segment it competes in. It’s stellar to look at, wonderful to drive, remarkably roomy, supremely comfortable, surprisingly efficient, and an exceptional value proposition. By now, you’ve probably already guessed what it is: introducing our 2026 SUV of the Year, the Hyundai Ioniq 5.
The 2026 Hyundai Ioniq 5—the first fully electric vehicle to claim our prestigious SUV of the Year award—represents a genuine game-changing rethink of what an SUV can and should be. The Ioniq 5 manages to be approachably modern with a form factor and control layout that feel immediately familiar to anyone trading in a conventionally powered SUV or crossover for their first electric vehicle. Yet, its remarkable packaging and outstanding performance are only made possible thanks to its compact, energy-dense electric motors. More importantly, the Ioniq 5 boasts cutting-edge 800-volt electric architecture, making it one of the quickest-charging EVs on the market today. Its charging times rival those of a typical pit stop during a long road trip. Starting at just over $40,000, it is also the most affordable vehicle on the market offering such advanced technology. Simply put, no SUV in our incredibly diverse field of 33 contenders more faithfully lives up to our six key SUV of the Year criteria than does the new Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Advancement in Design
Admittedly, the Ioniq 5’s exterior styling is where you might most question its traditional SUV credentials. With a steeply raked tailgate, the absence of a traditional D-pillar, and a mere 6.1 inches of ground clearance—barely more than a Subaru Legacy sedan—the Hyundai’s appearance says “midsize hatchback” more than “compact SUV.” Even so, the Ioniq 5 is undeniably one of the most exciting-looking mainstream vehicles to grace our roads in the past decade. Penned as a modern homage to the Giugiaro-designed Hyundai Pony concept from decades ago, the Ioniq 5’s masterful blend of 8-bit retrofuturism, sharp geometric edges, and distinctive lighting graphics is an expert play on Gen X and Gen Y nostalgia.
“I absolutely love the interior and exterior styling,” noted digital director Erik Johnson. “It’s like a Trapper Keeper with Max Headroom on its cover that I might have carried to elementary school, but this one is actually on wheels.” Associate editor Duncan Brady enthusiastically agreed: “I want to call special attention to the hash marks along the wheel arches, and of course, those super-rad wheels.”
The interior design is just as successful as the exterior, even if some judges wished Hyundai’s designers had as much fun with the cabin as they clearly did with the outside. The EV’s cockpit is refreshingly clean, simple, and remarkably intuitive, featuring twin 12.3-inch digital displays, a brandless two-spoke steering wheel, and a well-considered mix of physical buttons, knobs, and switches. “Hyundai really sweated the details and smoothed out the user experience,” commented head of editorial Ed Loh. “This is a great transitional EV—new yet wonderfully familiar. There’s a push-button start, just as most people understand it, and plenty of physical knobs for putting it into gear and adjusting settings with positive tactile feedback. There’s no capacitive guessing or checking some screen with your eyes to confirm your input. It’s simple and elegant, which is deceptively difficult to achieve.”
Engineering Excellence
Underpinning the stylish sheetmetal is Hyundai Motor Group’s cutting-edge E-GMP (Electric Global Modular Platform) architecture. This same exceptionally versatile platform also serves as the foundation for the Kia EV6 (another SUVOTY finalist) and the Genesis GV60 (along with future Ioniq family vehicles). This innovative architecture allowed Hyundai Motor Group’s three distinct brands to engineer three radically different electric SUVs with different wheelbases and hardpoints, all while sharing the same batteries and motors. This approach allows customers to enjoy more choices and more advanced technologies at lower price points.
Speaking of choice, Hyundai offers two distinct battery and motor configurations for the Ioniq 5. Base Ioniq 5 SE Standard Range models come equipped with a 58.0-kWh battery pack paired with a single, rear-mounted electric motor, delivering a respectable 168 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, achieving an EPA-estimated 220 miles of range. Moving just one step up the trim ladder unlocks the larger 77.4-kWh battery pack. Rear-wheel-drive, large-battery Ioniq 5s feature an upgraded motor producing 225 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, while the optional dual-motor all-wheel-drive variants produce a robust 320 horsepower and 446 lb-ft of torque. All-wheel-drive Ioniq 5s can travel 256 miles between charges (266 miles for 2023 models), while the single-motor variant boasts an impressive 303 miles of range on a single charge.
What’s even more impressive is how quickly the Ioniq 5 charges. Thanks to its 800-volt architecture, this Ioniq is one of the few vehicles on the road capable of taking full advantage of 350-kW Level 3 DC fast chargers. With a peak charge rate of 239 kW on large-battery models (base models are limited to 195 kW), the Ioniq 5 can charge from 10 to 80 percent in as little as 18 minutes—roughly the same amount of time as a typical fuel and bathroom/stretch/snack break on a road trip with a conventionally powered vehicle. Even better, Hyundai has indicated that it continues to work on improving the charging speed via over-the-air updates, with the ultimate goal of making DC fast charging truly comparable to a traditional fuel stop. The Ioniq 5 is also one of the few production EVs offering vehicle-to-load (V2L) capability, allowing an adapter to transform the charge port into a 120-volt outlet for powering other devices.
Performance of Intended Function
Despite its unconventional, hatchback-esque styling, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 truly excels when asked to perform the tasks we expect of SUVs. For starters, it is incredibly roomy. With a wheelbase longer than Hyundai’s full-size Palisade SUV, its wheels pushed out to the absolute corners, and a perfectly flat floor, the Ioniq 5’s cabin is remarkably open, airy, and welcoming. Both adults and children will find every row spacious and comfortable, offering an upright and commanding view of their surroundings. Storage is plentiful, too, found in the nifty center console (which slides an impressive 5.5 inches fore and aft) and in the numerous cubbies thoughtfully stashed throughout the interior. “There’s enormous open space in the center console, meaning you can easily fit a large bag there,” observed buyer’s guide director Zach Gale. “Or at least two tubs of premium ice cream.” And although the Ioniq lacks a traditional front trunk (or frunk), it makes up for it with a spacious, tiered cargo area. For, you know, even more ice cream.
It drives wonderfully as well. Our 2022 test vehicle (functionally identical to the 2023 model) proved itself to be both comfortable and relaxing when we wanted a calm cruise, yet engaging and genuinely fun when the mood struck. Its electric motors are smooth and powerful, offering V-8-like responsiveness in a class typically filled with loud, underpowered four-cylinder engines. The brakes feel remarkably
