Before I start the gripe session, I want to say I am very much enjoying my 2025 Ioniq 5 Limited. I leased this car about a week and a half ago and sold my 2021 Tesla Model 3 Long Range. In a nutshell the Model 3 was more fun to whip around corners in, but the Hyundai is more luxurious, MUCH MUCH quieter, just as quick (though doesn't feel like it), and the more traditional cabin controls with buttons is less intimidating for my wife, who is an occasional driver of the car. OK, on to the head scratchers. I have several other smaller nits, but these are the "Big 5".
My biggest complaint is security related. When unlocked the door handles stick out making it VERY obvious the car is unlocked. Would be thieves don’t even need to check the door. They can tell from just driving by if the car is unlocked.
Building off the above, why can’t the doors be made to lock when you walk away? I realize many cars have to be manually locked, but A) The tech is already built in as the digital key is recognized when approaching the locked vehicle unlocking the door automatically and B) If you’ve owned an EV previously, chances are it was one of the 7 million Tesla's sold. At least in the USA, Tesla's lock when you walk away making it a “table stakes” feature as EV drivers have become pre-conditioned to not having to remember to lock the car. Not that you should have to choose, but if I could only have unlock or lock I’d choose lock without hesitation. I have to get into the car to drive it every time, so if I need to put my finger on the handle to unlock it, that’s not nearly as big of a deal as walking away forgetting to lock the vehicle then have the “sticky-outie” handles advertise the car is an easy target to be riffled through.
What’s the deal with not being able to set the regenerative braking preference as part of your driver profile? I want to use i-pedal EVERY TIME. What I don’t want is to have to manually adjust it by it either becoming second nature to slap the paddle before starting my drive, or having the car behave differently than expected the first time I let off the accelerator, and then having to adjust. Add to this, there are times the regen setting can’t be adjusted at all while driving. So now I'm distracted by repeatedly checking to see if it’s available to change. FWIW, Teslas have 1 setting for regen and it’s equivalent to i-pedal.
I just want to get in and go. I don’t want to wait as the car welcomes me as it takes time to boot up, then asks me to confirm my driver profile. Heck, I don’t even want to push the start button. In my Tesla I could just get in and immediately drive the car with zero fuss. It turned on the second I opened the car door so any “booting” that was needed was happening immediately. Incidentally, I’m constantly forgetting to turn the car off. It’s an EV, ergo "no engine", so there’s no real reason to have to turn it off. When you get out and walk away it should "go to sleep" and lock. As I wait for repeated driving of the new ride to change my habits I only remember to turn it on after sitting there for a second and realizing it’s not going to do anything until press the button.
My guess is Hyundai put 20” wheels on the Limited trim for improved curb appeal, but it has zero practical benefit (OK maybe marginally better handling, but this is an SUV, not a sports car). Harder/louder ride (to be clear though, I’m not complaining about the ride at all. I love it actually), easier to incur wheel damage when hitting potholes, more expensive tire replacement, and reduced range. Nobody is buying this trim level for the 1” wheel difference. In fact, I’d contend people are NOT buying it because of the reduced range alone. There are enough other differentiators that Hyundai could charge the same $ for the Limited while touting better range if they just stuck to 19”. PS - This comment is coming from a guy who’s previous vehicles included a Subaru WRX and VW Golf R so I like a sporty ride and handling. It just seems like complete overkill for this vehicle with simple vanity as the benefit while adding a bunch of detractors.
My biggest complaint is security related. When unlocked the door handles stick out making it VERY obvious the car is unlocked. Would be thieves don’t even need to check the door. They can tell from just driving by if the car is unlocked.
Building off the above, why can’t the doors be made to lock when you walk away? I realize many cars have to be manually locked, but A) The tech is already built in as the digital key is recognized when approaching the locked vehicle unlocking the door automatically and B) If you’ve owned an EV previously, chances are it was one of the 7 million Tesla's sold. At least in the USA, Tesla's lock when you walk away making it a “table stakes” feature as EV drivers have become pre-conditioned to not having to remember to lock the car. Not that you should have to choose, but if I could only have unlock or lock I’d choose lock without hesitation. I have to get into the car to drive it every time, so if I need to put my finger on the handle to unlock it, that’s not nearly as big of a deal as walking away forgetting to lock the vehicle then have the “sticky-outie” handles advertise the car is an easy target to be riffled through.
What’s the deal with not being able to set the regenerative braking preference as part of your driver profile? I want to use i-pedal EVERY TIME. What I don’t want is to have to manually adjust it by it either becoming second nature to slap the paddle before starting my drive, or having the car behave differently than expected the first time I let off the accelerator, and then having to adjust. Add to this, there are times the regen setting can’t be adjusted at all while driving. So now I'm distracted by repeatedly checking to see if it’s available to change. FWIW, Teslas have 1 setting for regen and it’s equivalent to i-pedal.
I just want to get in and go. I don’t want to wait as the car welcomes me as it takes time to boot up, then asks me to confirm my driver profile. Heck, I don’t even want to push the start button. In my Tesla I could just get in and immediately drive the car with zero fuss. It turned on the second I opened the car door so any “booting” that was needed was happening immediately. Incidentally, I’m constantly forgetting to turn the car off. It’s an EV, ergo "no engine", so there’s no real reason to have to turn it off. When you get out and walk away it should "go to sleep" and lock. As I wait for repeated driving of the new ride to change my habits I only remember to turn it on after sitting there for a second and realizing it’s not going to do anything until press the button.
My guess is Hyundai put 20” wheels on the Limited trim for improved curb appeal, but it has zero practical benefit (OK maybe marginally better handling, but this is an SUV, not a sports car). Harder/louder ride (to be clear though, I’m not complaining about the ride at all. I love it actually), easier to incur wheel damage when hitting potholes, more expensive tire replacement, and reduced range. Nobody is buying this trim level for the 1” wheel difference. In fact, I’d contend people are NOT buying it because of the reduced range alone. There are enough other differentiators that Hyundai could charge the same $ for the Limited while touting better range if they just stuck to 19”. PS - This comment is coming from a guy who’s previous vehicles included a Subaru WRX and VW Golf R so I like a sporty ride and handling. It just seems like complete overkill for this vehicle with simple vanity as the benefit while adding a bunch of detractors.
