By Dan Neil

Wherever you are, it's a jungle out there. And thus the Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT ($57,585, as tested), the South Korean company's urbane electric crossover, face-lifted for 2025 and given what California ho-daddies call the safari treatment. The XRT signals its weekender inclinations by way of a raised suspension (23 mm), knobby all-terrain tires, ruggedized body cladding and bright red tow hooks in the front bumper. Helicopter extraction is extra.

Not that the Ioniq 5 didn't need some butching up. In the three years since its introduction, the four-door family space pod has done brisk business in the U.S., with about 44,000 sold last year. With an upgraded battery and evolved powertrain software, the Ioniq 5 now claims more range (a nominal 318 miles); more power (up to 320 hp in the dual-motor models); and faster charging speeds. Hyundai says the car's 800V charging system can now restore up to 80% of capacity -- 255 miles -- in 20 minutes.

And, not to bury the lede: All U.S.-market Hyundais will be equipped with a NACS (North American Charging Standard) receptacle, compatible with Tesla's Supercharger network. Now, instead of an adapter for Tesla chargers, Hyundai dongles will fit CCS equipment. God bless whoever decided to call them that.

But the Ioniq 5's avant-garde styling -- boxy, angular, with surface language like a Man Ray doodle -- has proven to be surprisingly deterministic. In person, the big hatchback reads as bulky and boxy, with an inclined posture as if it were going perpetually downhill. To Millennials, imprinted on the quickening hot hatches of the early 2000s, this geometry looks fast and fun. Gen Xers and Boomers are more likely to think "reach-in freezer."

The XRT has a different kind of swagger. Trimmed in shades of ballistic black, the presentation is less technical and more tactical, less Venus and more Mars. The front and rear bumper fascias have a digital-camo pattern etched into the surface. Ironic, since being seen is the point.

Inside, changes are minor and matters of degree. The dash console, instrument display and 12.3-inch touch screen display have been gently reorganized. Many major functions have been brought closer to hand -- or at least, elbow -- in a row of physical switches in the center console.

In the lower left of the center stack, in its own orbit of redundancy, is the Start button.

For 2025, a three-spoke steering wheel replaces the former two-spoke unit. The XRT's terrain-mode selector is integrated into the spoke at six o'clock.

As always, getting in the Ioniq 5 brings the agreeable shock that comes with getting into a small car and finding a big space inside -- think London cabs. The space is magically tall, open and airy. Lofted high are the comfy-soft, pleather-upholstered seats. The elevated H-point (for "hip") is key to the excellent forward sight lines, open across the low and level horizon of the dash, over the hood and beyond. The elevation above the floor means a more natural seating position and comfortable knee angle.

With no engine, transmission, driveline or exhaust to work around, the cabin floor plan is similarly open and flat. This makes possible the car's instantly lovable, conveniently adjustable center console/armrest, mounted on tracks between the front seats.

Here, on an elevated deck in the center console, next to the cupholders, is a large -- and, I trust, completely waterproof -- inductive charging pad. Pure gold. Finally, my phone has the home it always wanted. Besides, in cars with hideaway charging pads, it's too easy to forget my phone.

Under way, the XRT handles a bit heavier than I expected, with its 4,707-pound mass not always centered squarely beneath me. The XRT's extra inch of ride height brings with it a bit more body roll in corners, even with the battery pack's low-centered mass. The all-terrain tires' tall and relatively soft sidewalls can make the XRT a bit wallowy, like cornering in an under-inflated life raft. The tires are also the prime culprit in the reduced mileage, a mere 259 miles compared to 290 miles for the SE.

Even so, this box rocks. The XRT's front motor generates 74 kW; the rear motor, 165 kW. The combined 320 hp, delivered in coordinated all-wheel drive, feels altogether adequate. Bringing all 320 hp online at once produces memorable effects. Old faces go momentarily smooth again. The cushy, banquette-style seat wants to swallow you from behind.

In the daily cut and thrust, standing-start acceleration in the low 5s is effortless. On a test track, Car and Driver clocked one at just 4.5 seconds.

Built into the car's experientials is a polytonal ambience generator, I guess, keyed to driver's demand and performance. As speeds increase, spectral polytones moan and howl, growing deeper, darker and more rhythmic the faster you go -- the faint cultural memory of a piston engine.

Some brass tacks: U.S.-market Ioniq 5's will be built in Hyundai Motor Group's new "metaplant" in Georgia. As of now the car is eligible for a $3,750 federal EV tax credit; the full $7,500 credit will be available -- or not, depending -- when Hyundai begins using U.S.-sourced batteries.

With or without Uncle Sam's help, the XRT is well priced. Here is the full-featured, widescreen touch screen you must have, with a slew of apps and resident navigation, all communing with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wirelessly. Here are heated rear seats, without which no father can look at himself in the mirror. Here, in the second row, a vehicle-to-load outlet allows owners to use their cars' batteries for backup power. The advanced driver-assist technologies run the gamut, including navigation-based Smart Cruise Control with Curve Control.

After a thorough inspection I am prepared to declare the XRT a little goofy -- a citified EV in Rescue Ranger cosplay. Yet in the next breath I admit it looks pretty cool.

If nothing else, XRT brings something that everybody in the EV market desperately wants: variety.

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT

Base price $55,400

Price, as tested $57,585

Propulsion battery electric, with two AC synchronous motors (74/165 kW, front/rear) and single-speed gearsets, providing coordinated AWD; 84-kWh/697V lithium-ion battery pack; 10.9 kW AC/DC charger

Power/torque 320 hp/446 lb-ft

0-60 mph 5 seconds (Hyundai)

Length/wheelbase/width/height 183.3/118.1/74.4/64.0 inches

Curb weight 4,707 pounds

EPA fuel economy 103/85/94 mpg-e (city/highway/combined)

Range 259 miles

Charging up to 800V/350 kW, 10-80% state of charge in 20 minutes

Cargo capacity 26.3/58.5 cubic feet (behind 2nd/1st row)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 13, 2025 19:01 ET (23:01 GMT)

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