Hyundai is just days away from showing us its new Ioniq 5 electric car in full, but just to keep our expectations percolating, here's our first glimpse at the car's interior.
500km range
The Ioniq 5 - based on the 45 Concept err... concept car - will be the first of an expanded lineup of all-electric Ioniq models. Think of Ioniq as being Hyundai's equivalent of Audi's e-Tron brand, only y'know, more affordable. More importantly, it will be the debut model for Hyundai's new Electric-Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). This is Hyundai's answer to Volkswagen's MEB setup, and it will underpin a huge number of future all-electric cars from both Hyundai and Kia. The Korean car-making giant has already confirmed that the E-GMP platform can carry enough battery for a theoretical 500km one-charge range, so this is proper next-gen EV stuff.
As for the interior, Hyundai says that it is "furnished with primarily eco-friendly materials and textiles, the interior design reflects consumers' rising interest in personal transportation that supports well-being as well as demand for more ethical and sustainable products."
"Ioniq 5 is a statement of design that offers an optimistic look at what customers can expect in the new EV era," said SangYup Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Hyundai Global Design Center. "The long wheelbase is translated to a new dimension of space. We designed this special space as a perfect place to recharge, your home away from home."
Long wheelbase and flat floor
That long wheelbase, combined with a flat floor, should translate into a whopping amount of space in the cabin, and Hyundai has made it even easier to get in and out. The central console slides back and forth, so if you end up in a tight parking space, either front seat passenger can more easily get in and out of either front door. Hyundai calls this the 'Universal Island' (been perusing kitchen makeover catalogues, have we?) and says that it "becomes the centrepiece of the Ioniq 5's living space experience."
Cognisant of the fact that, even with that 500km range, Ioniq 5 owners are occasionally going to have to sit and wait on a public charger, both front seats have retracting leg rests, and Hyundai also says that all of the interior seats can be repositioned and moved around "making it easier for adults in the front to care for children and pets seated in the rear."
Recycled materials
In terms of materials, Hyundai says that the seats are covered in an 'eco-processed' leather which has been dyed and treated with plant oil extractions from flaxseed. The soft materials in the cabin are all made from recycled fibres such as sugar cane bio components, wool and poly yarns, as well as material woven from fibres made from recycled PET plastic bottles. Surfaces such as the dashboard, switches, steering wheel and door panels are coated in a polyurethane bio paint composed of oils from rape flowers and corn.
The single, overhead, image that Hyundai has shown tells us that the instrument panel and infotainment screen are part of one unit that stretches across the dash (rather like the Mercedes MBUX dashboard) but that there do still seem to be physical controls for heating and ventilation (hurrah!). There are three column stalks behind the steering wheel, one of which is the gear selector.