The Hyundai IONIQ 5 Switches to the Tesla Plug and Keeps Its 18-Minute Charge — but Canada Gets Just One Battery — Rated 5.5/10

One clarification before the specifications, because Hyundai Canada is running two model years under one nameplate. The IONIQ 5 reviewed here is a 2026. The high-performance IONIQ 5 N sold alongside it is a 2027, and at $78,199 it is a different proposition entirely. Note also that a year typed into Hyundai's web address proves nothing — every dated URL redirects to the same undated page.

The most consequential change this year is the socket. The IONIQ 5 now ships with a native NACS charging port as standard, giving it access to Tesla's Supercharger network across the country, with adapters for the older standard included. Hyundai Canada confirms it in writing on its product card. For a car whose central engineering argument has always been charging speed, adopting the continent's densest fast-charging network is the upgrade that matters most.

That argument still holds up. The IONIQ 5 runs an 800-volt architecture rated to 350 kilowatts, which Hyundai says takes the battery from 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes — a figure very few electric cars at any price can match. Level 2 charging takes 7 hours 20 minutes through a 10.9-kilowatt onboard charger. One caution for anyone reading Hyundai's own site closely: its FAQ claims a 50-kilowatt charger also manages 10 to 80 per cent in 18 minutes. The specification table on the same site says 1 hour 21 minutes. The FAQ is wrong.

The Canadian lineup is unusually narrow. There are three trims — Preferred Long Range in rear- or all-wheel drive, and the all-wheel-drive car with the Ultimate Package — and exactly one battery, an 84-kilowatt-hour pack. There is no standard-range version, and the rugged XRT sold in the United States is not offered here. Rear-drive cars make 225 horsepower and 258 pound-feet and are rated by Natural Resources Canada at 504 kilometres; all-wheel drive lifts output to 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet, cuts the sprint to 100 km/h to 5.3 seconds, and reduces range to 463 kilometres.

Pricing runs $55,499 for the rear-drive Preferred, $57,499 with all-wheel drive and $63,499 with the Ultimate Package. Hyundai advertises a larger number — $58,544 — but that one already contains $2,300 of freight and delivery plus $745 in fees, so it should not be set beside a rival's bare MSRP. Neither figure is net of incentives.

Practicality is decent rather than exceptional: 745 litres of cargo behind the rear seats, 1,655 with them folded, a 24-litre front trunk, five seats, and a braked towing rating of 1,224 kilograms. Twin 12.3-inch displays are standard, as is Hyundai SmartSense with Highway Driving Assist; the Ultimate Package adds the second-generation system, a surround-view monitor, remote parking assist and an eight-speaker Bose stereo. Vehicle-to-load power, one of the car's signature party tricks, is Ultimate-only rather than standard.

The pedigree is genuine. The IONIQ 5 was the first car built on Hyundai's dedicated E-GMP platform, and in April 2022 it swept World Car of the Year, World Electric Vehicle and World Car Design of the Year at the New York show — three titles in one morning, judged by 102 jurors from 33 countries.

A 5.5/10 from the Torbrook Rating Agency places the IONIQ 5 at the middle of our scale despite charging hardware that remains among the best available at any price. The specifications above are Hyundai's; the score is ours.