► An Ioniq 5 for the American wilderness
► New XRT variant beefs up Hyundai EV
► For those who ‘want to play in the dirt’
Hyundai has designed a new Ioniq 5 variant specifically for thoss of us ‘who want to play in the dirt.’ This is the new Ioniq 5 XRT, and it’s a new version that’s launching for the North American market alongside the updated version of Hyundai’s rather good EV.
The brand is seemingly following the trend constructed by the likes of the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato, for example – but is offering an electric car that’s designed to handle the wilderness rather than some OTT supercar.
Hyundai’s engineers and designers have gone to town with the Ioniq 5’s retro looks, taking a hack saw to the bodywork and replacing a lot of it with toughened plastic body cladding (complete with a digital camo design etched into it) that’s designed to be more durable in the rough stuff.
XRT versions also benefit from off-road tyres and bespoke 18-inch wheels, as well as lifted suspension (up by 23mm) with bespoke tuning. Inside, the changes are more subtle, with bespoke ‘H-Tex’ seat upholstery (which looks a lot like artificial leather) with XRT branding.
Naturally, given the XRT’s off-roading cred, the new version uses a dual-motor E-GMP configuration paired with an 84kWh battery pack. Performance specs aren’t confirmed, with Hyundai targeting a circa-250-mile range when the new models are properly range tested.
The XRT model comes as the updated Ioniq 5 launches in North America, including the announcement that the model will come with an NACS charging port that allows access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. And, sadly, the XRT won’t make it beyond North America. Boo!