Hyundai brand's idea of rugged is XRT, a trim level introduced by the Santa Fe a few years ago. Now available on Santa Cruz, Tucson, and Palisade as well, the XRT grade will be expanded to the South Korean marque's electric vehicles later this year.
Kindel Auto has recently spotted a camouflaged prototype of the Ioniq 5 XRT in California. Not long now, the Ioniq 9 will follow suit with an XRT of its own. Expected to arrive in dealer showrooms for the 2025 model year, Ioniq 5 XRT is equipped with all-terrain rubber from Hanover-based Continental.
Previously spied in a parking lot in South Korea, the Ioniq 5 XRT further sweetens the deal with XRT-specific wheels, a pixel-inspired pattern for the front bumper's lower cladding, and a different rear bumper from lesser siblings. We can also see a common trait among all 2025 model year Ioniq 5 versions, that trait being a rear window wiper.
It's not clear whether the newcomer also flaunts a bit more ground clearance than other versions of the Ioniq 5. Truth be told, this is a sensitive topic for Hyundai after the Kyle Hsu saga from December 2023. More specifically, a rather unassuming scratch on the panel that protects the high-voltage battery turned into a $61,000 CAD ($44,225 USD) bill to replace the potentially damaged battery.
Unverified reports from South Korea indicate that Hyundai could unleash the Ioniq 5 XRT in the summer of 2024, with examples meant for the US market expected to reach showrooms later this year. Tailored to outdoorsy people, XRT should not be confused with an off-road vehicle. A gravel road, on the other hand, should not pose any problem.
Photo: KindelAuto on YouTube
In addition to XRT, the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 also saw the introduction of the go-faster N and the all-show-no-extra-go N Line. As implied, the N Line gets a number of sporty bits here and there, including sport front seats with contrast stitching and specific 20-inch aluminum alloy wheels.
As for the N, make that 601 horsepower from the outset and 641 horsepower in the so-called N Grin Boost mode. It sits 0.79 inches closer to the ground than the Ioniq 5, and the N further sweetens the deal with an acceleration time of 3.5 seconds from zero to 60 mph (97 mph) as long as you activate both N Grin Boost and the N Launch Control feature.
In the meantime, the 2024 model is advertised by Hyundai Motor America with a starting price of $41,800 (sans destination charge). Highlight numbers include up to 303 miles (488 kilometers) of EPA-rated driving range, up to 320 horsepower for the dual-motor setup, and 10 years/100,000 miles (nearly 160,000 kilometers) of limited battery warranty.
Ioniq 5 sales improved in the United States of America from 22,982 units in 2022 to 33,918 units in 2023. The compact zero-emission crossover moved 6,822 examples of the breed in the first quarter of 2024, representing an improvement of 18 percent over the first three months of 2023.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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