HYUNDAI has revealed an all-electric car in the eye catching shape of the Ionic 5, with a nearly 300 miles range and it could be a real game changer.

The Ionic 5 goes on sale here at £45,000 (after deducting the £3,000 electric vehicle grant) for a limited edition Project 45 version, with other versions to follow with lower price tags and reduced performance from a smaller set of batteries.

Two battery sizes will be available; 72.6kWh and 58kWh, both with either rear or all-wheel drive. The most powerful version, with separate motors driving both front and rear wheels has a combined power of 302bhp and will hit 0-62mph in 5.2sec and touch 115mph. 

The slower version, with a 58kWh, 167bhp rear-wheel-drive set-up, manages 0-62mph in 8.5sec.

A feature of the new Ioniq 5 is its charging ability, where an owner can recharge other devices from the car allowing them to run on cheaper electricity.

With a 350kWh charger, the Ioniq 5 can charge from 10 percent to 80 per cent in just 18 minutes. Users would only need to charge the vehicle for five minutes to get 62 miles of range, according to official WLTP figures.

The Ioniq 5's 3,000-mm wheelbase, which is 100-mm longer than Hyundai’s flagship SUV Palisade, offers spaciousness of a large passenger car, says Hyundai. The long wheelbase allowed the designers to apply a ‘Living Space’ theme to the interior, rather than a conventional car design theme.

The newcomer provides 531 litres of boot space, which increases up to almost 1,600 litres when the second-row seats are fully folded. For added versatility, the second-row seats can slide forward up to 135 mm and also be folded in a 6:4 ratio. Meanwhile, customers can enjoy additional storage space with a front boot that offers as much as 57 litres of capacity.

Following the launch of the Ioniq 5, Hyundai will expand its battery electric line up with Ioniq 6, an electric saloon, and Ioniq 7, a large electric SUV.

Customers will be able to reserve an introductory edition online called “Project 45”. It includes all the new car's technology and design features as part of the package, including the solar roof, 20-inch wheels and the advanced head-up display with selectable augmented reality functions.

Hyundai is also offering each “Project 45” customer a free two-year subscription to IONITY, a European-wide high-power charging network. With IONITY, drivers can charge their all-new IONIQ 5 at the maximum charging power and in a very fast time.