Hyundai lonia 5

FIRST DRIVE Our former Car of the Year gets new hardware, tech and trim structure

- John Mcllroy

OVER-the-air updates are making it easier than ever for brands to tweak electric vehicles on the fly, but even some of the most successful models are getting hardware upgrades a lot more rapidly than would normally be the case with combustion-engined cars.

To prove the point, the Hyundai loniq 5 has a new specification. The car has only been on sale in the UK since 2021, when it lifted our overall New Car Awards title. The changes are significant, too. There’s a new 77.4kWh battery up from 72.6kWh), and a more potent 321bhp dual-motor set-up, enough for 0-62mph in 5.1 seconds.

Hyundai has also overhauled the trim evels, with some notable additions to the kit ist if you’re willing to spend big. The line-up now starts with Premium spec, priced from 43,150 with a 58kWh battery and a single 168bhp motor. It’s also available with the arger battery, along with a more potent rear-mounted motor that now produces 225bhp up from 214bhp), or the dual-motor set-up.

Premium has vehicle-to-load tech, parteather upholstery, upgraded interior trim and a sliding centre console. There’s also a digital rear-view mirror to address one of the loniq 5’s flaws: its lack of a rear wiper.