Right Angles

Appearing like an eight-bit fever dream out of nowhere, the all-electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 has a refreshingly retro-futuristic design that will make you wonder why all everyman cars can't be this cool

- KEVIN SINTUMUANG

IT'S JUST THE SAD TRUTH: MANY CARS LOOK the same these days. Handsome enough but, you know, just another collection of artful swoops on wheels.

Which is why when you roll down the street in a Hyundai Ioniq 5, people do a double take as if they were seeing a glitch in the matrix. It's one of the most delightfully distinctive everyman cars on the road today. Whereas most electric vehicles tend to resemble an inflated dolphin or a frog that's swallowed another frog, Hyundai's $42,745 electric vehicle is unabashedly angular; it wouldn't look out of place in the Roblox metaverse. The playful shape harks back to sporty hatchbacks from influential Italian design maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro-in particular, the Lancia Delta Integrale and the Hyundai Pony, one of the first South Korean cars made for export.

That rare combination of utility and original design in a car made for the masses is the reason we designated the Hyundai Ioniq 5 our Car of the Year. And while it exudes small-car styling, the Ioniq 5 is actually longer than a Hyundai Palisade, which means plenty of trunk space as well as massive legroom and headroom for all passengers.