The new Hyundai Ioniq 5 range will hit the order books next Wednesday – although only 119 pre-configured units of the newly named Techniq AWD will actually be available for Australian big city customers.

It will be another month until the next lot of stock is made available, and there will be no Dynamiq RWDs available until later in 2022.

Along with the new names, Hyundai has made a number of changes to its popular but hard-to-get-hold-of EV, including dropping the RWD pricing to $69,900 before on-road costs.

But, the price of the AWD has also jumped around $1,500, and a number changes to standard additions have been changed.

So, is it worth the wait to take advantage of the $2,000 price drop for the Dynamiq RWD – even though it just misses out on Victoria, NSW and SA $3,000 EV rebates? Or should you dive in and play the “chook raffle” for the Techniq AWD when the order books open next week?

Ultimately that’s up to you, but we’ll take a look at what you’ll get and what you’ll miss in the meantime.

Dropping the price by $2,000 has meant that Hyundai has had to pull features from its single-motor, 160kW/350Nm Ioniq 5.

Gone are the rear door window sunshades, ventilated front seats and heated rear seats. The heated front seats remain, as does the privacy glass on the rear doors and tailgate.

However, the large “vision” sunroof with powered sunshade is also gone. Sadly, Hyundai will not even be offering the RWD version with a sunroof option when it becomes available later in 2022.

Also gone is the automatic relaxation setting for the front passenger seat, as are the powered, moving rear seats. Instead of the “relaxation” front seat, the RWD front passenger gets a normal seat with 10-way power adjustment.

New to the Dynamiq RWD model are 19″ tyres (down from the previous 20″), and an augmented heads-up display. The 19″ tyres should make for a slightly softer ride, and the heads-up display will allow drivers to see key info like speed and speed limits while looking at the road.

Drivers will be pleased to know, however,  that there will now be vehicle-to-load functionality both inside and outside the car, in the form of a 250-volt outlet inside and a 3.6kW adaptor for the exterior plug.

Other plusses for the RWD over the AWD are a 57 litre frunk (storage space under the bonnet), which is larger than the AWD version because it has no motor on the front axle.

Perhaps most importantly for those wanting to get the most driving range for their dollar, the price drop plus the new 19″ wheels and subsequent 30km increase in driving range to 481km means the Ioniq 5 RWD comes in as a more attractive option than the MG ZS EV (see our “bang for buck” list here).

For every $145 you get a kilometre of WLTP driving range, and 51km more range than the AWD version. You’ll be paying more than $20,000 more than you would for the MG ZS EV, but you’ll also be getting 160km or so extra range off a single charge.

The Ioniq 5 Dynamiq AWD keeps the same driving range, 20″ wheels, and keeps the rear door window sunshades, ventilated front seats and heated rear seats. The vision sunroof also stays, as do the relaxation seats, and powered rear seats.

But what else do you get for your premium $7,600 above the RWD model?

Of course, you get loads more takeoff. With two motors and dual-wheel-drive, the 225kW/660Nm Ioniq 5 Techniq AWD is a much more dynamic and powerful vehicle than its RWD stablemate, even though its name suggests the focus is on high-tech gizmos.

With the same 75kW/150kW motor setup as the outoging model, this means the techniq AWD has the same 5.2 second acceleration from 0-100km/hr, which is 3.3 seconds quicker than the RWD model.

Due to the increased power usage, it offers less range (this has stayed the same as the outoging model also, at 430km WLTP). Because there is a price rise but no change to range, it also means the AWD’s “bang for buck” rating increases to $180 per kilometre of WLTP driving range.

There is of course also now internal as well as external vehicle-to-load capabilities, and a heads-up display – although neither of these are a step-up from the Dynamiq RWD.

However, it has a much smaller frunk at just 24 litres in size and is missing the vision sunroof (although those really want it can wait until later in 2022 when it becomes available again – albeit it as a $1,500 option.)

Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.

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