Test drove an Ioniq 5 today in blustery, snowy typical Canadian winter weather. My experience with the traction, lack of rear wiper, door handles, and other winter-specific observations are in the comments.
5 thoughts on “Test drove an Ioniq 5 today in blustery, snowy typical Canadian winter weather. My experience with the traction, lack of rear wiper, door handles, and other winter-specific observations are in the comments.”
Here are some winter-specific observations.
The demo car – a cyber grey 2022 Preferred Long Range (RWD) with all season tires— arrived at the dealership yesterday and they invited us for a test drive as we have one on pre-order (AWD Long Range Ultimate).
The weather: -4 Celsius, windy and snowy. All roads have a layer of snow and most people were driving cautiously today due to slippery conditions. Most people in the area have snow tires but it’s not mandatory.
Traction: we were impressed with how the car handled the snow and slippery conditions given the lack of proper tires and AWD. It would not let us accelerate aggressively and stayed planted on the road. FYI, setting the drive mode to SNOW turns off one-pedal driving, which was our favourite setting.
Rear window: we are concerned about the lack of a wiper. When the car arrived back from the previous test drive the rear window was covered in snow. We spoke to the test drivers who told us they didn’t think they had the rear defroster on. We kept it on for our drive (it turns off automatically which is a pain in bad weather) and it kept the window free of snow but it was covered in what I would call large rain drops from the melted snow.
Door handles: snow collected in the door handle recesses after just a few minutes of leaving the car unlocked. Both rear door handles did not close properly when we locked the car (see pics).
Windshield: we had issues with the mister not spraying, which could have been ice buildup from the bad weather. We also had a clump of ice form at the corner of the driver’s side which impacted the efficacy of the wipers. It’s not unusual in this type of bad weather to have these issues as snow melts and builds up as ice in places.
Anything with a hatchback absolutely needs a rear wiper. It’s simple aerodynamics. The low pressure created at the ground behind the car kicks up whatever spray comes off the road/tires into the turbulence and “sticks” it onto the back window. Yes, a rear deflector/spoiler can help pull a curtain of air over the back window and keep it somewhat cleaner in light air. Doesn’t work with heavier wet road spray. And when salty and dirty, it hinders visibility, fast. Wiper = necessity.
Here are some winter-specific observations.
The demo car – a cyber grey 2022 Preferred Long Range (RWD) with all season tires— arrived at the dealership yesterday and they invited us for a test drive as we have one on pre-order (AWD Long Range Ultimate).
The weather: -4 Celsius, windy and snowy. All roads have a layer of snow and most people were driving cautiously today due to slippery conditions. Most people in the area have snow tires but it’s not mandatory.
Traction: we were impressed with how the car handled the snow and slippery conditions given the lack of proper tires and AWD. It would not let us accelerate aggressively and stayed planted on the road. FYI, setting the drive mode to SNOW turns off one-pedal driving, which was our favourite setting.
Rear window: we are concerned about the lack of a wiper. When the car arrived back from the previous test drive the rear window was covered in snow. We spoke to the test drivers who told us they didn’t think they had the rear defroster on. We kept it on for our drive (it turns off automatically which is a pain in bad weather) and it kept the window free of snow but it was covered in what I would call large rain drops from the melted snow.
Door handles: snow collected in the door handle recesses after just a few minutes of leaving the car unlocked. Both rear door handles did not close properly when we locked the car (see pics).
Windshield: we had issues with the mister not spraying, which could have been ice buildup from the bad weather. We also had a clump of ice form at the corner of the driver’s side which impacted the efficacy of the wipers. It’s not unusual in this type of bad weather to have these issues as snow melts and builds up as ice in places.
Very cool!! Thank you for sharing!!
Anything with a hatchback absolutely needs a rear wiper. It’s simple aerodynamics. The low pressure created at the ground behind the car kicks up whatever spray comes off the road/tires into the turbulence and “sticks” it onto the back window. Yes, a rear deflector/spoiler can help pull a curtain of air over the back window and keep it somewhat cleaner in light air. Doesn’t work with heavier wet road spray. And when salty and dirty, it hinders visibility, fast. Wiper = necessity.
Thanks for posting! Refreshing to get some insight about the car other than the typical YouTube talking heads.
And i really like the color scheme! Especially since I’m use to seeing the “silver” ionic 5 all the time.
As a Wisconsinite, i appreciate the winter feedback. I use my rear wiper on the Bolt all the time.