Hello, Just trying to gain some perspective here as I was at both dealers today and for the first time laid eyes and touched the interior of both the Ioniq 5 and ID4 and I was greatly disappointed with the interior quality of the Ioniq 5 in terms of material choices. Don’t get me wrong, I think the Ioniq looks good, tech is good, and specs are good. It’s pretty much scratchy hard plastic everywhere, even in high touch areas like door armrests. In contrast I checked out 2 ID4s afterwards and was pretty much “blown” away with the materials used - when having just seen the Ioniq 5.
Is this normal? EVs aren’t cheap vehicles and I understand the big part of cost are the electrical components like the battery, but the interior quality alone is greatly steering me towards an ID4 instead of the Ioniq 5… Along with an apparent 3 year wait for the Ioniq 5 AWD in Canada.
I genuinely don’t mind the sliders in the ID.4; I got used to them really quickly. The controls on the steering wheel can just be used as regular buttons, and the center sliders are self-explanatory: left temperature, volume, and right temperature. Although it’s annoying that they’re not illuminated, I got the muscle memory down pretty much immediately.
The software has also been significantly improved since launch; I wouldn’t say it’s more or less responsive or reliable than Hyundai’s software, plus it has the benefit of wireless CarPlay/AA and better route planning.
Also, apparently in the IONIQ 5 for 2024, the nicer interior is exclusive to the Limited only and got cut from the SEL without a major price cut. Hyundai seems to be making the SEL trim worse every year, first cutting the better exterior lighting from the 2023 model year and then cutting a bunch of features from it, including the better interior, for the 2024 model year, which is really disappointing because the initial 2022 IONIQ 5 SEL was a pretty good value for the features you got.
The better charging is undeniable, though. The 800V system is a big benefit for the e-GMP vehicles, and the charging speed is some of the best out there, especially in its class. Range is good too, but not as big a benefit compared to its rivals compared to its charging performance.
Don’t think I ever used the slider in mine. I always just used the shortcut on the bottom left of screen.
FYI, this isn’t really a significant benefit. It’s super easy to add an adapter for wireless CarPlay in Ioniq 5. I’ve got one in mine.
BTW, I test drove ID.4 and Ioniq 5 before settling for Ioniq 5… and I can’t say the ID.4 gave me a good impression in general. But then I think at that time the only models that were available here had the more exclusive interior? Not quite sure…
Not going to go into much more detail, most of my impressions have been covered by other comments here. But the open space between the front seats was a huge plus for me as a bigger person. I like the spacious feeling it gives.
Also, I don’t think you can get 110/220V OUT of the charging port with an adapter like you can on Ioniq 5? I didn’t think I’d need it but a actually ended up using it just a week after I got the car (needed to use an angle grinder far away from the house).
BTW, here’s the sales statistics for ID.4 from Norway for 2022:
Volkswagen ID.4: 11561
Hyundai IONIQ 5: 5044
So apparently VW ID.4 is much more popular here.