Hyundai IONIQ 5 vs Polestar 2

The Polestar 2 costs £4,515 more than the Hyundai IONIQ 5. For that premium it adds 71 miles more WLTP range, 75 kW more power and a 2.1s quicker 0-62mph time. The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is not just cheaper - it also offers 80 kW faster peak rapid charging and 113 litres more boot space. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Hyundai IONIQ 5 comes out ahead overall.

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 is £4,515 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £160 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Hyundai IONIQ 5 comes out roughly £4,515 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 228 miles for the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and 231 miles for the Polestar 2 - effectively matched, and both well below their WLTP figures because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 18 minutes in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and 26 in the Polestar 2, so the Hyundai IONIQ 5 loses less time at each stop.

The Polestar 2 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 31 mm narrower than the Hyundai IONIQ 5. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 541 mm of total clearance for the Polestar 2 and about 510 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ 5. The Polestar 2 also turns in a 0.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 89% battery health for the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and 90% for the Polestar 2. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. The Polestar 2's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Hyundai IONIQ 5's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.