Hyundai IONIQ 5 vs VW ID.4

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 costs £3,700 more than the VW ID.4. For that premium it adds 95 kW faster peak rapid charging. The VW ID.4 is not just cheaper - it also offers 78 miles more WLTP range, 85 kW more power and a 1.8s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the VW ID.4 comes out ahead overall.

The VW ID.4 is £3,700 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £152 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the VW ID.4 comes out roughly £3,740 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 293 miles for the VW ID.4 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The VW ID.4 goes roughly 65 miles further between charging stops. A rapid charge to 80% takes around 18 minutes in the Hyundai IONIQ 5 and 29 in the VW ID.4, so the Hyundai IONIQ 5 loses less time at each stop. So the VW ID.4 stops less often while the Hyundai IONIQ 5 stops for less time - pick on which you would rather do.

The VW ID.4 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 38 mm narrower than the Hyundai IONIQ 5. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 548 mm of total clearance for the VW ID.4 and about 510 mm of total clearance for the Hyundai IONIQ 5. The VW ID.4 also turns in a 1.8 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 84% for the VW ID.4. That gives the Hyundai IONIQ 5 a modest edge in retained real-world range. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation.