2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT First Drive: Drift It, Jump It, Beat The Snot Out Of It

Boom! “Was that the sound of the battery hitting a rock?” – I thought as I threw the IONIQ 5 XRT into yet another sand-covered tight turn. I do remember Hyundai saying that this model is designed mostly for gravel roads. Not for hardcore offroading. Its engineers had also confirmed to me prior to driving the car that the XRT wears no underbelly protection.

Yet, here I was, flogging this adventure-ready electric vehicle (EV) like there was no tomorrow, feeling its rigid body take in the abuse in the process. Poor thing. But, I mean, it’s not as though the Hyundai personnel on site tried to prevent me from pushing this thing to the boundaries of its mechanical limits. “Let her rip” and “Did you enjoy it?” were the main words of encouragement each time I ventured back onto the manufacturer-controlled off-road course. A wise person once said, “do as I say, not as I do”. In this case, the IONIQ 5 XRT proved that it can in fact do more than what Hyundai says.

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT: The Apocalypse-Ready Model

I’m a big fan of the IONIQ 5 mostly because of the way it looks. Since day one, I’ve been in love with its retro-modern appearance, as if a Lancia Delta Integrale from the late 1980s was digitalized onto a computer and regurgitated back into the real world. Thankfully, the 2025 facelift doesn’t hinder any of its looks, except perhaps a new wheel design (on the regular model) that I just don’t agree with.

The XRT is Hyundai’s latest fun toy, following in the footsteps of the almighty IONIQ 5 N. Except this one focuses on beaten roads instead. Hyundai is clear about the fact that this package is more of a way to get the IONIQ 5 to places where a normal model could potentially get stuck, like at a cottage requiring a gravel road to get to, or northern climates where snow covers the road half the year. It’s not, the carmaker says, a rally machine like, say, a Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally.

I’ll get back to the mechanical hardware in a bit, but the XRT definitely looks more purposeful than the car on which it’s based. It’s slightly jacked up, and wears a set of dirt tires, recovery hooks, and model-specific wheels that seem to come straight out of an overlanding catalog. There’s also a lot of body cladding. The latter is all black, further enforcing the XRT’s mission to take you, further. But Hyundai’s design team had a bit of fun with the cladding by incorporating the IONIQ 5’s pixel theme inside it. Hyundai calls it Digital Camo, and it’s just cool. But I’m still scratching my head about the relevance of a front fascia painted all black. Why doesn’t the XRT get the N’s punchier colors?

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT Exterior Dimensions vs. 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Limited AWD

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5: Differences Between The U.S. And Canadian Market

Since the XRT model only arrives later this year in Canada as a 2026 model, the price isn’t yet fixed for that market. As for the rest of the 2025 IONIQ 5 lineup, the U.S. market is considerably more diversified, with more rear and all-wheel drive versions available at different price points. Canada essentially only gets three versions at the moment. Only one of them is available with all-wheel-drive.

U.S. Versus Canada Lineup Breakdown (model tested in bold)

Driving Impressions And Performance: Oh It Can Take A Beating

So, the IONIQ 5 XRT mostly plays with the car’s suspension, tires, and traction control systems to enhance its off-tarmac abilities. The car was slightly lifted, by 23 millimeters, or 0.9 inch. Hyundai says the suspension has “unique tuning” coming mostly from the springs. Ground clearance for the XRT is seven inches, versus six for the regular model, while the front and rear bumpers allow for improvements in approach (19.8° versus 17.5°) and departure angles (30° versus 25.4°). The 18-inch, steelie-looking wheels are unique to the XRT, while the all-terrain tires are Continental CrossContact ATR. They’re a rather great set of rubber for dirt, gravel, and grass.

Power comes from the larger of the two available battery packs, upgraded in 2025 to 84 kWh versus 77.4 kWh. The entry-level battery also bumps its capacity from 58 to 63 kWh. Hyundai says it’s essentially the same battery as before, but with new chemistry and software tuning. The XRT’s technical specifications are identical to the rest of the all-wheel-drive IONIQ 5 lineup powered by this battery. It therefore pumps out the same total combined output of 277 kW, or the equivalent of 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque.

The XRT also gets an additional Terrain Mode feature not offered on regular IONIQ 5s. The system allows you to choose between Snow, Mud, or Sand, and adjusts the vehicle’s traction control parameters to mitigate wheel spin. It also provides 50/50 all-wheel-drive at all speeds and disables the i-Pedal one-pedal driving feature.

Sand mode was obviously my mode of choice as I entered the closed circuit Hyundai had prepared for us just outside Palm Springs. In this mode, the traction control system allows for just the right amount of play with the rear end, but constantly makes sure to keep the car in a straight line. Wheelspin is also mitigated and well-programmed to get the car out of the thick stuff without intruding on the fun.

But removing the traction control system altogether revealed a gem of a chassis and a car that simply always wanted to drift. It’s obvious that Hyundai now knows how to make a car handle, experience learned from its track and N-development engineering. As a matter of fact, the XRT’s driving dynamics outshine its acceleration. It’s more fun than fast, which had me wondering why Hyundai isn’t going all-in with this model by adding wider fender flares, a few skid plates, and some of the N’s trick simulated engine sounds and fake gears.

On the road, only a very trained ear will notice the slightly louder tire roar from the XRT’s off-road tires. Handling is also a tad softer. But it’s all still very tame and civilized. Driving both the Limited AWD and XRT back-to-back revealed no real compromises for the off-road specification. And although Hyundai says the 2025 model’s handling is “better” than before, I really can’t tell the difference between this and the last IONIQ 5 I drove. The good news is that it’s still great thanks to a rock-solid chassis and more than ample power on tap. But I do wish the i-Pedal one-pedal-driving regenerative feature remembered my settings after turning off the car.

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT Technical Specifications

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT Energy Consumption, Charging And Range

Another big news for the 2025 model year is the addition of a North American Charging Standard (NACS) charge port directly from the factory. This is standard on all 2025 IONIQ 5s, allowing them to connect to Tesla’s Supercharger network of fast chargers without requiring an adapter. Hyundai does provide a free NACS to CCS adapter for all other DC fast-chargers currently out there.

Interestingly enough, Hyundai says that using a Tesla Supercharger won’t allow you to pull the car’s full 250 kW fast-charging rate, unless you’re using Tesla’s new and still scarce V4 units. On the more widespread V3 chargers, the IONIQ 5 will limit its fast-charging rate at 150 kW. This translates to a 30-minute wait time for a 10 to 80-percent charge, versus 20 minutes if you were to use a 350 kW CCS charger from, say, Electrify America. As for range, Hyundai claims the XRT model only loses about 10 miles over the Limited model. The EPA rates it at 259 miles.

Unfortunately, since this was a short and controlled event, I was unable to test out range, energy consumption, and charging performance. I’ll need to live with a 2025 IONIQ 5 XRT press unit for an entire week in my neck of the woods to properly evaluate it.

EPA And As Tested Energy Consumption And Range

Interior Design And Comfort: New Center Console, Subtle XRT Logos

What’s great about the XRT is that, except for subtle XRT logos on the seatbacks and door inserts, it’s essentially the same cabin as in the rest of the IONIQ 5 lineup. The overall setup is the same as before, where the entire dashboard is essentially a large screen (more on that later), and the column-mounted gear selector which will have you mistake it for the wiper stalk is still very much there. Hyundai also didn’t fix the awkward seating position, making you feel like the seat was bolted too high up in the cabin. Tall drivers might feel like they’re sitting on top of the car.

Finally, while the added Terrain mode is a pleasant feature, you can’t combine its settings with the car’s drive modes. In other words, if you select Sport, you cannot also select sand mode. It’s one of the other.

Nitpicking aside, the IONIQ 5’s cabin remains top-notch. Build quality is excellent, while the materials used reflect the carmaker’s dedication to building good quality cars. Nothing feels cheap, or brittle. There’s an all-new center console, too, which eases wireless phone charging while improving storage. Speaking of storage, the IONIQ 5 is loaded with it, as well as the passenger room front and rear. Tall passengers will be happy to find plenty of leg and headroom back there, as well as the possibility to pull their seat front or back. Oh, I almost forgot: the 2025 IONIQ 5 finally has a rear wiper, which came in handy while I was kicking up dust in the XRT.

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 XRT Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use: Now With Over-The-Air Updates And Wireless CarPlay

The large tablet display – essentially two screens in one – was also overhauled through Hyundai’s latest software, which runs on a faster processor, the carmaker says. Like the rest of the recently released Hyundai vehicles, menus are now displayed in a side-by-side, Domino manner. It all looks sharper and remains relatively easy to comprehend. Hyundai also does a great job of preserving physical buttons as redundancy, further easing the system’s user experience. The biggest news, however, comes from wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, as well as a Wi-Fi hotspot and over-the-air (OTA) update capabilities.

Cargo And Storage Space: Same As All Other IONIQ 5s

The XRT gets effectively the exact same cargo space specifications as the rest of the IONIQ 5 lineup, which carries over unchanged for 2025. It remains competitive in that regard. For reference, the IONIQ 5 offers less cargo space than a Volkswagen ID.4 (30.3 cu-ft/64.2 cu-ft), but it somehow beats the larger Honda Prologue (23.7 cu-ft/54.6 cu-ft).

2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Cargo Space

Hyundai Can Definitely Take This Further

I really liked the XRT! I honestly wasn’t expecting to be able to do this much with it. This package offers just enough go-anywhere capability to have you hooning your IONIQ 5 in gravel, dirt, or snow without fear of hurting it. It’s just another one of this car’s charming personalities. Along with the N, it injects more character and personality into the entire IONIQ 5 lineup.

But I do feel like Hyundai could have done more with this. There’s so much potential in this platform. The XRT could have worn wider fender flares, a tad flashier paint colors, and a bit more simulated fun, all inspired by Big Brother N. Hey, at least this is the start of something new. And so far, it’s cool as heck. Let’s see where this takes Hyundai. Maybe the next XRT will finally be the EV Lancia homologation rally car lookalike we all want.