Video: Driving Hyundai's J3400-Equipped 2025 Ioniq 5
The Tesla-branded plug was attached to the Hyundai and after a few moments, charging started. It's equal parts important and mundane. The adoption of SAE J3400 (formerly known as the Tesla port) hit another milestone.
The 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 is one of the first, if not the first mass-market vehicles to be sold outfitted with J3400 / NACS. The vehicle was already one of the favorite EVs among automotive journalists and thanks to impressive lease deals, has seen solid sales numbers. Adding access to a majority of Tesla's immense Supercharger network is likely to appeal to more potential EV buyers.
One of the major selling points of Tesla vehicles was the charging network. It is by far the largest in North America. With that opening to other automakers and with the industries adoption and standardization of SAE J3400, more and more vehicles will have access to those charging stations while other chagrin networks migrate to the standard.
For the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 though, there is a caveat. The majority of Superchargers available are the 500-volt version 3. The Inoniq 5 is an 800-volt vehicle capable of charging at up to 257 kW that use 800-volt or higher architecture. In order to charge at the Tesla-branded stations, the Ioniq 5 needs to step down to 400-volts. The result is a top charging speed of 135 kW.
Tesla does have 1,000-volt version 4 superchargers that should deliver up to 257kW of power to the vehicle. Unfortunately, they are few and far between with less than 40 deployed in the United States. These stations also have longer cables which should alleviate some of the issues with non-Teslas at Superchargers having to park in a weird position in order to connect.
For the thousands and thousands of CCS charging stations out there, the Ioniq 5 ships with an adapter for both DC fast charging and AC charging. Hyundai says that the adapter will not impede the vehicle from charging at its peak 257 kW charging rate. Electrify America, EVgo, and Chargepoint have spent the last few years deploying and replacing old charging stations with 800-volt and higher stations that can deliver up to 350 and 400 kW to EVs.
For the new Ioniq 5 owners, charging as quickly as possible will require using an adaptor unless they happen upon one of Tesla's few version 4 locations.
For owners with CCS-outfitted Hyundai EVs, the automaker will soon be giving out free NACS-to-CCS adaptors so they can also use the Tela Supercharging network.
In addition to the new port, the vehicle's battery chemistry has been updated to increase battery capacity and range. On the rear-wheel drive long-range trim level the range went from 303 to 318 miles. This chemistry also explains the increased peak charging rate.
Hyundai also listened to owners and added a rear windshield wiper and pulled some features out of the touchscreen and added physical buttons.
Driving impressions were nearly spot on that of the 2024 and earlier models. In all, it's a very impressive mid-cycle refresh that gives owners more options for charging, better range, and features that drivers had been skiing for since the vehicle came to market.
Offroad EVing
Hyundai also gave us time in its new XRT trim level. The offroad version of the Ioniq 5 deftly navigated an offroad road course in the desert around Palm Springs. It's less Jeep Wrangler and more Subaru Impreza. Still, for those who live in regions with dirt roads or who like going off the beaten trail and want an efficient EV with access to nearly every charging station in the United States, the XRT is likely to find some fans.
Its increased approach and departure angles and tow hooks combined with a ground clearance increase of one inch more (7 inches) than the standard Ioniq 5 set us at ease that the vehicle would be more than capable in most settings. Throw in sand, mud, and snow drive modes and Hyundai seems to have hit all the right notes for the vehicle's intended purpose.
The regular Ioniq 5 starts at $42,500 while the XRT starts at $55,400. Both are available now.