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Hyundai's new design strategy, which involves having no visual continuity across models, is officially reality. This week they unveiled their IONIQ 5, an all-electric CUV that no resemblance to any other Hyundai, and sticks surprisingly close to the 45 concept car it's based on:
I'm not crazy about the design--I could've done without the Zorro slash on the sides--but I find it refreshingly clean, at least compared to the CAD spaghetti common with other CUVs.
I admire what Hyundai's trying to do. It takes guts to attempt creating a diversity of aesthetics under a single brand, at least in the auto space. And given BMW's recent strategy--they've doubled down on a maligned aesthetic, seemingly betting the entire brand on a derided front end--Hyundai's approach of spreading out the risk, so to speak, looks like a smarter approach.
One thing I should mention: The designers have given the front seats an extreme reclining feature…
…which makes me wonder if they're preparing for what front seats will do once cars go autonomous.
The IONIQ 5 will hit dealerships this fall, and we'll be watching the sales figures with great interest.
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
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Hyundai Fulfills "No Visual Continuity" Promise, Rolls Out New IONIQ 5
The crazy thing is that commercial vehicles, such as the last few generations of Ford's Transit van, also have unnecessarily styled body panels - making it harder for small businesses to apply their livery - company name, description, logo, telephone number etc.
Wish it had the same options as the Sonata Touring, I love the View 360. The other issue with This Hyundai and any other EV made is that EV’s are not sold in Ohio, now the only EV to be had is Tesla Nissan and Chevy, so being a long time buyer probably will go after the new Nissan Airya
It's a shame the detailing is not as simple as the overall concept. The design team seems to have lost focus when they came to lower part of the car, which is really a bit of a mess.