MotorTrend's 2023 SUV of the year
- Thread starter R P
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ScubaSteve
Active Member
Do you wish your I5 had more ground clearance?
R P
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't either. That's why I have a Solterra on pre-order for going to our cabin which is off a rough FSR. The I5 will be our trip car because of its fast charging. Should be very complementary.
R P
Well-Known Member
There is a guy on the VS Ioniq forum that added a lift to his I5. Not something I would do, but each to his own.
https://www.ioniqforum.com/threads/ioniq-5-overlander-off-road-tires-lift-kit-roof-rack.40959/
R P
Well-Known Member
Hyundai can't keep up with demand. In Canada where they don't allow dealer mark-ups, they are still fulfilling orders from 2021. I have a pre-order in from Feb, and will be lucky if I see mine in late 2023.
So it's not just a lack of ground clearance that dissuades you from going off-road in your I5? Is there not enough torque? You don't want to change the tires? I'm not getting a clear picture from you or @ScubaSteve why the I5 is so inept off-road--not even capable of driving on a logging road.
R P
Well-Known Member
It's not just clearance, although that is very important. But also suspension, and the I5 is built for pavement delivering a smooth, quiet luxury drive, not a rough FSR.
Since we need 2 cars anyway, might as well get one that is off-road capable (from the factory) and one that is great for a trip (fast charging and comfortable ride). On a rough FSR like to our cabin, I would rather have a car built for that, like a Subaru. I have Crosstrek now, and it is great for that road, better than the 4WD truck that I had before. I am hoping the Solterra will be similar.
BTW, we have a great off-grid solar system at our cabin, so also looking forward to charging an EV there. Today we are just wasting the extra solar capacity, as our cabin can't consume all the charging output capacity during the summer.
R P
Well-Known Member
I have seen some vids and reviews of off-roading with the Solterra. They said it handled the bumps and rough pretty good. What makes for good off-road is long travel suspension, with soft on top. Our Crosstrek, and all the new Subaru's (not the older ones pre-2019) have this, and it is much superior than other SUVs and trucks which tend to have a more stiff suspension, where you feel the roughness more, and they bounce around, esp when you hit washboard on the corners. My Crosstrek just glides over that stuff and hugs the road around the corners. Subarus have permanent AWD with 4 wheel independent torque vectoring, instead of slip and grip AWD like most other SUVs. I'm hoping since it is electric, the Solterra will also have permanent AWD. At least it has X-Mode settings, which is what our Crosstrek has for off-road. So that looks promising, too.
Jeeps are actually the worst on our FSR. It goes up, and then down the side of a mountain with steep cliffs down to a lake (Harrison). Almost every year, some yahoo loses control and goes over, often with fatalities. And it is almost always a Jeep. That FSR is sometimes featured on the TV show Highway Thru Hell, where they do rescues and tows. It actually gets a lot of traffic because of the recreational areas on that side of the lake. ATVs and dirt bikes love it and unfortunately so do the yahoos. Our road, though, is gated so keeps them out.
ScubaSteve
Active Member
No, if I wanted another SUV, I would've bought one.
ScubaSteve
Active Member
If you had seen some of the logging roads I've travelled on, you would understand. No way I'm submerging that battery. Who wants to be first to take a stock Ioniq 5 through a river? A SUV can do that.
The Ioniq 5, regardless of the award, is not a SUV. It was never marketed as such by Hyundai prior to releasing it.
It's like naming a janitor the winner of the Waste Engineer of the Year Award. That could be an official title but, unless the janitor has an engineering degree, the title is meaningless. Same as taking a stock Ioniq 5 and calling it a SUV. End of story.
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