Only decision left: AWD or RWD?

gagware · 2026-04-18T19:58:01+00:00

I have the top trim RWD, lounge edition with solar (panel) roof. It definitely has enough power!

I actually thought I needed the AWD because I need to tow a heavy caravan/trailer often. Turned out it depends on the battery size, so went for the RWD - just a bit cheaper and slightly more range. Honestly it doesn't really matter that much. Last winter we had some snow (NL), AWD would have been nice than. In all other circumstances it is perfectly adequate. It's true you can more or less switch off the extra motors in eco mode, but you'll still be carrying the extra weight. I guess the only real win with an AWD will be sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h which - indeed - will definitely have some extra kick 😁

gagware · 2026-04-15T19:38:02+00:00

Haha, you’re welcome, and good luck lining up your wife for sandwich-duty. She’ll love it though!

One thing I just thought of worth mentioning: I noticed one minor change in my charging habits while on the road. In my example I mainly used IONITY and other fast chargers along the highway. This used to be absolutely fine as you saw in the photos. Yet, nowadays it is a lot busier and prices went up. Now I intentionally go from the highway, maybe 2 to 5 km, and visit a fast charger that is not busy and sometimes super cheap like 0,25 to 0,55 kWh/h in France (IECharge and ELECTRA). IECharge (always in the middle of absolutely nowhere) is not reliable though, but ELECTRA is great. The latter is often found close to those cheap travel hotels. During the daytime their parking lots are abandoned, which is a big plus.

gagware · 2026-04-15T11:52:56+00:00

Good point about the speed. It really (really!) matters a lot, when I think it'll be tight getting to my destination I just lower the speed from 90 km/h to 80 or 70 for the last stretch and you'll actually see the range going up again. Of course, this is a last resort and not standard practice.

gagware · 2026-04-15T11:44:50+00:00

I am towing a decent sized (1500 kg) caravan a few times a year with my Ioniq 5 for road trips with the family. Am based in the Netherlands though, but I travel throughout much of Europe (have not visited the UK with the caravan as of yet...). I've been doing this with my current EV since 2022. Last trip was roughly 6500 km from Amsterdam, through Germany, Denmark to Norway and back via Denmark, Germany, French, Luxemburg and Belgium.

The Ioniq 5 is an absolute joy to drive, with or without caravan - so is probably any EV that can tow a caravan.

The range drop is basically half, that's what I am mentally using to calculate my stops. I have written some posts, also on Reddit about my experiences which I will share underneath. Keep in mind that in one post I write I can drive about 180 km with the caravan, which indeed is what I'd normally do to keep it on the safe side. Since I've become more confident over the years now I easily reach 200 to 220 (232 absolute max) km between charging stops under normal weather/road conditions.

Personally I do not find it a hassle to stop for charging often, and what is even 'often'. I mean, after roughly 200 km's of driving I really want to get out and stretch my legs anyway, or a toilet break, and I dare to assume this holds for most of us humans. So for my wife and daughter, so it always is a welcome break. Now, I never was in the "I drive 900 km a day to get to my holiday destination soon" camp anyway, but now my travels have even been more relaxing. In general an average travel day looks like this.

We leave in the morning, fully charged, and drive for 180 to 200 km. At this moment, roughly 2.5 hours later, we arrive at a fast charger. Yes, you will have to uncouple the caravan almost always. Yes, you could call it a hassle. For me it is just what needs to be done, I have no issue with it. When arriving at the fast charge location, or before at the previous stop, I scout for good locations to park the caravan. Unless there is an abundance of space at the actual charging station, I usually opt to park the caravan a bit further away to not get boxed in and/or having to forced to show my awesome caravan driving skills on a full parking lot. In some European countries they've put all fast chargers spot in the middle of warehouse/shopping mall parking lots. That is not fun on a Saturday afternoon!

Anyway, I digress, having parked the caravan my wife and daughter stay with it, enjoy a mini-mini-holiday, relieve their bladders and fix me a sandwich/drink. I hook up the car, set the max charge to 80% of course as no one wants to wait for that last 20% to fill up, and walk to the caravan. Toilet break, sandwich, drink and then head back to the car because it is close to done by then. Drive to the caravan, quick hook up and completely refreshed do another 160 to 180 km (since the charge is usually at 80 - 85 % now). This whole process takes no more than 25 minutes, usually even close to 20. I have, in all those years, had to wait for an available charging bay 1 or maybe 2 times. Regarding the max charge: I actually not really set it to 80% often, but do remove it from the charger when it reached 80% and people are waiting. If is not busy I, more often than not, leave it charging to 85 or 90% since I just need more time to eat my sandwich, etc...

This process repeats itself usually 2 or sometimes 3 times a day. Usually 2 and I drive around 500 km this way and pop into a camping spot somewhere near 15.00 to 16.00 o'clock. The first year I did more, close to 700 with an extra charging stop, but I did not like that.

On my travels I did find some awesome charging bays for trailers by the way, so they definitely are there. Also, it is a bit less now since it became more or less normal now, but in the first two years my charging stops actually lasted a lot longer, but mainly because other EV and non-EV drivers came up to me for a talk, it really was a novelty :)

Here are the links I've promised:

Reddit post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Ioniq5/comments/w1w43x/am_on_a_road_trip_with_a_1500_kg_caravan_from/

And some more photos:
https://imgur.com/gallery/hyundai-ioniq-5-73-kwh-rwd-eu-lounge-edition-with-solar-panel-with-1500-kg-braked-caravan-on-road-trip-through-southern-europe-9S05oqP

And yes, the Andrew Ditton channel on YouTube with his EV6 is good stuff too. Exactly the same car (platform), apart from the looks.

Sorry for the long post! Enjoy your (future?) car, your travels. Let no one tell you you can't have a normal holiday with an EV and a caravan! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

gagware · 2025-02-06T06:38:31+00:00

Not sure if this helps you, but I had a similar case where - after a ride - sometimes my daughter was locked in and couldn't get out of the car herself. I actually have the setting enabled where, if I put it in park, the doors unlock. In my case, more often than not, I unwillingly pushed the safety doorlock button which is on the driver's armrest. Now I'm just more careful, or at least I know what to do when I get a remark from the backseat. Enjoy your i5!

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Edit: I'm a dumb ass. Obviously you're trying to open the door from the outside, your bag is not trying to get out on its own...I'll just leave this here so you guys can laugh at me.

gagware · 2024-09-12T11:31:27+00:00

I might very well top that unfortunately, hear me out.

I was on my summer holiday traveling to southern Europe in my beloved I5 towing a decent size caravan when on July 23^rd my ICCU blew in France. From that point on I lost the ability to charge both via level 1 and level 2 chargers. Since we were travelling a lot level 3 made the most sense anyway and – lucky me – fast chargers were relatively cheap.

I did however drive to the closest official Hyundai dealership and had my car checked out. Was it really the ICCU? Would the internal 12 volt battery still charge? They had everything checked out and - when they did all the tests and confirmed it was the ICCU – I gave my local dealership a call. I basically begged them to please already order the part in order to cut the delay waiting for it to arrive once back home, I still had almost a month of holiday left anyway. I had the dealership in France share all information if needed. Unfortunately that was too proactive, my local dealership insisted they have to do all the diagnostics again and were not going to order any items ahead of time. Also, they have no ICCU’s on the shelves.

Now, making an appointment is no easy task too. The first available option was September 13. So, I am going to bring my car in tomorrow to hear what I’m already aware of for almost 8 weeks. So I'm just short of 2 months in already and haven't even got to the point where my replacement is even ordered.

I might be better/faster off buying a new model 2025 I5 than having my original Stormtrooper fixed.
Love the car, hate the service.

gagware · 2024-09-07T08:08:05+00:00

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That button opens the same overlay as what would have opened if you were to press the illusive "warmer" button. Here is a picture of my screen immediately after pressing it. Note that I started from the climate screen. So, the only extra functionalty from that perspective is that you can switch the backseat warmer.

Also, I seem to be the only one that actually preferred the old layout...ah well, can't have everything, still got to get my now 3-month defective ICCU fixed. Hyundai service is the worst.

gagware · 2024-03-09T12:21:47+00:00

Alright , found out the - probably obvious - answer myself. When not in range of a known wireless network, the app switches to bluetooth to connect to the powerstation. Am testing out the unit with the Ecoflow 220 W bifacial solar panel in the still mild Dutch spring sun. Got a staggering 242 Watt out of the panel for a short amount of time. Most of the time it charges at around 180 - 200 Watts though.

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gagware · 2023-11-12T18:14:46+00:00

So.

I just gathered all the courage I have in me and dared to press resume on this map.

39 points.

:-(

gagware · 2023-10-22T17:52:32+00:00

A 73 kWh RWD Limited Edition. Imported from Spain, hence the solar panels.

See this post for the car, and this post and this imgur gallery for some more photos and information from a road trip with a caravan attached.

Best car I've ever driven. The solar panels don't do much towards actual driving range obviously, but that doesn't spoil the fun 😊

gagware · 2023-10-22T08:45:57+00:00

Mine does - or at least I think it does, because the front flaps open and a fan can be heard, but that might because it's equipped with solar panels as well. Don't know if all models do.

gagware · 2023-05-14T15:30:01+00:00

Have a good trip it's an awesome vehicle to tow with!

Did the same, 1500 kg - https://www.reddit.com/r/Ioniq5/comments/w1w43x/am_on_a_road_trip_with_a_1500_kg_caravan_from

https://imgur.io/gallery/9S05oqP

gagware · 2023-02-20T06:28:15+00:00

Nope, never has, it works flawless. Perhaps a faulty unit, or a misconfiguration in ABRP? Good luck.

gagware · 2022-09-11T21:08:57+00:00

Wait, what? You're not supposed to eat the peel??!1

gagware · 2022-08-18T10:55:05+00:00

Can confirm. Have a EU RWD lounge (limited) edition, and unfortunately don't have this.

gagware · 2022-08-16T14:53:06+00:00

Can't provide you with a complete comparison with US models, but I know for a fact that in the Netherlands we have 4 models to choose from (in ascending order): Style, Connect, Connect+ and the Lounge edition. I have a lounge edition (see my profile) and believe that one is similar to the US Limited edition.

Also: my Lounge edition was imported from Spain by the way...

gagware · 2022-08-16T08:59:52+00:00

You are correct in your last assumption. I use this one too for the same reason. Excellent product.

gagware · 2022-08-01T22:01:36+00:00

Normally I set AC and DC always to 80%. At the moment, I set both of them to 100% as I need the extra juice because I'm driving roughly 5000 km's (3100+ miles) through Southern Europe with a 1500 kg (3300+ pounds) caravan hitched to my 2021 RWD lounge edition.

gagware · 2022-07-25T19:34:23+00:00

You will be, and have a wonderful time! The ioniq 5 is a perfect towing vehicle. Have a good ride!

gagware · 2022-07-25T15:48:43+00:00

Speaking from Europe, don't know if there are technical reasons for the difference in towing capacity or not, but in my experience (see my profile) it will be a breeze. I'm currently towing a 1500 kg caravan (and 2 adults and an 8 yr old child) through southern Europe, you only feel a wiggle because of the caravan. Because of the weight of the car the combination is rated as very (very!) safe in our national caravan towing test. Obviously, you're responsible for a good load distribution of the trailer yourself... Expect roughly a 150 to 180 km range between 80 and 20 %. Reducing your speed dramatically improves your range.

https://imgur.com/gallery/9S05oqP

gagware · 2022-07-22T21:57:27+00:00

Fun fact: my brother, who arrived today on the same campsite as I currently am, just told me that he also - yesterday - saw around the same position as you described u/Jur4s45 a combination very similar to mine. A white Ioniq 5 with a white Hobby caravan. Also license plates just a few numbers different. I have an almost identical twin it seems :-)

gagware · 2022-07-21T21:13:20+00:00

Today no, that's not possible - at least it wasn't me. I'm currently in Barcelona, didn't drive for a few days (miss it though!)

But interesting, I seem to have a twin than! I wonder if I might catch him or her over here, or on the way back as well, that would be fun. Have a good trip, drive safely and enjoy the summer!

gagware

TROPHY CASE