There are huge swaths of these United States where you can pick up a rock, throw it in any direction, and you will have a decent chance of it landing on a Subaru Crosstrek.
Its raging success isn’t because it’s a great and compelling automobile. It’s because the playbook is so effective: Take an ordinary hatchback—an Impreza, in Subaru’s case—add extra ground clearance and rugged looks, and maybe toss in some all-terrain tires. Then you sell it to folks who live in snowy states, frequently use unpaved roads or just love outdoor adventures. Step three is just counting your cash.
I’m convinced this is the playbook Hyundai is trying to bring to the electric vehicle world with the all-new Ioniq 5 XRT. And after sliding one around some dirt roads outside of Palm Desert, CA, I’m also convinced the idea has legs.
(Full Disclosure: Hyundai covered my travel and lodging to California for this test.)
2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT
What Is It?
Hyundai has been adding more rugged XRT trims to its crossovers and the Santa Cruz truck for a while, but this is the first one that’s electric. On the Ioniq 5, the XRT is a U.S.-specific trim that slots in right below the top Limited spec.
It adds an extra 0.9 inches (23 mm) of ground clearance for seven inches total, as well as unique suspension tuning. The extra ground clearance contributes to steeper maximum approach (19.8° vs. 17.5°) and departure (30° vs. 25.4°) angles, which means you should be able to handle bigger ruts and obstacles. The most obvious visual difference is the new front and rear fascia with “Digital Camo” all-black pattern cladding and two bright red tow hooks up front.
Arguably most important is the rubber: You get 235/60R-18 Continental CrossContact ATR all-terrain tires. To top it all off, the XRT offers additional drive modes, all toggled with a “TERRAIN MODE” button on the steering wheel: Snow, Mud and Sand. A standard Ioniq 5 only gets the first mode, and it does without these camo pattern flourishes in the interior.
Admittedly, it’s a bit silly, and not for everyone. “Does it look less embarrassing in person than it does in photos?”, Deputy Editor and resident IEVs off-roader Mack Hogan asked me. Why yes, Mack, it does; I’d argue that it’s an interesting look while being far more subtle than your average Jeep Wrangler Cry for Help Edition that’s about to hit the same trail.
The concept here isn’t entirely new. Even Hyundai admits that the Ford Mustang Mach-E Rally plays in the same sandbox, and I’d add the Rivian R3 to that list too (although it’s a ways off.) Yet as much as Americans love going off-pavement, this is still such a white space in the EV world. I’m surprised no one’s done this sooner. At least one Hyundai product planner told me they expect it to be reasonably popular, but specialized; about 10% to 15% of new Ioniq 5s sold are anticipated to be XRT models.
In my experience with off-roading, the most important thing I’ve learned is to know your limitations. Make no mistake: this set of enhancements sets the Ioniq 5 up for light off-roading, not extreme rock-crawling. Those front hooks may function just fine, but in the rear, the only recovery option is your standard tow hook. It doesn’t have height-adjustable suspension, or differential locks or anything you’d get on a dedicated off-roader. There isn’t even a spare tire.
Let’s just say the Rivian R1S won’t lose any sleep over this thing. Again, think Crosstrek, not 4Runner.
Still, Hyundai did make some sacrifices to improve its off-road capability. Those tires and the extra ride height come with a range penalty. The XRT’s sole configuration is dual-motor all-wheel-drive with the larger 84-kWh battery. It’s EPA-rated for just 259 miles of range, down more than 30 miles from the Ioniq 5 SEL and 10 miles from the loaded AWD Limited model. (If you need two motors and want a range king Ioniq 5, the SE and SEL trims are for you.)
Most Hyundai EVs I’ve tested outperform their stated ranges in real-world driving, but that’s still on the lower end of things these days. You may want to consider if the extra capability is worth it or not. At 80 degrees F (27 degrees C) my car read 190 miles of range at 85% charge—not unlike my Kia EV6 on a very cold day.
On the plus side, like all non-N Ioniq 5s, it’s made in America and gets a Tesla-style North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug with native Supercharger compatibility from the factory.
How Does It Drive?
I’ll admit that I was skeptical of the Ioniq 5 XRT at first. I thought it to be a faux-SUV, a cynical branding exercise aimed at making it feel extra American, much as European wagons always seem to get extra ride height and body cladding when they arrive stateside.
How foolish of me! The truth is that the Ioniq 5 XRT is a blast to drive. While I only got to take it out on a kind of free-form dirt course that involved some reasonably steep hills to climb, and zero time on the street, I found this trim to be quite delightful.
I recently wrote a story about why EVs are surprisingly effective in the snow. It’s a few things, from a lower center of gravity, more even weight distribution and traction control that can act far more quickly than a gas car can.
On the dirt, the same principles apply. The XRT proved itself to be very stable and predictable when the asphalt ended, and fun to boot. I put it into Sand Mode and made my way around the course for a bit, amazed at how well the immediate power delivery of a dual-motor EV and seamless traction control let me hit quicker speeds—with more control—than I expected. I flung the XRT hard but never felt it lose confidence or slip.
You get the same 320 horsepower and 446 pound-feet of torque as any AWD Ioniq 5 here, and when the asphalt ends it's plenty of juice to have some fun with.
It’s certainly possible to get the rear end out into a kind of controllable slide on the dirt, but that takes effort or outright foolishness. It’s quick, the steering has a decent amount of feel and the ride quality didn’t seem to suffer much with those tires, although a test on the pavement will be needed to render a final verdict.
One area where I do wish the Ioniq 5 XRT had more off-road chops is its camera. These cars have a good setup there for parking, but when we were climbing some of the steeper hills, it would’ve been nice to keep the cameras fully on to see my surroundings or know how close I was to brush on either side. Instead, the cameras click off at a certain speed, just like the ones on the regular Ioniq 5. Hey, Hyundai: If you’re serious about your over-the-air software updates, there’s a free idea that everyone will love.
I’ll add that there’s something utterly charming about seeing all of these Ioniq 5s flying across a dirt course, like some sort of retro-futurist rally. Since the Ioniq 5 is inspired by the works of Giorgetto Giugiaro, the sight evoked the old Audi Quattros or Lancia Deltas, just bigger and in electric form.
At the end of it all, I was a little sad to give it back and switch to the regular Ioniq 5. I want more time in the XRT.
Pricing And Verdict
The Ioniq 5 XRT trim comes in at $55,400 before destination fees, a healthy $6,000 boost from the SEL AWD I drove at the same event. That’s the trim I suspect most people will end up buying. An XRT is a little pricey, but also about $3,500 cheaper than the aforementioned Mach-E Rally. I’m not entirely sure how directly comparable those two are, since the Ford gets you 160 more horsepower and is marketed much more as a high-performance car; think WRX STI vs. Crosstrek. Then again, Hyundai brought it up, not me.
If your weekend hobby is crawling rocks, the Rivian R1S is still your best bet on the EV side—and a stripped-out old Jeep or Toyota 4Runner is an arguably better one. But that’s not the ideal use case for the Ioniq 5 XRT.
If you live along a lengthy dirt road, or you frequently deal with bad storms and rough terrain, or you frequently find yourself buried in snow, this is a superb electric option. I actually find myself in the latter category here in upstate New York. This winter we have dealt with the most snow we’ve had in several years, and I could really see where extra ground clearance and dedicated AT tires would give me a big edge.
Case in point: A week after coming home from Palm Springs, I took my Kia EV6 along a winding, mixed asphalt-and-gravel road near my house that happened to be covered in a decent layer of snow. Between the car’s inherent strengths in snow and the fact that I know what I’m doing behind the wheel, the EV6 did fine.
The Ioniq 5 XRT would’ve done a lot better. And even if it doesn’t put up Crosstrek sales numbers, that alone will make it appealing to a lot of people.
Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com
Gallery: 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 XRT: First Drive
