The Ioniq 5 XRT Is Hyundai’s Huracan Sterrato: First Drive Review

I love it when carmakers have a sense of humor. Selling the newly NACS-plugged Hyundai Ioniq 5 with unpainted bumpers, a 1.0-inch lift, and all-terrain tires for $55,400 is one the best ideas I’ve seen in the last year. I’m not totally sure who it’s for, but it proves that a little humor goes a long way.

The XRT is wrapped up in a subtle update for the entire Ioniq 5 model line, with the headline change being the adoption of NACS—or, Tesla’s plug. XRT’s goal is to capture the baby off-roader craze that spawned alternatives like Subaru’s Wilderness lineup or Honda’s TrailSport range, but make it an EV. But with nothing more than a slight lift and some unpainted camo pattern on the bumpers, can it really deliver the goods?

XRT stands for Extreme Rugged Terrain, which is overselling the point. The Ioniq 5 XRT is not built to be an insane, rock-bashing, testosterone-bro camping machine. It’s built to conquer light terrain and be off-road chic—with an emphasis on chic. It gets no extra skid plates, no special suspension arms or dampers, or any truly dedicated all-terrain hardware.

Instead, the Ioniq 5 XRT gets a 1.0-inch lift all around, a set of Continental Crosscontact ATR all-terrain tires, unpainted bumpers in a special-for-XRT digital camouflage pattern, a bit more ground clearance, and new terrain modes that recalibrate the traction control for more effectiveness on dirt.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The XRT also benefits from a few changes for the entire 2025 Ioniq 5 lineup. The aforementioned NACS plug now means you can use Tesla Superchargers, though only with the Tesla app for the time being. Hyundai says it will have its own solution within the “next couple of quarters.” Both the rear-wheel and all-wheel drive Ioniq 5s get a larger battery pack, 63.0 kilowatt-hours for the rear-drive cars and 84.0 kilowatt-hours for the all-wheel drive cars.

Pros: Excellent ride quality, playful, capable enough

The bigger batteries deliver a bump in range of around 15 miles for most trims, while the XRT does an A-okay 259 miles per charge. That bigger pack does not come with a bump in power. The Ioniq 5 still makes 320 horsepower and 446 horsepower in all trims outside of the N model. Small quality-of-life changes like a faster CPU for the infotainment, an upgraded Bose stereo, physical buttons for seat heaters, coolers, and ADAS functions, and a rear windshield wiper complete the 2025 updates.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

The XRT is truly for Outback Activities—the new genre of off-roading invented, in part, by the Subaru Outback. This Ioniq 5 isn’t meant to rock crawl, it’s meant to gently carry its occupants up a fire road, maybe clear some moderately steep hills, and get to the trailhead of your local hike.

Trying the XRT on light trails (of Hyundai’s choice) proved that it is quite good at Outback Activities. And to Hyundai’s credit, there were no spotters every five feet, just a base camp and small rallycross course in the middle of a trail loop. Otherwise, we were free to use and abuse the XRT.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

On the course, the XRT was less Subaru Outback and more Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato. Sure, that sounds like ridiculous hyperbole, but it truly behaves more like a lifted sports car than a crossover on stilts. Perhaps it’s the ultra-low center of gravity, the instant response from the electric motors, or the healthily rear-biased torque distribution. The Ioniq 5 XRT knew how to party on a loose surface.

Cons: Unpainted bumpers aren’t for everyone, reduced range

An initial boot of throttle snaps the XRT into a lovely slide, though the 5,000-plus pound weight of the Ioniq 5 becomes apparent beyond the limits of traction. Still, with some delicacy, the slide can be carried off-throttle, and a little dance ensues. For its weight and size, it was easy to place the XRT on a high-speed trail, driving more like a rallycross car than an off-roader. It was so impressive that it was easy to forget the suspension was working hard too.

Even with just a 1.0-inch lift, the XRT never got overwhelmed with compound bumps, ruts, or washboards. It somehow always maintained excellent quality even when it was clearly bashing into its bump stops. It felt much more agile, faster, and more playful than any internal combustion crossover could feel.

Photo by: Chris Rosales / Motor1

Perhaps it was the virtue of EV—there is no oil pan to bash into, no abuse to be done to an engine. Its one weakness, ground clearance, was negated by the fact there is nothing to hurt underneath and that the battery pack is already heavily shielded. Scraping along did not come with the requisite cringe. Instead, it made the XRT feel even more capable and tough.

The Ioniq 5 XRT is a silly object that might just have a point. Now that it can plug into Superchargers, it has a shot at being a useful off-road EV. But what it truly excels at is being an urban assault vehicle. No pothole or curb will stop it, the unpainted bumpers will hide damage, and it looks reasonably cool.

I’m still not sure why it exists, but I’ll never question one of the biggest automakers in the world playing with house money. The Ioniq 5 XRT is just neat.