This white Hyundai IONIQ 5 is single-handedly rewriting the rules on EV longevity by driving over 360,000 miles on its original battery. What’s even wilder? The battery still had 87% battery health, despite the owner exclusively using DC fast charging to charge the car to 100%.
That was more than 50,000 miles ago, and the car is still going strong!
Take a good look at that digital dashboard display up there, and you might notice the Hyundai IONIQ 5’s odometer is sitting pretty at 666,255 km. That’s over 413,990 miles, and the South Korean EV is, reportedly, still racking up miles — and fast! Over at the Facebook Group Mileage Impossible, the car’s owner claimed he covered all those miles in less than three-and-a-half years … which works out to just under 10,000 miles per month! (!!!)
Nearly 400 miles per day
Like any vehicle being driven extreme miles, Hyundai’s excellent IONIQ 5 isn’t perfect. That means a bunch of stuff broke, including the car’s Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU), which means it can’t currently be charged on AC (L1/L2) charger. And, while electric cars don’t need oil changes, they do need other types maintenance, and the differential oils and brake fluids have been regularly changed on this car — which, no doubt, has contributed to its longevity.
The most significant repair to date was the battery replacement at 360,000 miles (almost 55,000 miles ago, by my math). Remarkably, Hyundai covered the cost of the replacement despite the battery being way, way beyond its original 10 year/100,000 mile warranty.
The most impressive part of all this? Even after enduring 360,000 miles and countless fast-charging cycles, the battery reportedly retained 87% of its original health. (!)
Electrek’s Take
Top comment by BCGeiger
I believe it. When we bought our first Prius everyone said that the batteries fail after 50,000mi and they cost $20,000 to replace. I traded it in this month after 20 years and 130,000 miles and it still worked as well as it did new. (I also checked on the price and the batteries don’t coast anywhere near what people warned me about). LiION batteries last a very long time if you take care of them. I’m typing this on my five year old iPhone that still has the original battery with 80% of its original capacity.
We’ve written about high-mileage Teslas in the past, but stories like this are massively important to people who are still on the fence about EVs. And, with the average age of vehicles on US roads creeping up on 13 years, it’s hard to argue with the relevance of those long-term drivability and dependability concerns.
And now, with this 400,000 IONIQ 5, Hyundai has a shining example of the fact that its soon-to-be American-made EVs can go the distance.
Hyundai is still offering 0.99% APR financing for 60 months on all versions of the hot-selling 2025 IONIQ 5, as well as up to $7,500 in Retail Bonus Cash, which (when combined with other incentives in certain markets) can make a huge difference to customers’ bottom line. It doesn’t look like the two offers can be combined, however, so be sure to do the math and see which deal makes the most sense for you.
SOURCES | IMAGES: 수와호수스와호수 and Mileage Impossible; via InsideEVs and Torque News.
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