Compare the2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5VS 2023 Toyota Prius Prime

Both the Ioniq 5 and Prius Prime have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Ioniq 5 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Prius Prime’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Ioniq 5 has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Ioniq 5 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Collision Warning with Rear Cross-Traffic Collision-Avoidance Assist, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Parking Support Brake costs extra on the Prius Prime.

Both the Ioniq 5 and the Prius Prime have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 weighs 452 to 1257 pounds more than the Toyota Prius Prime. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Ioniq 5 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2022, a rating granted to only 126 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Prius Prime has not been fully tested, yet.

The Ioniq 5 comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Prius Prime’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Hyundai’s powertrain warranty covers the Ioniq 5 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Prius Prime. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Prius Prime ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

The Ioniq 5’s corrosion warranty is 2 years longer than the Prius Prime’s (7 vs. 5 years).

Hyundai pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ioniq 5 for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Prius Prime (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai above average in initial quality. With 6 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Hyundai vehicles are more reliable than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Hyundai third in reliability, above the industry average. With 10 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked fifth.

The Ioniq 5 Long Range’s optional electric motor produces 5 more horsepower (225 vs. 220) than the Prius Prime’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Ioniq 5’s optional electric motors produces 100 more horsepower (320 vs. 220) than the Prius Prime’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric motors is faster than the Toyota Prius Prime:

On the EPA test cycle the Ioniq 5 gets better mileage than the Prius Prime running its gasoline engine:

The Ioniq 5 can travel longer on a full charge than the Prius Prime on electricity, only, on a full charge:

The Ioniq 5, as a pure battery electric vehicle, has no need to “idle” its motors in traffic: they only burn power when moving. The Ioniq 5’s climate control systems still work completely when the vehicle is stopped. The Prius Prime still runs its internal combustion engine whenever it’s stopped, burning excess fuel.

For better stopping power the Ioniq 5’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Prius Prime:

For better traction, the Ioniq 5 has larger standard tires than the Prius Prime (235/55R19 vs. 195/60R17). The Ioniq 5 Limited AWD’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Prius Prime (255/45R20 vs. 195/60R17).

The Ioniq 5’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Prius Prime SE’s standard 60 series tires. The Ioniq 5 Limited AWD’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Prius Prime XSE’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ioniq 5 has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Prius Prime SE. The Ioniq 5 Limited AWD’s 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Prius Prime XSE.

The Ioniq 5 has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Ioniq 5’s wheelbase is 9.8 inches longer than on the Prius Prime (118.1 inches vs. 108.3 inches).

For better handling and stability, the average track (width between the wheels) on the Ioniq 5 is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 2.6 inches wider in the rear than the track on the Prius Prime.

The Ioniq 5 Limited AWD handles at .88 G’s, while the Prius Prime XSE pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Ioniq 5 has 15.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Prius Prime (106.5 vs. 91.2).

The Ioniq 5 has 1.8 inches more front headroom, 2.4 inches more front shoulder room, 2.3 inches more rear headroom, 3.5 inches more rear legroom, 1.9 inches more rear hip room and 4.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the Prius Prime.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Ioniq 5’s rear seats recline. The Prius Prime’s rear seats don’t recline.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Ioniq 5’s liftgate can be opened just by waiting momentarily behind the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

The Ioniq 5 offers up to a 2300 lbs. towing capacity. The Prius Prime has no towing capacity.

The Ioniq 5 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Prius Prime uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Ioniq 5 has a standard remote vehicle starting system, so the vehicle can be started from inside the driver's house. This allows the driver to comfortably warm up the engine before going out to the vehicle. The climate system will also automatically heat or cool the interior. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a remote starting system.

The Ioniq 5 Limited has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Ioniq 5’s headlights were rated “Good” to “Acceptable” by the IIHS, while the Prius Prime’s headlights are rated “Acceptable.”

The Ioniq 5 has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. When the ignition turns off, the headlights turn off after a delay timed to allow you to securely get to your front door. The Prius Prime has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the XSE.

Manual rear side window sunshades are available in the Ioniq 5 to help block heat and glare for the rear passengers. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer rear side window sunshades.

When the Ioniq 5 Limited is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Prius Prime’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Ioniq 5’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the Ioniq 5 and the Prius Prime offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Ioniq 5 SEL/Limited has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

The Ioniq 5 Limited’s Parking Assist can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Parking Assist will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Prius Prime XSE Premium’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Hyundai Ioniq 5, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Ioniq 5 was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2023 and 2022. The Prius Prime has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.