Hyundai Ioniq 5 Goes Glamping In The UK

It’s called Hotel Hyundai, and it’s an EV-powered getaway inspired by market research showing that people in the UK are looking for sustainable travel options that are both affordable and environmentally conscious.

The Korean carmaker set up the Hotel Hyundai site in Essex, where it’s curated by British food critic and Masterchef Grace Dent.

Hotel Hyundai is Powered by EVs

Image courtesy Hyundai UK.

The hotel is made up of three key areas. The main guest suites, a restaurant & bar, and an outdoor movie theater. Each suite gets its own Hyundai Ioniq 5 to plug into for power – a move that highlights the hatchback/crossover’s impressive battery capacity and the car’s V2x capabilities. To wit:

• Each of the guest suites has its Ioniq 5 that powers everything from the lights to the appliances.
• The restaurant/bar area gets its own Hyundai, and continues the sustainability theme with a locally-grown food and drinks menu;  even the espresso machine is powered by the Ioniq!
• The movie area gets a film projector, outdoor speakers, and a popcorn machine all powered by the Ioniq 5, thanks to its V2x capability.

More and more EVs are coming equipped with either V2L (vehicle to load) or V2G (vehicle to grid) capability. This allows EVs to act as a rolling generator when there’s no power from the grid to power appliances or accessories, and as a battery backup for the grid itself. Hyundai seems to be hoping that, by using this capability to showcase how its Ioniq 5 EV can power a vacation rental, it can help dispel some of the myths surrounding EVs’ supposed “strain” on the grid.

I think this is a great way to show off the car’s capability, even if it does seem a bit forced – like, why go camping if you don’t want to camp, you know? But that’s a glamping vs. camping argument that we can have in the comments, I think. Enjoy!

Source | Images: Hyundai UK, via Jalopnik.