We spent a week and 600 miles testing the 2024 Hyundai Ioniq 5 Limited AWD’s driver-assistance suite—Highway Driving Assist II, adaptive cruise, lane centering, blind-spot monitoring, and forward emergency braking—across city, suburban, and interstate routes in sun and rain. Here’s how it behaved when the traffic got messy.
Our test car was a 2024 Ioniq 5 Limited AWD (77.4‑kWh pack) equipped with HDA II: forward radar, dual front cameras, rear corner radars, and ultrasonic sensors. The suite bundles Smart Cruise with Stop & Go, Lane Following/Tracing, Lane Change Assist, Blind‑Spot Collision‑Avoidance, and Forward Collision‑Avoidance with pedestrian/cyclist detection and junction and oncoming‑turning support. We ran back‑to‑back loops on divided interstates and undivided 55‑mph highways, plus dense urban errands. Temperatures ranged from 52–78°F; we included two rain sessions and a dusk/night segment.
We verified tire pressures, set the following gap to each of the four steps, and updated to the latest available software before testing. All interventions were driver‑initiated when comfort or safety warranted. Adaptive cruise is among the smoother calibrations at this price point. Following gaps span roughly 1.2–2.0 seconds; the middle setting felt most natural in mixed traffic.
Stop‑and‑go is confident, holding to a full stop and resuming automatically if traffic moves within about 3 seconds (beyond that, a tap is needed). Cut‑in handling is measured: it sheds 3–5 mph rather than stabbing the brakes. Over 220 highway miles we logged two minor “phantom” slowdowns—both under sharp‑contrast overpasses in light rain—and one conservative, map‑based curve slowdown that arrived earlier than necessary but was togglable. No true false negatives to stationary vehicles ahead at highway speeds were observed; it still requires driver braking for abruptly stopped traffic appearing over a blind crest.
Lane centering tracks cleanly on well‑painted interstates, keeping the car steady without the ping‑pong drift some rivals exhibit. It tolerated moderate curves posted at 65 mph but asked for help on tighter ramps. In heavy rain, with beads on the camera, it shifted to a looser lane‑keeping behavior yet stayed engaged at 55–60 mph. Construction zones with offset cones confused it twice, prompting hands‑on torque and a gentle disengagement.
Driver‑monitor nags arrived about every 12–15 seconds hands‑off. One false positive lane departure beep was triggered by a puddle obscuring the stripe; we saw two brief false negatives on worn paint where it relied on vehicle‑ahead tracking to maintain position. Blind‑Spot Monitoring is effective and conservative. Mirror LEDs and the Blind‑Spot View Monitor camera feed activate promptly, and the system applied a gentle brake tug once when we initiated a lane change into a fast‑approaching vehicle in light rain.
It reliably detected motorcycles and small cars; we noted one late alert in heavy spray. Rear cross‑traffic braking intervened once behind a tall SUV; it stopped assertively with no contact. Forward emergency braking avoided a stationary soft target at 25 mph consistently and reduced a 35‑mph approach to roughly 6–8 mph at impact point in a controlled test. We recorded two false positives: a brief pre‑brake when a lead car turned across our lane then cleared, and an over‑alert at a shiny expansion joint.
A dusk, edge‑of‑lane pedestrian in dark clothing produced a late warning and no autonomous brake until we intervened—an important real‑world limitation. Overall, Hyundai’s HDA II package feels mature: smooth longitudinal control, confident lane centering on good markings, and useful blind‑spot interventions without excessive chatter. Expect occasional conservative slowdowns and reduced capability in poor lane quality or heavy precipitation. For commuters who spend time on divided highways, it meaningfully reduces workload; just keep it off on complex construction zones and stay ready to brake for obscured pedestrians or sudden stoppages.
