Hyundai Ioniq 5 N 2024
Hyundai N division’s take on the ridiculously good-looking Ioniq 5. A hatchback-shaped, medium crossover-sized, four-wheel drive EV, likely to cost between £65k and £70k and based on the same bits as the Kia EV6… with 600bhp. In fact, hit the embarrassingly named N Grin Boost mode button on the steering wheel and you have 641bhp for 10-second bursts. More of a hyper-hatch really… but let’s put supercar power figures to one side and think about what the Ioniq 5 N represents. There’s a launch control function that unlocks 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds. The top speed is 167mph. Hyundai has thrown the kitchen sink at the electronics to make it not just rapid, but engaging to drive in new and interesting ways we hadn’t previously thought possible. You can dive into the menus and make it sound like a zingy combustion engine, or a fighter jet, or a lightsaber. Weirdly, it’s the fake petrol engine sounds that work the best, largely because of another mode – N e-Shift. This is a fully simulated eight-speed paddle shift gearbox that does everything a real one does – like manage the torque so you feel acceleration build as you rev towards the imaginary 8,000rpm redline. It will bounce off the limiter if you forget to pull the paddle, interrupt the torque with a little kick on upshifts and a little blip on the way down, the sound instantly reflects throttle position, revs and what ‘gear’ you’re in.
Hyundai N division’s take on the ridiculously good-looking Ioniq 5. A hatchback-shaped, medium crossover-sized, four-wheel drive EV, likely to cost between £65k and £70k and based on the same bits as the Kia EV6… with 600bhp. In fact, hit the embarrassingly named N Grin Boost mode button on the steering wheel and you have 641bhp for 10-second bursts. More of a hyper-hatch really… but let’s put supercar power figures to one side and think about what the Ioniq 5 N represents. There’s a launch control function that unlocks 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds. The top speed is 167mph. Hyundai has thrown the kitchen sink at the electronics to make it not just rapid, but engaging to drive in new and interesting ways we hadn’t previously thought possible. You can dive into the menus and make it sound like a zingy combustion engine, or a fighter jet, or a lightsaber. Weirdly, it’s the fake petrol engine sounds that work the best, largely because of another mode – N e-Shift. This is a fully simulated eight-speed paddle shift gearbox that does everything a real one does – like manage the torque so you feel acceleration build as you rev towards the imaginary 8,000rpm redline. It will bounce off the limiter if you forget to pull the paddle, interrupt the torque with a little kick on upshifts and a little blip on the way down, the sound instantly reflects throttle position, revs and what ‘gear’ you’re in.
