Hyundai IONIQ 5 N Review

The man who was tasked with doing this is Albert Biermann. He’s the head of the sporty Hyundai offshoot "N" brand, and he’s already achieved miracles with the brand’s petrol cars. He has taken some of the blandest hatchbacks around and turned them into performance models that get nods of respect at any track day.

Now, he's turned to face the electric future. He believes that just because the Hyundais of tomorrow will run on electricity, rather than super unleaded, its sports cars shouldn’t lose their soul. Biermann was poached from BMW’s M division, he's already worked his magic at Kia with the Kia EV6 GT, and the car he has chosen for his final transformation is the IONIQ 5.

For a start, it looks way sportier than the standard car as it’s lower and wider, and the matt Performance Blue colour makes it look particularly fantastic in the metal, with with Hyundais trademark ‘N’ trim changed from red to a luminous orange for the performance electric cars.

The exterior design features lots of new features to help with aerodynamics and cooling; including V-shaped front and rear bumpers, curbed cladding over the wheel arches to help with the air flow, a rear spoiler and air slots, along with a diffuser - also highlighted in orange. The Hyundai logo is black to mark this out as a performance car, it sits well on 21-inch alloy wheels, and comes in a choice of ten colours including Performance Blue, available for the first time in both Matt and glossy finish. 

Motors, Performance & Handling

The N gets a bigger 84kWh battery than the standard model, which is paired with two motors. From that combination you get up to 640bhp and just under 550lb ft of torque, giving a 0-62mph time of around 3.4 seconds and top speed of 160+ mph. You’ll be beating Lamborghinis off the line with that kind of speed. 

But Biermann is not interested in figures alone and says this is more about the feel. There are three modes to choose from, played through ten different speakers - eight on the inside and two on the outside, ‘Ignition’ is supposed to sound like a 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine complete with pops-and-bangs, Evolution is an electronic sound inspired by a Gran Turismo concept car, the 2025 Vision, and Supersonic simulates a fighter jet. Hyundai told us that down the line owners could potentially commission their own sounds, or gamers could vote for sounds that could then be made available via over the air updates. 

Fake sounds on electric cars always create a lot of debate, but in practice? We absolutely love it. Don't forget that you can turn it all off and just enjoy the hushed progress that electric cars specialise in, but when you do want to really enjoy the theatricality of the 5 N, the sounds are a big part of it. We particularly love the Ignition soundtrack, which resonates and growls and is just very, very naughty - but also extremely entertaining. The N-model even simulates an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, with a rev counter, shift paddle, traction control interruptions, turbo wastegate noises and a rev limiter all included. 

Through this, Hyundai gives the driver back the sense of speed and more control over the car. It’s truly brilliant. Okay, so maybe it's not quite as sonorous an experience as an actual Lamborghini, but it really is spectacular fun. 

And it's not just about the noise. The Ioniq 5 N handles brilliantly. It's all wheel drive as standard, and it has incredible front-end grip. Even in everyday Normal mode, you want to swing it gamely through corners because it's just so much fun - precise, playful and engaging, and all the more intense as you cycle up through Sport mode and then to play with the full-on N Modes. Those N modes are fully configurable, too, which is good as the suspension, steering, motor, 'gear' response, noises and more are all adjustable, so you really can tailor the 5 N to your favoured settings. It takes some time, though - the sheer amount of configurable aspects within the car are either a great strength, or possibly a bit of a frustration if you like to keep things simple. Still, you only need to save your settings the once, and then it's just a case of prodding the relevant button on the steering wheel to activate them. 

The trick to making a performance car feel confident yet tactile, is the brakes. Yup. Stopping is important, and the IONIQ 5 N has the best brakes that I've ever experienced on any electric car - and I include the Porsche Taycan in that. Granted, the Porsche isn't as track-oriented as the Hyundai, but the 5 N really does set new standards for brake feel in electric cars, which is tricky to set up as the brake regen' system makes it difficult to deliver really brilliant pedal feel. Hyundai's done it, though. The short brake travel offers loads of feel and means that you can really modulate how hard you want to stop or slow down, which in turn means that you're happier to make full use of the stratospheric acceleration. Dial everything up to the max, and this car doesn't accelerate so much as detonate. It's wicked fun, yet also very engaging and easy to drive in a smooth, fun yet sane fashion at normal road speeds. 

The regen' is clever, too. Hyundai’s N division has taken one of my favourite characteristics of electric cars and used it to the max. You can set the regenerative braking to be 50% more aggressive than in the standard IONIQ 5, although it's still very controllable as you can toggle through three setting via the steering wheel paddles. 

There is also a special cooling system for the battery, which can be conditioned not only for charging, but also for particularly fast laps where the battery and motor are working hard. 

Somewhat surprisingly, the IONIQ 5 N is also a pretty comfortable daily driver. It is a very stiff car, and it's not light, so it does bump up and down noticeably over poor road surfaces. But the adaptive suspension is good enough to keep it from feeling overly choppy or jarring, so while you don't forget that it's a performance car, you can just go about a normal daily commute without feeling overly shaken about and weary. It's an impressive trick for a car that, at the push of a button, becomes a truly explosive, full-on performance car that's worthy of any track day.

The only thing that did bother us in everyday driving with the 5 N, is the turning circle. The side effect of the wider track and differential, is that the turning circle is now over 12-metres, which is pretty poor. And with alloy wheels that are particularly prone to unfortunate clashes with the kerb, that's a bit of a problem, so you won't find this the easiest car to manoeuvre in a tight car park or town. 

Click HERE to download your free Beginners' Guide to Going Electric​

Interior, Design/Styling and Technology

As you'd expect, the interior of the IONIQ 5 N has also been upgraded so that it's in keeping with performance on offer. There's new trim, a gaming inspired sports steering wheel with paddles at your fingertips and a host of driving modes - Drag mode for maximum acceleration, Race mode with Sprint and Endurance settings for track days, g-force readouts and lap times. You’ll also spot a wonderfully named bright red NGB (N Grin Boost) button, which delivers an extra button of power to the motors for ten seconds when you press it. The sportiness is enhanced with comfortable and supportive bucket seats - covered in recycled alcantara - which feature illuminated N branding. They're manually adjusted, and while I'd like it if the seat would drop a touch lower, it's not difficult to get comfy and I felt more than happy to cover long distances. 

If you want proof that this car means business then you’ll find knee and shin bolsters, for when you really need to hang on in the corners. 

Practicality and Boot Space

Putting aside the fun, the IONIQ 5 N is still a practical family car. A large boot, plenty of room in the back, the tech we love from the standard car, and even a pair of Isofix fittings and standard sunblinds for the rear windows, all make this a great every day performance car.

​​Range, Battery and Charging

Like the standard model the N comes with vehicle to load charging technology and that brilliant 800 volt running great, which delivers ultra-rapid charging capability of up to 233 kW on a DC charger. This translates into charging times of as little as 18 minutes from 10-80% at the maximum speed. The maximum AC charging rate of 11 kW will come in handy at industrial points and destination chargers, while a standard 7kW home charger will fully charge the IONIQ 5 N in around 12 hours. 

As for the range? Well, all that performance comes at a price, as the 5 N isn't the most efficient. The 287 mile WLTP range is okay for such a powerful car, but we found that even in summer a more realistic real-world range was around 200 miles for motorway journeys, or around 240 if you're on slower roads. While a heat pump is standard for improved winter efficiency, winter range could well drop to around 150 miles in worst case scenarios (even less if you're on track, of course!). 

Running Costs and Pricing

Of course, the shock and awe of the IONIQ 5 N comes at a price - £65,000 to be precise. This is not cheap... I know. But then, this is a car that will do 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds. That's supercar pace. And yet, it'll carry your kids and your luggage, do your daily commute, and then go and be utterly thrilling on a track day. So it's not without some justification, that price. While it's not as efficient as other less performance-oriented electric cars, it'll also be a lot cheaper to 'fuel' than a petrol equivalent like the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio, at around 9p per mile if you charge at home (or you can halve that if you use off-peak, overnight tariffs). 

Verdict

Although many electric car drivers become obsessed with efficiency rather than lap times, there is a job to be done by cars like the IONIQ 5 N, and that is to help win over the hearts and minds of even the most ardent petrol heads. Biermann promised that "no other electric car will offer as much emotion per euro as this one." Well, we've poured over it in the studio, we've interviewed the people behind it, and now I've spent time driving it in the UK. I can confidently say that he was right. This is the most exciting electric performance car on sale. The Taycan runs it close, and is a very different and more polished prospect, but the IONIQ 5 N is a remarkable feat of engineering, and an effervescent driver's car even when compared to petrol alternatives. It's not perfect, but I want one. In fact, ideally, I'll take two.  

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